Over the past three weeks, campers in Presidential Politics have immersed themselves in the wonderful world of politics from 1960 to present. Students start with the election of 1960, learning about the first ever TV presidential debate with John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Campers learn about the evolution of how each president campaigns in the modern era, from radio to TV to the internet and social media. They also learn about important issues that impacted each presidency, like Supreme Court cases, social issues, and cultural movements.
The main highlight of this class is debating. Campers get many opportunities to debate, including role playing each presidential election since 1960, and even role playing as Supreme Court Justices. When role playing, campers get to vote on issues from each time period and voice their thoughts and opinions in a scholarly way to the class.
Their crowning achievement, however, is the great Presidential Face-Off Tournament. Campers get to pick a president from any point in the past, including presidents before 1960. They then get to form an argument for why their president should be crowned champion. Students must use their debate skills learned from class to convince their peers to vote for their candidate. The Face-Off is always a fun tournament to do, as the students are practicing debating either for the first time or deepening their skillset.
Presidential Politics not only teaches students about U.S. History, but it also teaches them debate skills and strategies. For some, it is their first opportunity to talk to a crowd and learn some public speaking experience. These skills will help these campers as they move on in their future careers. We are so proud of how far these students have advanced in three weeks, and we have certainly had a lot of fun with them!