Probably the reason I haven't blogged is because those gorillas have been keeping me busy. Since the beginning of the school year we have not only been following the election closely, but running an election of our own.
We started the first day of school, when I explained the two party system and explained that we had two parties in our class. Our two parties were the boys and the girls. We ran a primary and came up with two candidates (a boy and a girl.) Students not elected were given the option to work on a winner's campaign or being a part of the election board.
The election board remains neutral (until the election.) They have important responsibilities such as doling out money to the candidates, keeping track of what they spend on advertising, registering voters, making ballots, and preparing the voting booth.
Each campaign composed of all the rest of the class consists of vice president, treasurer, TV reporter, speech writer and a variety of other roles. Each campaign planned and executed a convention party. This consisted of one half hour for each candidate on a Friday afternoon. They could do whatever they wanted (within reason) to convince their classmates to vote for them. There was food, games, decorations, music and more.
Candidates also participated in a debate, had town hall meetings to discuss issues, made commercials and gave speeches. They also learned about electoral votes and in a surprising twist, I informed them that they each had two states' electoral votes. With 25 students, this accounted for all but Washington D.C. which one of the candidates won in the flip of a coin.
With days until the big date, students are busy polling, preparing, and bribing. Thankfully, it has been a much kinder and gentler campaign than the national election. John McCain and Barack Obama could learn a thing from these two candidates.
If you want to learn more, please click on the link below, or better yet watch their election commercials below. You choose the best candidate!
Election Blog
