On Tuesday, Presidential Politics began class with the students sharing what July 4th means to them and what traditions they have taken part in to celebrate the holiday. We then examined the legacy of President George H.W. Bush by reading his inaugural address, looking at historians’ rankings of his presidency, and watching a short clip over his administration. Students next worked with one of their classmates to research two court cases that took place during his presidency. We also watched commercials from each candidate during the 1988 election and contrasted part of the actual debate between Michael Dukakis and Bush with how Saturday Night Live portrayed the debate. Students made posters for each candidate during the 1988 campaign as well.
After lunch the class watched two of their peers role-play the debate between Dukakis, portrayed by Darby, and Bush, portrayed by Thatcher. Sam and Jay served as the campaign managers for this debate. We then took our first assessment over Presidential Politics from the years 1960 to 1992. During the last hour of the day, students watched an episode of the series John Adams, “Independence,” which focused on the debate by the founding fathers to break away from Great Britain. There was no study hall as students attended a baseball game with fireworks afterwards.
On Wednesday we will examine the 1992 presidential election and Bill Clinton’s first term as president. We will leave for our trip to Washington, D.C. after students finish dinner. Our class will tour D.C. on Thursday and return on Friday morning!
