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Every four years, Americans around the country go to local polling stations to vote for the presidential candidate they feel best represents them and their values who will best lead our country. 

The latest presidential elections less than two weeks away will have a huge impact on our nation, so it is important when you are of voting age to be informed on what is going on in the political world.

There are teachers at Bellwood-Antis who believe that learning about the elections is of great importance, especially in our current political climate.  One such teacher is Mr. Matthew Elder, who teaches Problems of Democracy and Current Events.

“Elections are a vital part of the political process, so understanding the process and what different things will mean for America in terms of outcomes is extremely important if students are going to become well-informed voters,” he said.

Other teachers in the school are also aware of the impact the elections have on our country and are finding ways for students to get involved.  Mr. Matthew McNaul’s student teacher, Mr. Brian Greenawalt, has done a majority of the teaching so far this year and has used the lection as a teaching tool.

“We include relevant CNN10 clips at the beginning of class.  We are also covering each portion from the primaries to the national conventions in a simulation as well as notes,” said Mr. Greenawalt. “We have been able to engage the students with political orientation quizzes, candidate research, and hosting our own election.”

Another teacher that feels strongly about the election is one that is new to Bellwood this year, Mr. Stuart Roberts.  He teaches American history and current events and spoke a little about how he is handling the election in his classroom.

“The current events class has watched several parts of the presidential debates in class and this has initiated lively discussions.” said Roberts.

For Mr. Roberts, the presidential debates have been a lesson in what not to do as much as anything else.

“I think watching the presidential debates has been a disaster for your age group,” he said. “The performance of each candidate was unpresidential to say the least.  In my youth, I was able to watch debates between presidential candidates that were informative and well worth my time.  I wish you had the same experience.”

This year there are a few B-A seniors who are old enough to vote in the elections and a few will be taking full advantage of the opportunity.  One of these students is Zach Mallon, who is looking forward to voting.

“It’s just exciting to finally be able to vote in my first election.  It’s a strange feeling to be able to take part in the age old tradition of voting in our democracy,” he said.

The upcoming elections are certainly quite interesting mainly because of the two candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  Even though these candidates have displayed some less than presidential qualities in their debate there’s no denying America is extremely interested in the outcome of the election.  It is important to remember that the outcome of the election will greatly impact the near future of our country and it’s important to be informed on the current political climate.