SORRY!
THIS SERIES OF SKYPE SESSIONS HAS BEEN FULLY BOOKED. PLEASE WATCH FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS OF FUTURE SKYPE PROGRAMS HERE ON THE WEBSITE, OR YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER OR FACEBOOK. THANKS!
BEAM ME IN TO DISCUSS THE AMERICAN ELECTION PROCESS
The Presidential Campaign of 2012 is underway. Americans will go to the polls on Tuesday November 6, 2012.
The marathon of caucuses, primaries, conventions and delegate counts will soon begin in earnest and preoccupy the nation for most of the year.
That makes 2012 a good time to get a handle on America’s crazy quilt of election history and rules. Beginning in January 2012, I will visit classrooms via Skype to discuss America’s election history and the 2012 campaign.
In a session lasting approximately 30 minutes, I would like to use Skype to “Beam in” to your classrooms to engage your students on the basics of the Presidency and the American election process. I will speak briefly, then take questions from students in a wide-ranging conversation about a system that doesn’t always seem to make sense.
Here are some of the topics I have in mind–
-Why a President? When they were inventing the American system of government back in 1787, how did those men decide what the office of the President should be?
-Who elected George Washington and what’s different today? How has the process of electing the President changed since George Washington won the office first back in 1789?
-Is the Electoral College a Party School? The Constitution doesn’t specifically mention the “Electoral College.” What is it? Do I need good SAT scores to get in? Most important, why do we still have it?
-Do we need a President? Are the problems of the country too big for one Chief Executive to handle? Maybe we should split the job up. Benjamin Franklin thought we should have three men to do the job. Was he right?
If you would like to organize a free Skype session, please go to the website Contact page and send me an email request. Please be sure to include the name and location of your school, how many students are in your class, and the grade level. The schedule and dates of the sessions will be set at a mutually convenient time. (Please note: A limited number of Skype visits will be scheduled based on my availability.)
I would also encourage you to consider turning this into a “FAMILY EVENT” by inviting parents and other family members into the classroom to make this an exciting discussion about the role of voting and citizenship in our democracy.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Very best,
Kenneth C. Davis
Don't Know Much About@ History: Anniversary Edition