2016 US Election is Hard for Civics Teachers

2016 US Election is Hard for Civics Teachers

Has the American election campaign been difficult to watch?

Imagine if you had to explain it to a class of middle school students.

Every four years, teachers in the United States explain how the government works by talking with students about the presidential campaign.

But this year, some civics teachers report having difficulty when discussing the campaign. They had to explain concerns about candidates’ behavior and a lack of substance in the political debate.

Javaughn Perkins is a teacher at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia. He likes to have students watch campaign advertisements to look for their tools of persuasion¹.

Perkins thinks that by the age of 12 or 13 years, students are at a good age to start learning about government. However, the ups and downs of the election campaign has made this year more difficult.

"There used to be a time when I could literally² come in, we'd pop on the Washington Post (newspaper) or CNN or any of the other websites, and I could just go right to the front page and [say], 'Let's have a conversation.'"

Perkins says that this year, newspaper stories are not always a good subject for 8th grade students. One example is the leaked video of candidate Donald Trump³ talking about sexually harassing⁵ women.

When Trump made fun of a disabled person, Perkins was again not sure how to talk about it with his class.

"When that initially⁶ broke, I had some thoughts about coming in and us having a conversation, and I held off."

Perkins felt that it would have directed students’ attention away from teaching government, and would not have helped the school’s anti-bullying efforts.

Students noticing the difference

Students appear to be noticing the problem, too. When Perkins asked his students how the campaigns have changed over the years, they felt that the political climate has changed. They said it now is more harmful --or bad -- than before.

"The older candidates were more formal, more structured. They mainly focused on topics that were concerning at the time such as wars. But now they're just like, 'Let's point as many fingers as we can at the other person.' It's childish! It's ridiculous! It's an embarrassment⁸ to this country!"

Perkins says the lack of discussion on major issues in the campaign has made his job harder.

"I've had less and less to choose from that will actually, again, get at the issues, even the candidates, in a very real way."

Alternative methods

While many teachers like to have mock debates in the classroom before an election, even that exercise is risky⁹.

Brent Wathke, a teacher at DeLong Middle School, told The New York Times that a debate could invite students to say insulting words.

Instead, he had his class talk about the election campaign using “Socratic circles.” He separated the students into small groups, and had them use work sheets to answer questions that he asked.

His method was to let the students direct their own debate, and not step in unless he felt it was necessary.

One of his students told The New York Times, “I think if you repeat some of the stuff that Trump says, you could get sent to the principal’s office. Maybe even expelled.”

The 8th grade students will not vote in a presidential election until 2024. This gives teachers one more chance to teach them about the U.S. elections.

Words in This Story

civics - n. the study of the rights and duties of citizens and of how government works?

bully⁷ - n. someone who frightens, hurts, or threatens smaller or weaker people?

conversation - n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people?

formal - adj. requiring or using serious and proper clothes and manners?

harass⁴ - v. to annoy or bother someone in a constant or repeated way?

literal - adj. involving the ordinary or usual meaning of a word?

mock - v. to laugh at or make fun of someone or something by copying an action or a way of behaving or speaking?

principal - n. the person in charge of a public school?

1 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

2 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

5 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

8 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。