A Candidate Should Always Renounce His Words Carefully

Published May 09, 2008
Politics and civics are hard to understand. Students often confuse their facts. Malapropisms and misunderstandings abound, to the amusement and frustration of every teacher.  But one encouraging development has to be young people participating in the political process on the web. Blogging, facebooks and texting have changed the face of American politics forever. With that in mind brace yourself for  these short answers to typical civics questions about the political process.
 
 
  • Universal suffrage means that even the illegible get to vote.
  • The difference between a king and a president is that a king is the son of his father but a president is not.
  • It is possible to get the majority of electoral votes without getting the majority of popular votes. Anyone who can ever understand how this works gets to be president.
  • Some of our presidents never did much else and are famous only because they became president.
  • The president has the power to appoint and disappoint the members of his cabinet.
  • Much has been said about balancing the budget. It has been found that the budget is more talkable than balanceable.
  • The campaign is when the candidate tells what he stand for and the election is when the votes tell if they can stand for his being elected.
  • Actually, elections are different from politics. Elections come and go while politics are with us all the time.
  • The winning candidate is elected and inoculated.
  • In January, the president makes his Inaugural Address after he has been sworn at.
  • Once he is elected, sometimes the president has to work 24 hours a day until he finds out what he is supposed to do.
  • The nominees are usually called candidates or campaigners although I have heard them called other things.
  • One of the strictest rules is all dark horses running for  president must be people.
  • Popular votes tell who is the most popular. Electoral votes tell who is the most elected.
  • A caucus is something people vote in. Sort of a small booth.
  • An overwhelming favorite is a candidate that often comes over to the convention and whelms the delegates.
  • The jobs of delegates is to resent their states.
  • Noncommittal is to be able to talk and talk without saying anything.
  • Political science is to try to figure out what makes candidates act that way.
  • A split ticket is when you don't like any of them on the ticket so you tear it up.
  • When they talk about the most promising presidential candidate, they mean the one who can think of the most things to promise.
  • Political strategy is when you don't let people know you have run out of ideas and keep shouting anyway.
  • A candidate should always renounce his words carefully.
  • We are learning how to make our election results known quicker and  quicker. It is our campaigns we are having trouble getting any shorter.
  • Campaigns give us a great deal of happiness by their finally ending.
The original version of this was supposedly circulated in the Boston Globe. If you read this and know where it should be attributed, please let us know by sending an email to information@privateschoolreview.com
 
 

Read Related Teaching Articles:

  • Cellphones In School
    Cellphones are leading the wave of the future. Convergence is here. It is changing the way students learn and how teachers teach.
  • Are You a 21st Century Teacher?
    21st century schools need 21st century teachers. Are you a 21st century teacher?
  • Froebel, Montessori and Steiner: Champions of Children
    Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner were trail blazers in early education.
  • Don't Leave Any Evidence!
    Future and current employers can find out all sorts of things about you these days. Make sure that you don't leave behind any damning electronic evidence.
  • Gay Teachers
    Several prep schools have pushed the envelope of diversity by allowing committed same sex couples to live on campus in school housing.
  • Interactive Learning the Harkness Way
    Students sitting in rows of desks listening to a teacher lecture? You are not likely to find this scenario in a school which uses Harkness Tables.
  • What's In A Grade?
    The letter grade at one school may or may not be the same as the letter grade scheme at another school. Some answers to the inconsistencies here.
  • A Teacher's Influence
    Never underestimate the influence you have on your students. You may not think that you are getting through, but you are! This little bit of fiction shows the influence teachers had on some famous people.

Humor

Teacher Training

  • Becoming A Teacher Later
    Many people have successful careers only to realize that something is missing. Teaching can satisfy that missing 'something'. Explore the possibilities of becoming a teacher in your 30's, 40's and even your 50's.
  • How Do You Become a Private School Teacher?
    How do you become a private school teacher? We look at internships, licensing and more.
  • The Pros and Cons of Teaching Overseas
    Hundreds of private schools (and for that matter, public schools) outside the United States will be happy to have you as a teacher for a few years.
  • What Is Praxis?
    Praxis is part of the teacher licensing process many states require.

All Categories:

Featured Partners:

Featured Partner