What-Would-Be-Different

Suppose Democrats Albert Gore, Jr. and Joseph Lieberman won the 2000 election instead of Republicans Bush and Chaney. How did they handle the terrorist attack of 9-11-2001? Was there a second Iraq War? What about the economic collapse of 2008? 12th grade Government students will decide the answers to these and other questions by researching Gore and Lieberman and their side of such issues. These students will be voting and helping decide elections for real in the near future. This exercise will give them an opportunity to consider alternatives and formulate their own expectations based on their understanding of the various candidates.  2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.  2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful.  2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.  2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.  2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems.  2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings. 1.1.1 Identify examples of things that have changed and things that have remained the same as students compare their lives with the lives of family members, such as parents and grandparents. 1.1.2 Compare past and present similarities and differences in daily life by using biographies, oral histories, and folklore.  7.1.17 Recognize historical perspective by identifying the historical context in which events occurred, and avoid evaluating the past solely in terms of present-day norms. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">7.1.18 Analyze cause-and-effect relationships, bearing in mind multiple causation, including the importance of individuals, ideas, human interests, beliefs, and chance in history. Keep in mind that there may be more than one cause for an event or movement. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">One set of students is an eighth grade History class. They have studied both World History and US History in the past and have learned to use computers and the internet. Schools are not democracies. The teachers and administrators are in charge, and students have no say in how schools are run. As a result, most students have little interest in real-world politics, as they have little or no experience in choosing their leaders. This exercise should give them an opportunity to experience choosing leaders and influencing political events and processes. It should also reinforce in them the notion that elections are choices, and different choices can be made from time to time. It is hoped they will realize that participating in the political process __does__ matter. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The other set of students is a twelfth grade Government class. Their experiences have been similar, with one addition. Most high schools have a student council and administrative officers. The problem is that these organizations and officers have no real power to effect change in the school or the community. Again, the school runs the school. This reinforces the notion in the students’ minds that participation in democracy is an exercise in futility, that individual choice is meaningless. This exercise will give the students a chance to express their opinions and evaluate candidates and issues. In the near future, they will be out in the real world, with the opportunity to vote in real elections. Perhaps this exercise will cultivate some interest among the students in the political process, and instill in them an interest in evaluating candidates and issues, which could serve them well in the future. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">This exercise should work in any school—urban or rural, rich or poor, large or small. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">new evidence; and makes decisions for actions based on the best evidence obtained. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Those who have not matured on information fluency start with a conclusion and select <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">limited evidence gathering for the purpose of locating only the information that will <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">support their initial conclusion.” (Callison, Information Fluency, Key Instructional Word, School Library Media Activities Monthly, In press, Spring 2004). In this exercise, both classes will gather evidence and discuss and formulate their own conclusions as to the mythical administration’s handling of actual events. They will not “start with a conclusion,” but will start with a task to form conclusions based on the evidence gathered. The 12th grade class should be more adept at this task than the younger class. This exercise should better equip both groups to make decisions on who to vote for and what to expect of them in future actual elections. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">8th grade lesson: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Time: 2 hours <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">First hour: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Explain the objective to students. They are to determine how things would have been different if Hubert Humphrey and Edmund Muskie had been elected President and Vice President in the 1968 election instead of Nixon and Agnew. They are to perform research on the internet to find authoritative and useful information about Humphrey and Muskie, using a pathfinder to be found at [] as a guide. They may visit other sites not on the recommended list if they wish. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Second hour: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Lead the students in a discussion of how a Humphrey-Muskie administration would have dealt with the Vietnam War, the invasion of Cambodia, the rapid increase in the price of oil and gasoline in the early 70s and inflation, based on their prior knowledge and information obtained through the research of the first hour. There are no right or wrong answers, but the group should reach a consensus on how these issues would have been handled by the mythical administration. They should briefly discuss things that did not happen, such as Watergate, the resignation of the President and Vice President, and the secretive, paranoid Nixon administration. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">12th grade lesson: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Time: 2hours <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">First hour: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Explain the objective to students. They are to determine how things would have been different if Albert Gore, Jr. and Joseph Lieberman had been elected in the 2000 election instead of Bush and Chaney. They should perform research on the internet to find authoritative and useful information about Gore and Lieberman using a pathfinder to be found at [] as a guide. Students of this level should be able to recognize biased and blatantly inaccurate information as well. They may visit other relevant sites as well. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Second hour: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Lead the students in a discussion of how things would have been different during a Gore-Lieberman administration, based on their prior knowledge and their research. There are no right or wrong answers, but the group should reach a consensus on what would have happened, or not happened and how things would have been handled by the mythical administration. Would the terrorist attack of 9-11-2001 have happened? If so, what would have been the response? Would the US invade Afghanistan and/or Iraq? What would be the outcome? What about Gitmo and the Patriot Act? The Department of Homeland Security? Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath? The economic meltdown of 2008? Would Barack Obama have been elected? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Humphrey-Muskie Pathfinder <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Gore-Lieberman Pathfinder <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Checklist of discussion issues 1969-1976 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Checklist of discussion issues 2001-2008 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Computers with internet access <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">12th grade students are at a higher level of maturation than the 8th grade students. Accordingly, they should show more depth and logical thinking in their research and discussion than the younger students. Also, the 2000 election is more current and a deeper understanding of the issues should be present in the 12th grade group. The younger group knows about Vietnam and 30 cent gasoline only through their parents and history books, while the older group has lived through the period in question. Specific student products are not included in this exercise. It is designed to get them to think—not just produce a paper or a PowerPoint. It is hoped they will apply this thinking process in voting and participating in real elections in the future. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Presidents Humphrey and Gore: How Are Things Different? **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Overview: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Suppose the 1968 presidential election went the other way. Eighth grade History students will determine how a Humphrey-Muskie administration dealt with events and issues that we know occurred during those years—the Vietnam War, oil shortages and the increasing price of oil, inflation, and so on. They will make these determinations by researching the backgrounds of Humphrey and Muskie and determining their stands on the various issues. Under this scenario, there was no invasion of Cambodia (or was there?), no resignation by the President or the Vice President, no Watergate scandal, no Nelson Rockefeller flipping the bird to crowds of jeering hippies. How were things different? More than a game of “what-if,” this exercise will deepen the students’ understanding of the cause and effect relationships in American Politics.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Standards for Learning: **
 * <span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">2. Learners use skills, resources, and tools to draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge. **<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">2.1 Skills **<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Student audience: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Collaboration: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> This exercise would work best as a collaborative effort between a librarian and classroom teachers, in order to guide students through research, evaluation of candidates and issues, and reaching reasonable conclusions.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Inquiry Skill: “ **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The mature information user understands and applies the guiding principles of scientific research methods. Most important, this mature information user seeks all evidence from as many legitimate sources as possible; analyzes the evidence gathered; is always open to
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Teacher Materials: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Student Learning Materials: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Lesson Comparison: **
 * <span style="display: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">HHHHH **