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toc =**Blazing the 2008 Campaign Trail!**= In the beginning, we didn't yet know that this 2008 Presidential election campaign was going to be the phenomenon that it has turned out to be. For middle school students, this new President will be in office potentially all of our high school lives; many students don't seem to be aware that this election could dictate the nation's atmosphere into which we'll be stepping at the outset of our independent lives. Will we still be at war? Will the economic crisis be even worse? Many students have had no cause to consider these questions, nor have we considered that we may have the opportunity to "clear our throats" and begin speaking up about what WE want to see. No, we may not be old enough to vote, but we do need to begin noting what is happening in the world before we're ready to make a voting choice.

For this reason, the wiki was created. Students needed to follow the campaign trail, no matter how "boring" the individual primary results may be, to see how the campaign unfolds. Eventually, in November, we will be able to look back at the 2008 race from a much broader perspective. We will have been a *participant* and not simply a recipient.

Collaborators //Sign in//

 * Turning Point Learning Center (Ginger Lewman), Emporia, KS, USA, grades 5-8
 * Fort Herriman Middle School (Jethro Jones), Herriman (Salt Lake) UT, USA, grade 7
 * George Mayo's students, Silver Spring, Maryland USA, grade 8
 * Vincent Mespoulet's class, Hors les Murs, Manosque, France
 * Moran Middle School (Paul Bogush), Wallingford, CT, USA, grade 8
 * Thomas County Academy (Teresa Morgan), Colby, KS, USA, grades 6-8
 * El Dorado Middle School (Charlie Mahoney), El Dorado, KS USA, grade 8

//**Students are learning!**//

 * What is the campaign process? Where did it come from (brief history)?
 * Why do candidates begin running __//two years//__ before the actual election?
 * Exactly what are caucuses and primaries? How many are there?
 * What happens in a National Convention?
 * Does every vote count?
 * What are polls, how are they conducted, and what do they mean to the election process?
 * How and why did elections begin in the US and how have they changed/not changed in 200+ years?
 * What is the electoral college? Why did it begin?
 * What was and what is democracy in the United States?
 * How do other nations run their democratic process?
 * What do US elections have to do with other nations?
 * What does it mean to "participate in the democratic process?"
 * What is a primary? What is a caucus? What are the purposes to each?
 * What does it mean to be "right" or "left," (conservative or liberal)?

//**But perhaps the most intere**//**sting are** //**Questions are about the candidates:**//
 * Who is running for office? What is his/her background?
 * What does s/he stand for in current national and international topics? Will s/he represent ME when elected?
 * How can I help my favorite candidate WIN?

// I am interested in politics so that one day I will not have to be interested in politics. ~Ayn Rand // 