Election fever

Four years ago, I took three videotapes and one ballot to class. Our topic that evening was the presidential debates. Most of my students had never seen a presidential debate or an absentee ballot, so we had our work cut out for us.

We discussed the town hall format, questions regarding religion and family and, of course, the vast differences between a US and a German presidential campaign. As in other presidential election years, being a teacher meant that I had to take a closer look at the US political system and be prepared to explain the electoral college system at the drop of a hat.

At least in 2004 I didn’t have to worry about pregnant, dimpled or hanging chads like I did in 2000. Election years always give us a lot of food for thought and loads of teaching material. There are jokes to retell and explain, vocabulary items to highlight, and personalities to compare and contrast.

This election year’s language picks started with hockey moms, lipstick and pitbulls. The recent vice-presidential debate even gave us a phrase that allows you to safely swear on US networks: “Doggone it!” The new kid on the block is “six-pack Joe”, that quintessential, beer-drinking, middle-class American male. He joins forces with the veteran soccer and hockey moms who have been around for decades.

Personally, I find “six-pack Joe” a touch too negative, but then I’m a woman. Others were perhaps flattered to have been called this by Sarah Palin. The next few weeks are a not question of if we’re going to talk politics with our students, but how. Starting off with a joke is never a bad idea. Sarah Palin used the common “the difference between” format in her vice-presidential candidacy acceptance speech when she said, “You know they say [what’s] the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.” Here’s a timely spin-off for those students who love the word Schadenfreude.

What’s the difference between a Lehman Brothers executive and a pigeon?

The pigeon can still put down a deposit on a Porsche.

Video on this topic on YouTube