Gov MAP class connects technology to government

February 10, 2011 — by Paul Jung & Allison Toh

The MAP program continues to grow as its newest addition, the Government MAP class, has finished its first semester and begins its second. The class is taught by history teacher Mike Davey.

The MAP program continues to grow as its newest addition, the Government MAP class, has finished its first semester and begins its second. The class is taught by history teacher Mike Davey.

Government MAP introduces an insight into the role that media plays in the government.
Another diffiference, according to senior Nick Renda, is that “in Gov MAP we did a lot more hands-on activities. Also, you have the opportunity for many more video projects or other media projects that wouldn’t be assigned in other classes.”

One popular project was the presidential election simulation.

“I got to run as a pretend-Republican candidate against [senior] Arya Parhar, who ran as the Democratic candidate,” senior Jason Shiuan said. “I had my own little team who ranged from people who took care of finance, publicity, running the campaign etc. We also really got the chance to see how the election works in real life.”

Because the class is composed of mostly MAP students who have been with the program since its initiation, many students, like senior Alex Chan, took Government MAP to be with his friends.

“After taking two years of MAP, I became really close with [the people in MAP],” Chan said. “And because there aren’t really any official senior MAP classes, this was a great chance to hang out with them.”

Since non-MAP students were also given the opportunity to take this class, Davey was admittedly worried at the beginning of the year that the students joining a MAP class for the first time would struggle in Government MAP. However, he found that his students caught on quickly.

“I feared a schism in skill and identity,” Davey said. “Instead, the students with a background in MAP helped the students who did not and increased their own skills in the process. In the end, it ended up being something that bonded the class.”

Many students confessed that their choice to take Government MAP was mainly based on the fact that Davey would be their teacher.

“Davey’s a fun teacher. He takes a fairly boring subject in government and makes it interesting by teaching us in different ways,” Chan said. “[He’s] definitely a kid at heart.”

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