PARKVILLE, Mo. — Political science educators in the Kansas City area are meeting the moment and using current events as an opportunity to teach the curriculum.
Dr. Matt Harris has been teaching his American National Government for almost nine years, but his favorite semesters are the ones that fall on an election year.
While Tuesday was only the second day of classes at Park University, they already had a lot of grounds to cover.
"It made me kind of sad that I wasn’t in the classroom, because a lot of big things happened — there was an assassination attempt, there was Joe Biden stepping aside which was really a historic thing," Harris said. "You know, you prepare a lecture everyday or whatever, but those kinds of moments are better because there’s a real enthusiasm to it beyond just like, 'is this gonna be on the test?'"
Harris says it is always better to draw examples from current events rather than pulling from the past, because students understand and relate to them better.
"I feel like it’s pretty important to have in-depth discussions, because this is history we’re living through right now, and we get to experience that firsthand," said Kareem Salame, a freshman studying cyber security at Park University. "Personally, I’m excited because I get to see all this change in history — all this growth. Like, 'Hey, could’ve had this first female president,' or Trump could be re-elected after an assassination attempt. Like, this is all big stuff."
Tuesday’s morning class began with a recap of the Democratic National Convention.
It is the perfect segway into teaching about voter engagement and turnout.
In fact, many of the students in the class will be voting for the first time this November.
"Definitely just trying to catch up as much as I can, so I can be a well-educated voter when it comes to, especially as a woman, too," said Ava Villarreal, a freshman studying secondary education at Park University. "This is like, I’ve never felt more connected with these political issues either. It’s definitely been exciting, and I can’t wait to see, like, 20 years down the line, that it’s in the books."
Students says the ever-changing news cycle and political divide can feel overwhelming, but it is also exciting, and as a teacher in political science, that excitement to engage in dialogue is all Harris can hope for.
“I think it can be really easy to become sort of disengaged, to become cynical of the whole process and there are good reasons for that," Harris said. "The big hope for my students is always that they will become involved, invested, engaged, vote, participate."
—
KSHB 41 anchor/reporter JuYeon Kim covers agricultural issues and the fentanyl crisis. Share your story idea with JuYeon.
