Talawanda Teachers Sound Off on Presidential Election

“It’s great to see young high school students paying attention to the election this year, but there are so many negative things about the candidates that it makes people cynical about the election and maybe turns people away from voting,” Mrs. Mahaney, THS U.S. Government teacher, said.

The presidential election of 2016 is beginning to come to a close, and the candidates for this year are doing everything they can in hopes of winning this election. However, not everyone is as excited about this election as they would hope for, including the teachers of Talawanda High School. In most schools, when it comes to teaching students about politics and the U.S. government, they try not to upset students with their opinions on the subject of the election. However, though teachers aren’t able to talk about the subject of politics so easily, they do have their opinions on the 2016 election.

Mrs. Aerni, THS American History teacher, said:  “It’s a very ‘unique’ election that we haven’t seen in years.” She says that it is interesting how much social media has been involved in the process.

Mr. Bomholt, THS American Government teacher said:  “Every election is important, and I don’t want to place this election as being any more or less important than any others in the past.” Bomholt says that it’s alright to talk about elections and politics in school as long as people contribute truthfully.

Mrs. Mahaney said:  “A good thing about the election is it’s a theatrical election we have never seen before.”  She believes that teachers should talk about the election more, but shouldn’t share their personal opinion with the class. She also isn’t too sure of who will win, although other teachers believe Hillary has more of a chance. Then, Mr. Tincher shared his thoughts: “I’m more fascinated with the arguments from both sides rather than who actually wins.”  Tincher also said, “It’s difficult for the candidate from the same party as a two-time president, to win the presidency, making a 12 year run controlling the office” and that if Clinton does win this year’s election she most likely will not win as an incumbent in 2020.

From the opinions gathered, the government and history teachers in this school don’t believe in sharing their personal thoughts on the subject of elections, but they do think that this presidential race is interesting.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016 and the last day to register to vote for the Presidential Election is Oct. 11, 2016.