Students in AP Government have been working with a partner to create a candidate-centered campaign and run against others for the office of President of the United States.
Rachel Parrish, who teaches AP US Government and AP US history, had several objectives in mind when assigning the project.
“This project is at the end of our unit five, which is about how politicians use political data gathered from constituents to generate a campaign,” Parrish said. “They’re taking all the things that they’ve learned throughout the course and then transforming it into a campaign.“
To begin, students researched voter data, created a political party, and decided on a party name, symbols, key issues, and where their platform falls on the political spectrum.
Some partners said they found it easy to collaborate and agree on their campaign’s direction.
“We really focused on morals and found stuff we both agreed on and thought was most important,” senior Audrey Rush said.
However, other groups had many disagreements but overcame them through discussions.
“We had meetings where we talked about what we stand for and what kind of problems we deal with,“ senior Kavin Dasari said.
Through his process, Dasari said the project helped him better understand the responsibilities of political leadership.
“I’ve developed an understanding of what it takes to run for office, what it takes to represent people, skills determining how to vote in the future, and what the politicians stand for themselves and what they represent,” Dasari said.
“I hope students are able to understand how politics, political campaigns in particular, are created in response to the people and that candidate center campaigns aren’t just about one particular person, but rather the ideologies of a whole group,” Parrish said.
By simulating a real political race, the campaign project allows students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios, giving them a clearer understanding of how political campaigns are built and why collaboration and representation matter.
