RHS Takes on the 2024 Presidential Election

How RHS teachers are teaching this election, and why it matters

By Claire Cho

Room 214, where Ms. Kirtane teaches her US History classes. (Photo by Emily Park)

Election season always brings along with it a sense of urgency, anxiety, and hope. On Tuesday, November 5th, these emotions peaked as the American people held their breath and glued their eyes to the blue and red map of the United States of America. After months of campaigning, the winner of the 2024 presidential election was finally announced: Donald J. Trump.

Americans live in a representative democracy that is built upon the tenets of freedom and choice. They are the ones who ultimately choose the future of the country by electing officials to represent them in the government. And this is something that those who are 16 years and older take seriously regardless of whether they can vote or not. 

Ms. Kirtane, a U.S. History teacher at RHS, believes that elections are opportunities to teach about the importance of voting because “the policies that go into effect when you cannot vote will directly impact you when you are able to vote. You should have conversations on those topics, and you can still be an activist to have your voice heard. That is the beauty of the First Amendment.”  

Furthermore, from the months preceding the 2024 election a myriad of topics and issues  emerged that gave rise to rich classroom discussions preparing students for their future roles. According to a survey conducted by Tuft’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement on American Youth (ages 18 to 29), “Nearly two-thirds of respondents report having been encouraged to vote in high school.” 

Gina Vaynshteyn, a current senior at Ridgewood High School, voted in the 2024 presidential election. She affirmed that “being in school definitely helped me remember to vote; last year, my history teacher even badgered the students to register.” School also impacted Gina’s view on the importance of voting: she “learned about people in history fighting so hard for voting rights, so it felt disrespectful to not take advantage of the right to vote after their efforts.” However, she also noted, “I do wish we had a bit more education on the different types of elections. I feel like I didn’t know that there would be so many people on the ballot.” 

U.S. History teacher Mr. LaFemina also speaks on this point, noting that “it would be great if more Americans turned out not just for presidential elections, but  also for midterms, for odd years, or even board of education elections.” 

In Ridgewood High School, students have the opportunity to speak about the election in their classes. In order to qualitatively understand the varying level of discussion in each class, four RHS social studies teachers were asked about their approach towards bringing up the 2024 presidential election in class. 

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Q: How do you discuss and teach the 2024 election in your classes, especially since it is such a controversial topic?

MR. LAFEMINA: I like talking about the impressions of the debates, how the electoral college works, who it advantages, which groups are voting for which candidate, and in what ways this candidacy is reminiscent of past ones. I do not actively avoid controversy in class, but there is just so much that students have to know in order to formulate their opinions. 

I recently held a workshop about teaching the election, and the general consensus coming out was that students must know the basics of it: How did we get here? How does the election even work, especially with one candidate actively denying the results of this election in advance? And that may be controversial, but I am willing to get into that. We also can’t assume that you all know the same things about these topics. Students are in the process of learning the history that will help inform their judgements, and we want to take you on that journey. 

MS. FORGASH: We tend to talk about electoral processes instead of this particular election. We’ll go through how the electoral college works, why it exists, how that interacts with the popular vote, and some historical examples of elections. Instead of getting into specific candidates and policies, we focus on how we get to the point of a presidential election. How do the results come out? What is the process?

Particularly in 2024, there are many distinct ways of voting: going to the polls, early voting, and mail-in voting. Since elections are handled on a state-by-state basis, every state has a different system of tabulating votes. We’ll talk about the potentially drawn-out process of the election. At different points in American history, we have had presidential election results that have deviated from the norm, so those are useful to look at as examples of situations that could occur.  

MS. KIRTANE: The process is critical to understand, such as the electoral votes and map, but it is also important to get an understanding of the issues. You’ve got to see the different perspectives on different topics, and learn about what is true versus what is not; AllSides.com is a website that is good in showing the media biases that exist, as well as Real Clear Politics.

With older students in particular, I think they are capable of starting to reckon with what the issues are and their roots—and that is where history comes alive. It is a privilege and opportunity for us to teach why the things we are studying in the past are so relevant to today. That way, history becomes an active experience that perpetuates democracy.

MR. YANNONE: With the election of 2024, I try to stay away from the controversy. With my students, it is all about the process. It is a refresher from what they learned in middle school: the electoral college, the swing states, and how the electoral college math works out with those swing states. It’s not so much about this person’s position on this, another person’s position on this, and then we’re having a debate. 

I want my students to be informed on Election Day as they look at the map. As the maps light up, they are able to understand what it means. We also looked at which groups are being targeted in terms of advertising and campaigns, so we watched some commercials. Overall, we just focus on the electoral process and how it works.

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Mr. Ferreri, the Humanities Department Supervisor, asserted that “Social studies teachers by trade are dealing with controversial subjects. Approaching particularly a national election can be a delicate situation, but that doesn’t mean you avoid it.” He encourages teachers to speak about voting and issues in their classes. 

He further elaborated on his role as the supervisor of both Ridgewood’s Middle School and High School Social Studies: “Part of my job is finding the best resources out there that I can push out to the teachers. The materials you select are contingent on your audience, so I recommend certain things for certain audiences. You just have to be careful to share different perspectives from different media, and this way, kids can make their own decisions.” There is ample flexibility in how teachers at RHS incorporate the election into the curriculum, making each class a unique engaging experience. 

One resource that Mr. Ferreri recommends to all the Ridgewood social studies teachers is the New Jersey Mock Election. The website includes a list of current issues that students can discuss together, allowing them to practice exercising their civic responsibilities. Additionally, the site presents resources for students to learn about candidates, both on the state and national levels. High school teachers can register their classes to “vote” on this website, simulating an experience that most high school students do not have. Evidently, both RHS students and teachers understand that civic literacy and duty are essential to learn about, even before voting is open to students. 

At RHS, all students have the chance to learn and have conversations about real world political systems, controversies, and events. In order to ensure that the future voters of America are educated and capable of making the right decisions, it is crucial for students to accumulate a diverse range of information—starting now.

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