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Jessica Nelms

From back: Seneca Middle School sixth-graders Laquesha Moss, Shatia Hunter and Amber Goss browse a bulletin board showcasing photos and articles of presidential and vice presidential candidates.

The general election is now 10 days away, and teachers have been preparing for the big day by providing a variety of instructional activities designed to inform and, in some cases, entertain students.

Tracy Statham, a career specialist at Tamassee-Salem Middle and High School, said the current events class has been following the election for most of the nine-week period.

“Students have created infomercials about the issues and the positions of the candidates regarding those issues,” Statham said, adding that the videos will play on Wednesday and Thursday of next week in the school’s commons area. “They have also made political posters, stickers, conducted polls and will have tables set up through next Wednesday to promote our mock election Oct. 30.”

Statham said the entire school will participate in the mock election — set up through the University of Virginia’s Youth Leadership Initiative —and that the media center will be set up as a poll area.

“Students will run this as one would an actual election site,” Statham said.

Walhalla High teacher Kevin Kiker said he started the process early, providing students with worksheets last January involving the Democratic and Republican Primary candidates and assigning a candidate to them.

“They researched how each candidate stood on the issues and then they reported to the class,” Kiker said. “Each student evaluated each candidate by making a checklist of issues and whether they agreed or disagreed. Then, I had them pick the most important issues for them and allowed them to voice their endorsement for whom they thought was the best choice.”

Kiker added that many students changed their minds on which candidates to support once they gained a better understanding of the issues.

Jeff Leard, an economics teacher at West-Oak High School, is using his field of expertise in regards to the election. Leard said he introduced “(Greg) Mankiw’s Ten Principles of Economics” as the basis for discussion, objectivity and theorizing validity in presidential politics “ranging from the War in Iraq to the banking fiasco.”

“Our class has developed economist-like thinking when deciding which presidential candidate’s platform best suits the needs of individuals and the United States at large,” Leard said. “Each student is encouraged to think like an average citizen and then like an economist, which seeks the greater good and not individual prosperity. Students are objectively seeking their future president, which is a very powerful tool in the hands of bright young minds.”

Henry Tindal, an English teacher at West-Oak High School, is combining research — ranging from analyzing the political speeches of the presidential candidates, the vice-presidential candidates and the candidates’ wives — to satire and humor.

For example, each group is designing bumper stickers, creating cartoons attacking the other candidate, choosing a campaign theme song, writing and delivering a “stump” speech and participating in a “town hall” meeting similar to a debate.

According to Tindal, the unit will culminate with an election day and appropriate festivities Oct. 30 and 31.

Seneca High teacher Wanda Duncan said her students are using Desktop Publishing to prepare a comparative brochure of the candidates.

“They are comparing McCain and Obama — the people and their policies,” Duncan said.

Kathy Crain, educational evaluator, home based at Seneca Middle School, said she was impressed with a bulletin board displayed in the sixth-grade hallway.

“I have delighted to see the students’ interest as they browse the pictures and the articles,” Crain said. “The hallway shows the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the two parties and also posts the presidential candidates’ essays geared to inspire today’s youth to take part.”

Amy Lee, an English teacher at Walhalla Middle School, said her students are researching both Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama through the Internet and newspapers.

“They will be using this research to compare and contrast and write persuasive essays,” Lee said.

Lee added that her class will also study bias and some of the techniques that propagandists use to color the opinions of individuals.

“We are keeping track of periodic class polls to see how opinions change, or don’t change, as students get deeper and deeper into their research,” she said, adding that those efforts will culminate in a classroom debate closer to election time.

Andrew Akers, a teacher at Liberty Middle School, said his class has participated in the “One Vote” on Channel One and discussed both candidates and the issues.

“I also had them write journal entries of why they voted the way they did, and who they thought would be elected,” Akers said. “Also, I have encouraged the kids to watch the debates.”

But even students in lower grade levels are having the opportunity to understand and see firsthand what the political process is all about, starting as early as kindergarten. Chandra Sherley, a kindergarten teacher at Fair-Oak Elementary, said she plans to read the book “Duck for President” to her class.

“We will talk about why he would or would not be a good president,” Sherley said. “We will also talk about what they think is important for a president to be able to handle.”

Clemson Elementary and Six Mile Elementary are both planning mock elections for Nov. 3 — the day prior to the general election. Sarah Turpin, a third-grade teacher at Clemson Elementary, said students registered to vote in September and took home a reminder to parents about the voter registration deadline in South Carolina as well as information on absentee ballots.

“Some of the fifth-graders have been helping to type up Voter Registration Cards for the kids,” Turpin said. “On the Monday before Election Day, many of the first-grade classes will be running the polling stations and after the students cast their ballots, the different ‘precincts’ (grade levels) within the school will be tallied by the first-grade class in charge of the precinct.”

Turpin added that the winner would be announced by students over the school intercom at the end of the day.

Statham feels that students have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the electoral process.

“This has been an educational and exciting time for this group of kids,” Statham said.