For those of you who may be interested, I'm running for President of the United States. Really! I made the front page of the Orange County Register and the Press Enterprise today. Here's a link to one of the articles.
Presidential Pipe Dreamers

You've moved onto my list as one my top three candidates! Good luck!

At least your reason makes sense. Good luck!

What a neat lesson for your students. I wish you had been my social studies teacher. All my teachers had us doing was memorizing names and dates -- two things at which I am horrendous. And since most of the names and dates were for wars and other non-cheery events, you can understand why social studies was the only academic subject I hated. (I did intensely dislike some of the non-academic subjects; gym and hand-writing tied for the two most-detested subjects overall.) I strongly suspect that had you been my teacher, I would have enjoyed the class as much as I did my language classes -- and that is saying a lot.

Too bad your students are too young to vote. (No pun intended.) Even without knowing your platform, I would be jumping up and down for joy if you proved to be the nominee for the Democrats. I'll take you over the other candidates in either major party any day. At least you strike me as being that rarest of beasts: an honest politician.

Joy,
Lynn

p.s., I just started looking over the list of candidates. I must admit I like "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA." The name about sums up what I think of the current big-name candidates. (I'm assuming that that name is supposed to sound like someone running away in fear -- perhaps with an expression like that of the fellow in the lower-left corner of the Action Comics #1, as seen on this page.)

Way to go, Susan! I wish I could be an American citizen for a day so I could vote for you...
(Besides, what's not to love in a redhead with a Lois Lane haircut?)

What a great article--and again, congratulations on your run for office! .

But honestly, I am really impressed by you doing this--bringing the world into your classroom. Making what is happening around your students accessible to your students. Showing them that they can make a difference.

If a teacher would have had even the thought of doing this while I was in their class? Can not even imagine how excited I would be ! That would be one class--one year of school--one project--that I would never forget. I'm sure your students feel the same.

I've always been impressed by your writing...but really, so much more than that, I'm impressed by you.

Very cool, Susan!
Laura (who thinks it's pretty awesome to be friends with a presidential canidate ).

I showed the article to one of the Social Studies teachers at the school I work for. He went into a rant about how none of the top candidates are qualified, and how he's trying to teach his Government students to do actual research on all the candidates instead of just listening to soundbites.

I told him he should run. He gave me a horrified look and almost ran out of the library.

Annie, I don't know whether to laugh or to sigh at your story. It, in a nutshell, illustrates why we are stuck with the main candidates -- anyone who has a shred of either sanity or humility would never put themselves through the grueling process necessary to become president in modern America. (Susan, I absolutely am not implying anything about you -- you are not running with the intent of actually becoming president, and you are not going to put yourself through the -- shall we say 'inferno'? -- that the big-name candidates must endure as they attempt to win the presidency.) So in my opinion, what we have -- in both major parties, and in pretty much every major election, at least since I've been old enough to pay any attention to politics -- is a bunch of egomaniacs who are willing to do whatever it takes to gain the power seat.

I know that if I were asked to consider running a serious campaign to become president, I would have the exact same reaction as your colleague.

Joy,
Lynn

The media scrutiny that comes with a major campaign is absolutely intimidating. Who doesn't have something in their life that they'd rather not want the entire world to know? I laugh at the future headline, "President Young Writes Naughty Fanfiction!" I'm sure there are good people with great ideas for the country that wouldn't dream of putting themselves and their families through the gauntlet.

My students had to research the Democratic and Republican party platforms to understand what each side stands for. Most kids say they belong to whatever party their parents belong to - I think it's important to think critically and not just accept what people tell you. They also had to research third parties and minor candidates, and had to investigate what each of the major candidates supports. Each student has had to write a pro/con position paper for the campaign - Young4President officially supports whatever my kids tell me to support. I'm trying to maintain my personal neutrality, because this isn't about my personal beliefs; rather, it's giving a voice to what my students believe. My goal is for them to want to become informed voters, interested in making critical choices based on evidence. Wherever their evidence and their personal beliefs leads them is fine by me.

The feedback from the article has been amazing and very positive. I'm so glad I've been able to highlight the good work my students do every day. Public education doesn't have to be about endless testing - it should be about true learning, and that comes from doing. Students who are interested and engaged can do great things.

Thanks for the support, everyone!

Man oh man oh man oh man, I wish you had been my social studies teacher! Your class actually sounds both useful and fun -- in short, the antithesis of the classes I endured. And just to make it clear: I loved almost all of my academic classes - from Latin and Greek to computer programming. It was just social studies that I found mind-numbingly boring. I have no doubt whatsoever that had you been my teacher, I would have had a very different attitude toward the subject. You seem to be as good a teacher as you are a fanfic writer -- and that is high praise indeed.

Joy,
Lynn

Why was it that my first thought was, "Groobie will be a better President than pretty much all of the mainstream candidates!"

BECAUSE YOU WOULD BE.

Not that I'm cynical or anything.

Nice one Groobster. I'd vote for you!!

Obvious stupid question - what would you do if you somehow won?

Thanks for the support, everyone!


Quick, cynical answer: Same as every other politician...nothing!

Slightly less quick, but still cynical answer: Pretty much nothing - the President has very little Constitutional power; Congress has the most power, and they're mired in gridlock.

Completely practical answer: It's a moot point - I can't win because I'm currently not on the ballot. Declaring your intention to run is merely step one - step two is actually getting into the primaries or caucuses in each state in order to get the party nomination. I did have my classes investigate how to get me on the ballot in each state, though. Tennessee would be easiest - it would take the signatures of 250 registered voters. Several states will let me on as a write-in candidate with little or no paperwork.

Answer that reveals the next step for my project: A few days ago, I was contacted to participate in a project - create a four minute video answering the question, "What is your plan for America?" The videos will be online and people can vote for them in a NCAA bracket-style tournament. Final two get to have an online debate right before the November 2016 election. So after winter break, I'm going to have my students start brainstorming answers to that question and create that video. Ultimately, the kids are in charge of this project - they shape what Young4President officially believes in, so I'll let them answer your question.

Susan, who lives 20 minutes from San Bernardino and at the very least would assure the world that Donald Trump does not speak for me or most Americans.

My hat is off to you for doing this, even though it's not with the expectation of winning. Your students are learning a valuable lesson about the whole political process. Are you going to have mock voting for them to take part in?

Also, are you familiar with this website?