Presented live every four years (in the presidential election year), this 6-week course helps your student fully understand and become involved with the fundamentals of our American elections. A practical, timely course helping your student know the importance of how to be a force for good in our republic.
 

Special Notes: Due to the popularity of this course, it is offered during four different time slots in the fall. Choose the day and time that works best for you. We recommend registering early as we expect this course to fill and close quickly.

The Friday section will meet on November 1, All Saints Day. Students not able to attend that day will catch up by viewing the class recording. Added Note: This one is with Ed Rivet. Please search for Paul Hyatt's American Elections courses. He is offering it at 3 other time slots.

Total Classes: 6

Class Dates and Starting Times:

Thursdays, October 3 to November 7, 2024.

4:00 PM Eastern (3:00 Central; 2:00 Mountain; 1:00 Pacific)

Duration per class: 55 minutes

Prerequisite: Basic knowledge of American government.

Suggested Grade Level: 9^th to 12^th grade

Suggested Credit: 1/2 semester Government. For full credit, add another government course (live or recorded), or see our Government Reading List.

Instructor: Ed Rivet

Course Description: This 6-week course will explore the "ins and outs" of the American electoral process, with a special emphasis on the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election. We'll begin class five weeks prior to the November 5th election, with our last class a wrap-up, just days after we've elected a new president. (Well ... hopefully we won't have a repeat of the year 2000 "hanging chad" debacle.) Along with weekly lectures, there will be some interactive features during the class time. Perhaps we'll have a little "prognostication" contest on the outcome of certain elections.

Course Outline:

·         Week 1: Elections: Overview of Constitution & Laws

·         Week 2: Comparisons: Local v. State v. National Elections; Partisan v. Nonpartisan; Jungle Primaries; U.S. System v. other countries

·         Week 3: The Electoral College - Should It Stay or Should It Go?

·         Week 4: Anatomy of Campaigns: Operations, PACs & Super PACs, Polls & Pundits

·         Week 5: How Issues, Incidents & Outside Events Affect Campaigns

·         Week 6: Post-election Analysis - What drove the results? How accurately did we foresee the results? What are the implications of the results?

Course Materials: Provided free by the instructor or online.

Homework: Students will have a variety of "home" work assignments – reading, research, some essays, etc. Students are going to be STRONGLY encouraged to volunteer at least a couple hours of their time to any candidate or issue campaign of their choice during the 6-week period. Essays will be graded by the instructor. 

Fee: For all 6 classes: $107 if you register on or before July 15, $127 after July. (Registration closes one week before the first day of class. After that date, registrations are not guaranteed. There is a $20 surcharge for late enrollments after the course is closed.)