• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

February 2, 2016 Classroom Management

20 More Weeks of Blizzards: A Groundhog's Day Pred-Election

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Jake Miller

Mr. Jake Miller is the 2016 National History Day Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, a 2017 NEA Global Fellow to China, and a former candidate for county-wide office. Miller has written more than 500 articles, most of which have appeared on The Educator's Room. He's the opening contributor to TER's book When the Fire Is Gone. Learn more about Jake at www.MrJakeMiller.com
  • The Student-Teaching Model Is Outdated: Here's How We Can Do Better - September 15, 2021
  • Visualize: How Seeing What's Coming Changed My Teaching - August 16, 2021
  • 10 Lessons About Teaching from My Youngest Son - June 24, 2021
  • Ending the Epithet “Try-Hard” Once and for All in Classrooms - June 18, 2021
  • From STEM, Let's Pivot to the BRANCHES of the Humanities - May 25, 2021
  • Would Education Collapse If Teachers Stopped Working for Free? - May 20, 2021
  • 10 Ways to Teach Like Ted Lasso: Part II - April 21, 2021
  • 8 Tips So Your Substitute Plans Don't Suck - April 14, 2021
  • 10 Ways to Teach Like Ted Lasso: Part I - March 12, 2021
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 3 - First Things First - February 26, 2021

Today marks the 129th year that Punxsutawney Phil (well, maybe the 30th version of him) will come out of his burrow to either see his shadow or not, declaring whether winter will be extended by 6 weeks, or whether spring is pending.

However, after today, there's still 20 more weeks of blizzards to endure. They don't smash snow in your face, instead, they bring television, radio, and print ads. There will be phone calls pleading for money. There will be hurt feelings. There will be heated rivalries and contentiousness.

There will also be a time for a lesson.

Teachers, do not eschew the teachable moment that is the 2016 election. It has been one of the most bizarre in the modern era thus far, and we need to capitalize on this moment by teaching our students - and modeling good citizenship ourselves. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Yes, you can model good citizenship by voting. Are you registered to vote? Do you vote? In the local elections last year, less than 20% of eligible voters turned out on Election Day. However, nearly 85% of our teachers voted. That means the politicians came to us, trying to earn our vote by learning about issues that were important to teachers.

Be non-partisan in your education. Our profession has been labeled "the most liberal in America," but that hardly stops a good teacher from teaching fairly about issues. Encourage students to go to the source: the party or candidates' webpages (especially through Ballotpedia) are good places to start. Then have them play devil's advocate and challenge the authenticity of the issues.

1.Try to add some fun. The New York Times (though 2011) has a few fun ideas that vary through age groups, such as debate day bingo, mock election, visiting polling places with an adult, and contacting city hall. Scholastic Magazine also has a few more items (though more for elementary).

2.Teach them the vocabulary. What's the difference between a primary and a caucus? What's an absentee ballot? Why do you have to be 18 to vote? What's a swing state? The Huffington Post does a great job of discussing these issues.

3.Share the Winston Churchill quote "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all others that have been tried." Have students debate this.

4.Have students debate certain issues within the school. Tip O'Neill once said that "all politics are local." That can't be any more true than in school. What issues do they think need to be solved at your school? What ones would they protect? How could they save money or spend it better?

5.Connect students to elected officials. Invite them to your class (you'd be surprised how much they love to come to schools). Have students write letters, or write a class letter. Call their office and video conference. Whatever it takes, teach students that their government is there to serve them, and that it's their job to

6.Teach students how to budget. In a world with unlimited needs and limited resources, we have to pick and choose where and how we spend our money. That applies at home as well as with tax money. Students need to know that there aren't blank checks. Click here to provide a few lessons. Then, after you teach them about this issue, have them look at the National Debt clock. Decorate your room with "mind blown" memes that day.

7.Ask students if they plan to vote. Some people just have such little faith in the process that they will not participate. Others can't wait. It'd be great to hear what the students say for themselves.

8.Empower them to be part of (and maybe even run) their democratic-republic. Somebody out there is teaching the next President of the United States. Somebody else is teaching the next Speaker of the House. Others are teaching governors, members of the Cabinet, and future school board members. Don't blow the opportunity to provide the lesson.

In closing, I'd like you to think of Phil Connors, Bill Murray's character from the movie - aptly titled - Groundhog Day. Connors, a TV weather man, hates Groundhog Day as much as the average teacher hates elections. But it's not until he embraced his spirit of the community is he able to stop the painful day from repeating itself over and over again.

May we learn that lesson, too. Elections seem like they've gone down the path of repetition. We can move onto a new day - if and when we embrace the idea of participating in and teaching about the importance of Election Day.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Teachers In Action: From the Classroom to the Convention Default ThumbnailUse Your Holiday Break to Get Political Default ThumbnailDealing With Dress Code Conflict Standardized Protesting
« I Just Left #ECET2 and I am…
Math for the 21st Century Student »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It
  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.