Seniors in Participation in Government classes recently interviewed Morgan Zegers and Carrie Woerner, the two candidates running for the 113th Assembly District. The future constituents used newspapers, websites, social media and live public forums to get to know the candidates, both personally and professionally. This authentic learning experience helped students not only obtain information, but also critically evaluate and synthesize it to come up with questions for each candidate.
Here is what some of the students had to say about the project:
“The project in which I just completed was very fascinating and has really impacted me to get involved in my government…the world isn’t perfect [but] you can’t just sit back and watch…I have to try to help.”
“I found this project to be a great leaning opportunity…I learned a lot more about how government works and the election process. My favorite part of this project was going to the debate at the town hall [in Schuylerville].”
“This project was fun because I got to learn more about politics and the politicians running for my area. I even learned who I would vote for, if I was able to vote.”
“I was never interested in politics before…but this [preparing for the interview] made me want to become more aware about what is happening. It [the interview] was mainly my favorite part…being able to meet them and being able to hear their voices instead of reading about them, was a way to get the truth. The media often twists the truth for their own purpose.”
“I though it was kind of cool to have people that would represent us [in government] actually come to our school. I have never done anything like this before.”