Politics in English I

   I rearranged my room recently, and I put them in pods. Honestly, one of the bravest choices I've made in my teaching career. It's a mixed bag in terms of behavior and student reaction.

   Today in English I they were working on argumentative papers about a modern controversy or issue. It's interesting to say the least....

   So my kids are working away and all of a sudden two hands shoot up, a boy and a girl who are currently sitting right next to each other. In unison they said, "I can't sit by him! He likes Trump!" "I can't sit by her! She supports Hillary!" This led to a class wide debate on last night's debate, the current issues, the main concerns. While it's overwhelming and sometimes a little hard to bite my tongue when they're SO opinionated and SO strong in their belief that the view they have is the only one worth having, I have to give it to my freshmen that they are very well versed in what's going on around them. It's impressive to me, because when I was their age I couldn't even tell you who was the South Dakota governor, let alone what was going on in national politics.