(I feel like this should be a regular series.)
I am positive that many of my students following the primary elections thought me a huge, stinking liar while following the fall of Eric Cantor. For they have been told that Virginia (enter airy, idealic music and images of birds fluttering and chirping over the dawning of a new day over a pastoral landscape) has open primaries that use public declaration. And that is it. So then, pray tell, how is it that Ed Gillespie was nominated as the GOP's candidate for the US Senate against Senator Mark Warner in a closed-door, members-only convention? Yeah, I lied. So did the textbook. I mean, if you look at Politico's analysis of the primaries, it gets even more complex.
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Remember Elbridge Gerry? and the dreaded Gerrymander? This is the day we talk Gerrymanders, Gimpy Legs, Amoeba Conventions, and Bottle Openers. What am I talking about? These are all names given to recent Congressional districts that had been 'drawn' by state legislatures. For a great upload on this topic, I highly suggest you read this 2012 Atlantic Monthly article by Robert Draper. I find redistricting fascinating. Apparently, I am not the only one. If you spend enough time looking into this, you start to wonder if this isn't where the real controversy lies. After all, it really does matter what district you live in, and the impact your vote may have. But redistricting can be so, well, boring. Or challenging. I like to start my kids off with understanding what it is precisely. Specifically, who is involved, what they are doing, and what they have to consider when they are redistricting. They being, in most states, the party in power of the state legislatures. What better tool for kids then a game? Specifically, the ReDistricting Game? (Warning, this could go on for days. I have my kids play the first option, basic... at a minimum. They can play more, time permitting.) GovGurus everywhere have cited this game as a great resource, because it is! You can get into partisan gerrymandering and incumbent protection once you have mastered those primary considerations that redistricting folks have to respect (from the 14th Amendment)... which, in a nutshell, are...
There is another great resource that gets into packing, tacking, and cracking... is the Brennan Center's A Citizen's Guide to Redistricting. It was published in 2008, but things haven't changed so much (with the exception of the overhaul of VRA section 4 & 5 after Shelby v Holder.) I have a webquest up for sale on my website that uses these resources; $1.50 for the webquest and answers! (This lesson plan will be up for sale shortly; it is under construction.) I find these three resources as a great way to help kids get a handle on what is going on in the state legislatures, usually around the years ending in 1, but sometimes more frequently than that. It will also be touched on when we talk about campaign finance, specifically with the group Project REDMAP. |
Jen's bookshelf: nerdcation
I want to start by thanking Mr. Snowden and Mr. Greenwald for their uncompromising dedication to giving the NSA violations air time and transparency.
I wanted to share some of the most important things I have learned from this book bef...
tagged:
nerdcation
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
tagged:
nerdcation and to-read
AuthorI lovgov. LOVE IT! I love teaching government, learning about it, debating, discussing, asking questions about government. And not the standard boiler plate questions, but the hard ones that are NOT in the books. Archives
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