Teaching the 2020 Election and Beyond

by Mary Ellen Daneels, Civics Instructional Specialist

The 2020 election provides a unique teachable moment for #CivicsInTheMiddle classrooms to explore issues around power, representation, and justice as candidates for state and federal office answer the essential question, “How should we live together?” in their platforms that delineate a vision for policy and practice to create a “more perfect union.”

IllinoisCivics.org provided a preview of things to come this week with a webinar through the Lake County Regional Office of Education on Teaching the 2020 Election and Beyond. Dr. Shawn Healy, Director of the Democracy Program at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, began with an update on the state of the race, the “veepstakes”, upcoming conventions, electoral college scenarios, current polling, and fundraising data. Dr. Healy also gave a preview of ballot questions unique to the Land of Lincoln including an amendment to the Illinois Constitution relating to graduated state income taxes as well as races for the Illinois State Supreme Court.

Many educators have reservations in addressing the upcoming election season with the current climate of polarization. IllinoisCivics.org created an Election 2020 Toolkit to support classrooms in using this teachable moment to meet both the middle and high school civic course requirements with high-quality resources that align with civic learning practices and the Illinois Social Science standards. Educators can view a recording of the webinar, Teaching the 2020 Election and Beyond, to gather ideas and resources for classroom use.

IllinoisCivics.org will be offering a series of webinars in the fall to support #Teach2020. Each webinar will provide both disciplinary content and pedagogy to support student engagement, whether in the classroom or in a remote learning environment. Webinar topics to date include: IllinoisCivics.org is also partnering with our friends at the Mikva Challenge to offer free training for both teachers and students around the elections. Details are emerging, so check the IllinoisCivics.org Professional Development Calendar often for new offerings.

What are you doing to #Teach2020? Please comment below. Together, we can prepare ALL students for college, career, and civic life.

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