11/3/2008 3:38:00 PM Presidential candidates debate in Wayzata
Seventh grader Abiye Agbeh, flanked by a Secret Service agent, played the part of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a mock town hall meeting held at Wayzata West Middle School. PHOTO: MARK TROCKMAN
The secret service agents huddled and hovered. Their suits were pressed, their chins were set and their eyes were unwavering.
They had a big job to fill. They were guarding some of the nation's most prominent politicians - politicians like Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and Norm Coleman - at a town hall debate.
Luckily, these agents were not in any danger, nor were their charges. The debate was a staged event, a dress rehearsal of sorts. Everyone involved, from the secret service agents to the candidates to the audience asking the questions, were students at Wayzata West Middle School. This mock debate was the culminating event of an election unit covered by seventh graders.
Being there, however, one might never guess that the students involved were actually too young to vote in the real-world election taking place this week.
Selected audience members asked pointed questions to the candidates like, "What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the American economy?" and "How will you make sure that American students can complete with students around the world?" and "What will you do to end the war in Iraq?"
The candidates gave direct answers, using appropriate buzz words like bail-out plan, off-shore drilling, ethanol, foreclosure crisis and No Child Left Behind.
For good measure, the word "maverick" was tossed about. Joe-the-Plumber even got a mention.
Clearly, these kids had been watching and listening to stump speeches. They had also been paying astute attention to the issues.
They have their teachers to thank. Not only did they study the democratic process in social studies, they learned how to read poll data and count up the Electoral College in math.
In language arts, they scrutinized campaign propaganda. In science class, they analyzed public speeches to determine which speaking techniques have the greatest impact on a crowd.
Throughout it all, each student had a vested interest in the material, for each student had been assigned a role. Some were the candidates, some were the candidates' wives and some were Secret Service agents. There were also reporters, TV anchors, campaign managers and speech writers.
This is the third time that seventh graders at Wayzata West have participated in an election unit and town-hall debate like this, said Megan Speers, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at the school. She also led students through this unit during the 2000 and 2004 elections.
"One of the coolest things about this unit is that it's not just in social studies class. It's in every one of the core classes," said Speers.
"There is no better way to learn about something than to immerse yourself in it. By being immersed, your knowledge goes deeper because you start to understand that everything builds on everything else," Speers said.
"The kids become so informed, so interested," she said. "They are getting interested in the democratic process and they are becoming knowledgeable citizens."
Knowledgeable seventh graders, however, have a way of putting the adults in their lives on the spot. Speers smiled. Yes, she too had fallen pray to the quizzical nature of her informed students.
"I feel like I have to read the newspaper every day and watch all of the debates," she said. "This year, for the first time ever, I actually got called for poll and I couldn't hang up. I had to say yes. I thought, 'I better experience this if I'm going to teach it,'" Speers said.
And teach it she has, to the utmost degree. Each of her students was highly engaged at Friday's event, an impressive feat given their town-hall debate ran more than hour long. Not one yawn was counted on stage.
Speers, though, would be quick to point out that equal credit is due to her colleagues. All three seventh grade teams participate in this unit.
Plus, because the seventh graders are playing the role of campaign workers and politicians, they need to practice their speeches on someone. This means that they take their shows to rooms down the hall. Sixth graders, eighth graders, parent volunteers and teachers on prep hour all get roped in to hearing stump speeches.
And of course, just like in the real world, emotions can run high when touchy campaign subjects surface. However, said Speers, teachers stress from the get go that students are playing a part for the purpose of learning the democratic process. Students are often assigned roles in campaigns they might not favor.
They will all get a chance to speak their minds on Election Day. When adults go to the polls on Nov. 4, seventh graders at Wayzata West will hold their own election and students can then vote for whichever candidates they choose.
No matter how the election shakes out, however, Wayzata West seventh graders will be the winners as they will each carry with them an enthusiasm for voting.
John Henrich, one of the seventh graders who played the role of a Secret Service agent, will also take away a nugget or two as to what it is like to actually have that job.
"I was a Secret Service agent for Hillary Clinton," Henrich said. "I had to follow her around and even sit next to her at lunch."
"It's hard to keep a straight face. None of the Secret Service agents smile and this is important because you can't look like you're joking around. You have to look serious," he said.
Aly Tisthammer also learned the importance of keeping a straight face. She played the role of a TV anchor person. "I watched the news a lot to figure out how the anchors use facial expressions, talk with their hands, and what their wardrobe is like," she said.
"They are very good at controlling their emotions," Tisthammer said. "I think it's hard to keep a straight face."
Apekshya Panda, who played the role of a key advisor to Barack Obama, will take away an appreciation for just how much research a speech writer must do.
And Maddie Honke, who played the role of reporter, will also take away a newfound appreciation for journalism. "I learned that you have to be prepared. You have to ask all your questions when you can because you don't get second chances," she said.
