DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT ELECTING THE U.S. PRESIDENT? A Classroom Skype Invitation

BEAM ME IN TO DISCUSS THE AMERICAN ELECTION PROCESS

The Presidential Election of 2012 is about a year away. Americans will go to the polls on Tuesday November 6, 2012.

While the campaigning is already well underway among the Republican ranks, the real business of choosing a candidate in 2012 to face President Obama, the presumptive Democratic candidate, will soon be in full swing. The marathon of caucuses, primaries, conventions and delegate counts will begin in earnest in early 2012 and preoccupy the nation for most of the year.

That makes this a good time to get a handle on America's crazy quilt of election history and rules.

In a session lasting approximately 30 minutes, I would like to use Skype to "Beam in" to your classrooms this Fall 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