The driving question Joanne asked us was "what does it mean to be an educated voter?" and the follow-up, "are American voters educated?" when we decided that voter education was flawed, Joanne created a project that focuses on helping people vote.
The project we worked on for most of the semester was the Election Project. During the weeks leading up to the presidential election students formed teams to represent different candidates and their platforms. The object of the project was to not just educate ourselves, but the voting population. We also asked questions like "what is patriotism? How do we express political opinions in a educated, peaceful manner?" This election was so polarizing it was difficult to have decent conversation about it. That made exhibition very difficult, while it felt good to educate others, some voters blocked out what I had to say because I was on the Green Party team. I was part of the team representing Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. My role was researching and speaking for Ajamu Baraka, Stein's Vice President. Below are the products of the project, shown at our exhibition and at the school the next day. |
Dear Future PresidentEarly in the semester we wrote a letter to the future president about issues that we felt they should address when they first came into office. This was part of a competition held nationwide to pick a student whose letter would actually be read by the president.
We wrote multiple drafts of the letter and critiqued each other's work to develop our writing. |
Fact Checking VideoA major part of the 2016 election was fact checking, seeing if what the candidates said was in fact true. Through extensive research we determined if major points brought up by the candidates were true.
Working in groups of three, we made a storyboard for our videos, collected footage from various sources, and edited a video within several days. |
DebateThe culmination of the Election Project was our exhibition. The whole point of the project was to educate the public so our exhibition was opened to anyone who wanted to come. Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors all presented our verdicts on different levels of the election.
I took part in a debate that put all candidates, including 3rd party, on a level playing field. Groups representing different parts of each platform debated in front of the public, and later the school. |
Final Reflection
Overall I enjoyed this project and feel that I can use the things I learned later in life. From voting to political conversation, I think that I am better equipped now than before this project. I have come to realize that being an educated voter means knowing all sides of every part of a candidate's platform, checking if candidates are speaking the truth, and being able to respect the opinions of those who disagree with you. That last part is quite hard for me, as with many people, even more so this election. Regardless patients and willingness to listen to learn make disagreement less disagreeable. There are many things to say about outcome of this election, be that amazement, critique, explanations, or praise. Whatever one may be thinking, that is their thought. At the end of the day, that's what is beautiful about our democracy: the range of opinions that can be found within it. I hope that after this trying election year the American people can come together and make (or keep) this country great.