Major elections are fertile teaching ground for our students and the 2016 presidential race is richer than any in recent history. The salty rhetoric and highly charged topics that have characterized the presidential race and the debates have become an important part of classroom discussions about our democracy. Here are examples of what the electoral discussions look like inside two ACPS classrooms.
Eighth-grade civics teacher Javaughn Perkins at George Washington Middle School discusses with Voice of America the challenges of incorporating election coverage into his class because of the unusually harsh rhetoric and sensitive topics that have been woven throughout the campaign.
Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Government Teacher Andrew Orzel facilitates a discussion with his AP government students at T.C. Williams High School about the importance of presidential debates as part of the democratic process as featured on PBS NewsHour.