The above title is a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin who responded to the query of a curious woman as he left the Constitutional Convention in 1787. She asked, "Well doctor, what have we got -- a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." As we approach next week's presidential election, I am encouraged by the interest that my students are showing in our national politics. It seems to be much higher than in past election years, both among those students who will be able to vote in this election as well as among those who won't be able to vote until 2016. Many have come in having watched the debates and discussed the issues with their families and they genuinely have questions that they want answered. One of the most important components of keeping this republic that the Founders have left in our care is to have a large group of active, informed citizens who exercise their right to vote. With today's technology it is easier than ever to locate information on the issues and research the positions of the candidates so you can make an informed decision about which ones will best represent you and your beliefs and values at the local, state, and federal levels. As such, I would like you to follow the links below to discover where you fall on the political spectrum, what positions you hold on some of the important issues of the day, and which candidates have positions that most closely align with your own. In addition, I would like to hear your thoughts on the usefulness of such sites (or lack thereof) and your ideas on how we can increase voter turnout and develop a more informed and active citizenry. This is one of the most essential functions of the social studies in education. What more could we be doing to achieve this goal? What other social forces might we enlist or is this always something that will be determined by the individual?
Links:
- Take the world's smallest political quiz
- Take the test and see where you fall on the political compass
- Find out where the candidates stand on the issues and take the 2012 Presidential Vote Match Quiz
- See ALL of the Presidential candidates and their positions
- See what's on the Vermont ballot in 2012
Updated for 2016:
- Take the world's smallest political quiz
- Take the test and see where you fall on the political compass
- Find out where the candidates stand on the issues and take the 2016 Presidential Vote Match Quiz
- See ALL of the 2016 Presidential candidates
- See what's on the Vermont ballot in 2016
I felt that all the sights at useful information on the presidential election. The websites were easy to use but some of the questions when finding out what side you fell on were hard to use and understand the question. It was useful to see the candidate’s beliefs all laid out for you, not just what you hear on the television. You here stuff on the TV and internet, but they way it is worded my make it sound different then what the candidate actually means. Having it all laid out like one of the websites did was easy to understand, and was helpful to see who I would have voted for and to see where I fall on the political spectrum. When talking about the presidents and what they believe they use terms that most people don't understand, which isn't fair. They should make it so all people understand what they believe in. While you are in school, there should be a class about politics, what each said is about and terms used that way we have more informed voters. Also, I think if people knew more about politics they would be more aped to vote because they would understand what is going on. I feel some people don't go out to vote because they aren't sure if what they believe in. Having voters not knowing much about politics and then going out to vote makes us have voters that are uninformed which causes us to have votes for people that may not be who the voter really thinks they are. People have the freedom to vote but I think they should have to vote because it is something not many people or able to do. We take it for granted to vote, but I think it should be enforced that we vote. But all in all these websites were very useful and helpful during this presidential election.
ReplyDeleteThe sites we looked at in class were helpful to see who the other candidates were, besides Obama and Romney, running for president. Also, it was useful to see where I fell on a few different political spectrums and compare that information. However, the quizzes were a little hard to understand because of the wording of the questions. To improve the awareness of young voters schools could defiantly teach about the issues, which would be a major help. I know as a voter I didn’t have a lot of information going into the polling place. All I had was glimpses of what the news channels had said, and what I heard my parents talk about. Adding more current event assignments would help a lot because students would be required to go and research issues and then would obtain a stance on them. The quizzes we took should word the questions in a way that are easily understood so the participants can answer the questions honestly without having to take an educated guess.
ReplyDeleteI found the websites we visited about the election to be very useful in deciding where I matched up with the different candidates. I liked how some sites broke down all of the different political issues and fully explained the major differences between the two major Presidential candidates. These sites not only gave details about Romney and Obama, but also showed us what some of the other candidates that people don’t really know about believed in. The websites that explained what the candidates for the political positions in Vermont stood for were very helpful in deciding who I would vote for. I think a lot of the time the media only plays short little clips of the candidates and summarizes so much of their ideas that it can be difficult for people to truly understand how they fall on certain issues. These sites do a great job of explaining where the candidates stand and they also help match you up with those issues. To increase voter turnout I think we need to educate voters more on the exact issues of the election and help them know where they stand, and this has to start at a young age. Schools should teach children about national issues and politics so that when they are of age to vote they have a clear understanding of the issues and they know what they believe in. By teaching children about politics and government, they will grow up to be better and more education members of society.
ReplyDeleteThe sites were very useful. It can really help a lot of people when they dont really know anything about any of the candidates. But what I like that they had more candidates then just Obama and Romney. What i didn't like, was that there was a lot of technical terminology. Things that normal teens dont really know. So it would be better if they would clarify some of the questions. We should put more polotics in the education system. That will help with the understanding of it more. It would also help the voter turn out because more people would have a better understanding of why to vote. Not just picking a random person and going with it. We have already started with this in the grade schools. By letting them vote, just so they have the feeling of voting. Then they will take that with them and that will encourage them to really vote when there old enough.
ReplyDeleteI found all of the sites useful. They gave me a sense on what sides or side I may share the same concerns with. It gave me a feel for what I should exepect and also taught me what to look for, and where. It was helpful!I did find that some of the questions were a bit confusing, and hard to understand. It still helped in making a decision, while learning about myself. We should encourage everyone to vote, and by giving them easy to read and understand, instructions and facts about all candidates. Making them aware of the causes and effects of each persons intentions and ideas. Make voting a more easier, and fun thing to do rather than something some people dont enjoy. We could acheive this goal, by showing people what is really happening around them. Make them aware of what is happening in the world, and how it will affect the future and the next generations. We need to show people what to do, to do something about our world. Inspire them to change the world, and help everyone in the world.
ReplyDeleteThe sites that we used in class, I found very helpful, considering I do not follow politics whats so ever. Being able to go on these sites gives you a different perspective on each candidate, and what you agree with or disagree with. One thing that I think should be changed is the way they word the questions I found myself confused on some of them, or would read them over and over until I would finally just guess, but over all it gives young voters who don't really know much about politics, to get a little idea of things, and If they would reword some of the questions and make them a little easier to understand the sites could really help and and encourage people to vote.
ReplyDeleteThe sites we used and quizzes we took in class were both informative and interesting. I never knew where I fell on the political spectrum and it was cool to learn which parties believe in what things and such. It was also interesting how my views matched up with people who I had never even heard of before. On another note, a different quiz showed us which of the two top candidates (Obama and Romney) we were closest to. I think that it was interesting how each candidate belonged to a different party, but their views were almost identical in some cases. This is probably why this year's election was so hard for some people and somewhat confusing. I think that in order to increase the voter turnout, we need to make the American body more knowledgeable and familiar with the political spectrum. Although there is plenty of advertising out there, a large amount of it is false, such as political skits on TV, things on the radio, posters, pictures, etc. However, this is beyond our control, so I think it is ultimately up to the voter to do their part in researching both candidates, if they even decide to vote.
ReplyDeleteAll the sites we used were useful for anybody looking to have a more concrete knowledge of where they stand in the political spectrum. However, I think the questions could be set up differently somehow so that the results were more accurate. One test put me on the right side of the spectrum while the other put me on the left. The site that showed the list of all the candidates for presidency, I thought, was very interesting. Most people don't even realize that there are more parties than the Democrats and Republicans. They don't even know that there might be a candidate whose beliefs totally, or close to, line up with their own. These sites can be used to get a better understanding of where the candidates really stand on different topics. The media should promote this information and that would likely get more people to go out and vote. It is absurd to vote for somebody as important as a president when you don't even know what they stand for. Without being equipped with the knowledge to make an important decision, people are deterred from casting their ballots.
ReplyDeleteThe sites and quizzes were helpful in that they showcased the candidates in a way that seemed unbiased. They also seemed to show all the candidates rather than just the two that are talked about the most. If it wasn’t for this information I would have never known about the less popular candidates. Thee quiz that matches you up with who has similar views to your own was the most helpful I would say. This one really shows you who you should vote for if you are keeping your own interests in mind, which you should. Before coming upon these sites I would never have took the time to understand the candidates, but these sites have shown that it isn’t really that difficult to do research before you vote. I believe people should know that this information is out there, and the best way to do this would be to introduce sites like this in a social studies class. When you learn about civics, and the right to vote, would be a great time to introduce these tools. You could also use the media to introduce these quizzes, like the social media tries to broadcast stupid things like IQ quizzes. Having these quizzes linked to a social network site would result in more people clicking on it and finding out information that would be useful while voting. After you let this information be known it is ultimately up to the individual to stop being lazy and do some research to be an educated voter.
ReplyDeleteThe sites and quizzes were useful in giving incite into each candidate and their beliefs. It allows people to see who their beliefs best match up with, which I think is very important. The one downfall that I saw with them was that they all tended to match you up differently so it can be confusing as to where you stand on the political spectrum. Nevertheless, the questions are still helpful to see where you stand on each issue. These sites along with getting more people to watch the debates would really help people to get an understanding of the candidates and who they agree most with. The one big thing that the sites allow people to see that the debates don’t is that there is way more candidates than just Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, and you might in fact match up better with one of them. The media should promote people to get a full understanding of not only their views but who their views match best with, by using resources like these sites. Then, voters would have much more reasoning behind why they like a certain candidate over the other, instead of voting based on one issue.
ReplyDeleteI think the sites we used and the quizzes we took were helpful. The quizzes we took helped me find out what candidate I matched up with. They also told me how I stand on the political spectrum. The quizzes described some of the political issues and how the different candidates stood on them. There were some candidates that I didn't even know that were running in the election and even told about them to. I found the quizzes to be helpful but some of the questions were not worded good and I found them to be confusing. Some of the questions I had to guess because I could not figure out what that word ment. I think these quizzes would be helpful to other people to find out about the different candidates and how they match up with them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I took the quizzes I feel that it was really helpful, I mean even thought I got different answers. But they were some what close enough to what I am. Also it's very good to know who was on the ballots and the different candidates. The questions were defiantly confusing but I could figure them out. It just helps us know what is going on and why we are voting. Because it's better to know more about the candidates before you just vote at random. This just allows us to go more in depth and it's very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThe sites that were provided didn’t help me so much in the sense of where I fall on the political spectrum, though it did bring to my attention the type of things we are dealing with in our political society. The questions that were on the quizzes gave me a better idea of what to look for in candidates and what views I agree with. One of the quizzes that I took had me far left and shortly after the following quiz I took had me at a far right. I do believe that these sites should be brought to more people’s attention. It is just another helpful way of becoming informed on what you believe in. Personally, I believe it should be mandatory that voters should research the potential candidates instead of just siding with the republican or democrat just because they support the party and not the person running for it. Voters should also be aware of what our current and upcoming issues are for our country. Then from here make the more ethical decision of which political candidate will solve these problems. In today’s age we have numerous advances in technology, almost every has a phone or computer. They need to use the online resources provided to help them make the most logical decision on who to vote for.
ReplyDeleteI believe these sites were for the most part helpful in understanding my political stance and pushing my thoughts and beliefs by making me take a stance on these very controversial situations. It’s important for schools to continue in their emphasis on forming opinions in students which builds their character and helps them better discover who they are and what they will stand for! More exercises like this would be essential to produce a better informed generation I believe. It’s essential for media as well, as it has taken over the lives of those new and upcoming voters, to influence the youth into forming their own ideas and thoughts on topics and not just conforming to the popular thoughts of society. I’m glad that you had us do this activity, Mr. Bruce!! It is not forcing us to have to study politics or even have to like them, but it is expanding our character and intellectual ideas.
ReplyDeleteThe first few "political identity" quizzes definitely confirmed what I already knew. The questions could've been a little better however. For example: one of the quizzes only had an "agree" or "disagree" option, which is an innacurate way to collect anonymous information because many people in the class agreed that there should've been an "indifferent" choice. I did find the websites informative, especially the website that shows ALL presidential candidates. I had no idea that there were so many people who you could technically vote for, all with different opinions and ideologies. I think that brings up the important point of how only those with incredible amounts of money stand a chance of even making it into the real races that are viewed by the public. Generally, we only hear about Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, or Hillary Clinton. There must've been more than 75 different presidential candidates besides those big names. These unrecognized presidents had good points too! I think future voters should definitely view these websites, as they give a nice reflection on where you stand on politics. It's a little sad to think that we are nowadays voting for the "lesser of all evils".
ReplyDeleteIn taking these quizzes I found out a lot about myself and about the presidential candidates of the 2016 election. Overall the quizzes helped me, however one stood out in particular; the political compass quiz. Since the political compass quiz covered a multitude of subjects at length, it gave, in my opinion, the most accurate reading. In contrast, “The World’s Smallest Political Quiz” and the presidential quiz were rather short and conflicted with other in depth tests I have taken outside of class. Even though they gave me different answers, they still helped. The last two links were very helpful in addition to the previous links. The list of official candidates was very insightful because many of them I had never heard a lot of them and I agree with some of the lesser known runners. Lastly, the Vermont ballot site helped in finding out about local politicians and local issues.
ReplyDelete1. The “world’s smallest political quiz” placed me on the right side of the political spectrum as a “conservative.” I feel that this correctly represents the majority of my political views.
ReplyDelete2. The “political compass quiz” placed me slightly to the left as a Libertarian. I feel that this accurately describes me. I think of myself as leaning more to the right than to the left, but I agree with the assessment that I am centered near the middle of the chart. I found the questions during the test to be insightful, but I feel that some issues were excluded. If I was able to express my opinion about those issues in the test, I believe my placement on the political compass would be adjusted a little bit more to the right.
Your Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: -0.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.77
3. The results of the “Presidential VoteMatch Quiz” show Governor Jeb Bush as the leading candidate who reflects my answers. This does not surprise me; during the Republican debates, I agreed with the majority of what Mr. Bush had to say. I view him as a moderate Republican who represents “less radical” views of the party. I was a bit surprised when Senator Lindsey Graham came in second place because, quite honestly, he makes me nervous. I was pleased to see that Governor Mike Huckabee also matched up to my political views because I supported his campaign during the early part of the election process.
4. I am amazed at the number of candidates running for President. Some of these characters appear to be, for lack of a better word, crazy. I skimmed over the candidates for the following political parties: Constitution Party, Independents, Green Party, Libertarians, and Third Party. I focused mainly on the Democratic and Republican candidates in my review. Both parties seem to be moving to the “ends” of their spectrum. In the first Democratic debate, Jim Webb was considered too conservative when compared to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Similarly, Jeb Bush is considered too liberal when sharing the stage with the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. This is the result of a two-party system; when one side both to the left, the other must move to the right. When this happens, candidates who remain with their more moderate positions are considered “out of touch” with the majority of their party.
5. I am surprised that there are no declared Republican candidates for Senator Leahy’s seat and Congressman Welch’s seat. Meanwhile, I look forward to the primary in August between Lt. Governor Phil Scott and Bruce Lisman. (Personally, I think it is shameful that there is a United States Marijuana Party.) I am excited to see that Randy Brock is running for Lt. Governor because he ran a nice campaign against Governor Shumlin four years ago.
From taking the multiple tests/quizes I learned more about myself and my views on this upcoming election. From taking these quizes I found myself not knowing what many of the topics were, which made me not able to answer them well. All these sites were very useful, even though I didn’t know all the current issues in the world. Technology nowadays is very useful. You can simply look up each candidate's arguments on the world issues and see who's ahead in the polls. Media plays a huge part from commercials, ads and music prompts. I think in high school there should be a government class or some kind of class students have to take that goes over politics and how the government works. Most people might feel pressured from social media on who to vote for. But also, if it wasn’t for social media, most people would. When I took one of the quizes, I found myself agreeing more Trump, which I don’t know how because I don’t like him at all. When taking these tests my results were putting me in the “middle”, basically saying I have mixed views. I did find these websites useful. I can’t wait to vote!!
ReplyDeleteThe websites seemed to be particularly accurate in describing my political beliefs. The three quizzes all gave me the same results, which leads me to believe that my results are somewhat correct. The quizzes and other informational websites helped highlight what some of our country’s important issues are and where I stand on them. I think that these websites and quizzes would help voters to be more informed, and I think that if more people knew and understood what each candidate represented they would be more likely to vote. Also, people may be more likely to make an informed decision on who they want to be elected president instead of voting strictly for republicans or democrats. There are limitless resources available for people to research candidates and make these informed decisions. With the stress on modern technology, it is very possible for people to have access to this information.
ReplyDeleteI think that these websites were pretty accurate at calculating my political beliefs. I was sort of unaware about how I really did feel about some of these topics so this exercise caused me to do some researching for myself. For the most part the results I got were pretty expected. I thought the test that matched me up with a candidate was interesting because the person I was most in agreement with was someone that I hadn't really heard of a lot before. As a result of this assignment, I feel better prepared for the upcoming elections and more confident in my opinions.
ReplyDeleteThese websites seemed to be very accurate. With the results I got on each quiz seemed to support my beliefs regarding these political issues and debates. Each response I got to the three quizzes seemed to match up. I think it would be helpful for future voters to take these quizzes and to read the articles on the people running for president. It would give the future voters a chance to understand what they stand for, so if they ever wanted to watch a debate they would be able to follow up and learn about who they think would make the best president.
ReplyDeleteI felt that all these websites were easy to use. They were also pretty accurate on the information. After taking the quizzes i found that for the most part it was accurate and supported my political beliefs and seemed to match up. But through taking these quizzes i did find that some things i was really unaware of and had a hard time understanding what some of the questions were asking. but overall it kept me interested. After doing this assignment i feel like i gained a little more knowledge on the election coming up and on political views in general.
ReplyDeleteAfter taking the tests and researching the candidates on the websites above, I felt more prepared as a voter. Although I already knew which side of the spectrum I fell on, the websites showed me specifically what reasons made me fall here. I feel that in order to improve voter turnout we need to educate people, not through the news, but through different sources. People need to understand how important their vote is, and these tests help educate them before going into the election. Another possible idea that could be used to improve turn outs could be to make blackmail and advertisements against competitors illegal. This is true in other countries and I believe it will give voters a more accurate description of the candidates.
ReplyDeleteThese websites were very helpful to me. Every website that I quizzed myself on seemed to give me the same results. These quizzes challenged me to think about issues in our country that I may have heard about, but was never forced to take a side on. Specifically, I found that the test on politicalcompass.org gave me really good exposure to controversial topics that are in politics today. Their choices to answer those topics also made me think even more since there was no "Neutral" or "Not Sure" answer to choose from. I also do believe that the answer I received was accurate because the quiz went very in depth. These websites really helped me to see political topics, as well as the presidential candidates. I feel like I am not very involved in politics but these websites gave me an almost crash course on what my positions are through my positions on various topics. Living in a world of technology, I felt like it was very easy to be able to go on those websites and quickly be able to find where I stand on the political compass. Without the extensive technology and social media I feel like students couldn't get as involved and it wouldn't be as easy to campaign if you are a presidential candidate.
ReplyDeleteI thought using the websites were really useful in understanding the candidates and the various topics involved. Although some were difficult to understand, when explained, it widened my knowledge of the current issues. It was really interesting to see where you would fall under on the tests we took in class. To increase the voter turnout, there should be classes in highschool that teach students about politics and current affairs to give them a chance to understand what’s going on and to let them have an opinion on the given topics. Most high school students say they’re voting for the most popular person because of “what they hear”. Which in some cases, may not even be true. They only choose to like this person because of what their parents say or what everyone else is saying about them. As a young adult, you should be able to form your own opinion about the candidate running for office. Like I said earlier, there should definitely be a class that students can take in high school. I believe this will help the voter turnout and it will help them understand who they’re voting for and why.
ReplyDeleteWhile taking the above quizzes and tests I learned a lot about myself and the candidates for the election. The quizzes informed me on where I fell on the political spectrum and what to look for on the ballot. The questions on the quizzes were worded weird in my opinion so I thought it was difficult to answer the questions. Before this I had only really had an opinion of the election from what my parents had been saying and things on television.I think we should do more current event research like this, that way we know what's going on around us.
ReplyDeleteAfter taking the quizzes and reading up on the candidates I have a better understanding of the political issues that we are being faced with in the upcoming election. Although I felt some questions were biased and worded weirdly they helped me see where I stand and who agrees with my stances on the issues. I think if more people went through these quizzes in classes we would have a bigger amount of people willing to vote during the election because they are better educated. I think educational voting is what will make our nation stay a republic and not become a monarch.
ReplyDeleteBefore taking these quizzes I knew what I wanted and supported with this country. But I didn't know exactly what my "label" was politically. After taking these quizzes I now know where I stand politically, whether being a democratic or a republican, or a liberal or conservative. After knowing what I am I can now look into where the candidates of the election stand and vote off of that. Or I can even look where the candidates stand on certain and again, consider that when I choose who I am voting for. Most people don’t research about the people they vote for and just go off of what the media says. This is bad because the media is is one of the most biased sources of information there is. They choose what they show on the news or post in the paper so if they don’t like a candidate, they will not show any of the good things they do but rather show all of their mishaps and mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThis assignment was extremely useful. The quizzes were worded a little strangely making some of them harder to understand, but overall it was great! The test helped to point me in the direction of which party and candidate I should be looking into. Taking these quizzes helped me gain a better understanding of the many political issues this election is focusing on. There was one site that allowed me to explore the candidates and where they stand on several issues, I found that having all of the candidates beliefs and stances in one place was helpful and made looking into them a lot easier. Activities like these, focusing on current issues, should be done more often. It's helps the students gain an understanding and form an opinion on things that will have an affect on them in the future.
ReplyDeleteAfter taking these quizzes, and reading the following information I now have a better understanding of what is going on with the candidates in the election. Before I didn't really understand what was going on. I found the tests to be helpful although I found some of the questions to be little bit hard to answer due to the wording. All in all it was a good activity and I feel like we should do more of these activities on current issues and events going on so that we have a better understanding on what we're learning about.
ReplyDeleteBefore taking these quizzes i did not know many of the topics that all of these different candidates were debating. These quizzes were very helpful and informed me and got me thinking about all of these different types of topics. It also informed me on all of the candidates running that I had no idea of. All I hear about in the news is Trump, Bernie, and Hillary. I never knew that there were this many candidates running for office. It just goes to show you you need to make an impression or some people might not even know you are there. It helped me know where I stand with other people running. I was matched up with someone I have never even heard of, So i did more research on the man and found out we have much in common on most all of the subjects asked. I found some of the questions hard to answer because of the wording of the question. I feel like it was a good activity to inform us students on the current events going on in today's society, especially with the presidential election because most all of us will be voting in the election coming up.
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