Chicago – Mount Carmel High School’s AP American Government classes recently held a mock Presidential Debate and mock School Election, in accordance with the November 7th local and national elections.

Teacher Jim Civik’s two AP classes, one representing the Democratic party and the other representing the Republican party, dedicated weeks of research to the entire project. The effort of the study groups resulted in the selection of five topics that were later presented by both parties at an all-school debate.

Seniors Patrick Crofton and Michael Miles-Cocarro were chosen to represent the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively. The debate, which was held in the Mount Carmel Convocation Center on November 6. With input from the two study groups, Crofton and Miles-Cocarro debated on the issues of the war on terror, education, health care, immigration and energy.

On November 7, Mount Carmel held an election, with 94% of the student body submitting valid ballots. Crofton and the Democratic Party won the elction. Regardless of the outcome, Civik knew the event was vital to the political awareness of all Mount Carmel students.

“I’ve found that the average high school student’s political awareness is fairly limited. That’s a function of the environment a student is raised in,” Civik said. “The political socialization process begins at home, but that process must extend outside of the home. School is the perfect place for this socialization to occur.

“On the day of the event, I told the student body that the next day, their parents, brothers and sisters would vote, and the students’ lives would be forever altered. They may not realize this, but incrementally, elections force significant changes to occur.”

Miles-Cocarro was the perfect fit for the political role. He hopes to be a politician in the future.

“It was interesting to be put in the position I was,” he said. “I learned so much. Even when we argued over all of the topics in class, I learned some valuable lessons that I will use in the future. It’s amazing, when we get into the controversial issues, how people will

stick to their guns, no matter what. Even after people run out of bullets, so to speak, they still keep shooting. Now I have an idea of how politics can work.”

The experience was of equal value for Crofton.

“This experience was definitely different. I’ve never had to talk in front of 900 people before, that’s for sure,” he said. “But it was an honor being the spokesperson for a large group. This entire project was a valuable teaching tool. As students, we jumped right into the issues.

As a young person, you only have a main awareness of political issues. But researching them as deeply as we did allowed me to learn about health care and the environment in a much more concrete way.”

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Matt Kellam, Director of Communication
P: 773-324-1020  x245
F: 773-324-2468
mkellam@mchs.org