How Policy Changes Affect Local Immigrant Learners

Abstract

Civics education is an important component of what we do in adult ESL classes. Therefore, in the fall of 2016, although most of the adults in my class were not yet citizens, and, therefore, not eligible to vote, I wanted the learners to understand the upcoming election and especially the significance of red and blue states as reflected in the electoral college. While learners had strong political opinions about who they wanted to win the election, my stance was always strictly nonpartisan. Over several days, learners worked in small groups to research the number of electors in each state, and they learned that the candidate who won at least 270 electoral votes would become president of the United States even if that person did not win the popular vote. Students learned that in 2000 Al Gore lost to George W. Bush, even though Gore had won the popular vote that year. In 2016, we saw electoral college history repeated.