By: Alexis LeMieux

GovPo, or the Government and Politics, is one of the classes a student is required to take during their time at Bellbrook High School. The class helps the student after graduation because it prepares them for citizenship in the United States.

Bellbrook offers two levels of the class. “AP Government and Politics is an advanced placement government course at Bellbrook High,” AP Government teacher Mark Carreira said. “It covers the foundations of our government from the Constitution, through the separation of powers, and through the voting of political ideology.”

If a student does not want to take the yearlong AP course, they can, instead, take the one-semester government course.

“I teach about the history of our government, the Constitution, and the three branches of government,” teacher Perry Caldwell said.

Each teacher has activities they do in their class regarding government or politics. For Mr. Carreira, he assigns classroom debates for his students to actively participate in, like the yearly Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate.

“It was an organized debate we did, and the students had very specific things to talk about so it wasn’t off the top of their head,” Carreira said.

Since elections are an important aspect of citizenship, Mr. Carreira has students do mock elections as well.

“In our most recent mock election, we really talked about [Ohio] Issues 1 and 2 that were on the ballot in the state and we voted on it,” Carreira said.

In the actual Ohio election, Issue 1, a state constitutional amendment about reproductive rights, had 57% of the votes for it, and 43% of people voted against it. Issue 2, a law legalizing recreational marijuana, had 57% vote for it, and 43% of people vote against it.

The results from Mr. Carreira’s mock elections were very similar to the results for the voters in the state of Ohio. About 60% of students supported Issue 1 and Issue 2.

Mr. Caldwell has his students take the Americanism test and the Citizenship test.

“In taking the test, it demonstrates a basic knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of our government,” Caldwell said.

Students think the class is important, not only because it is required. “I am learning about the branches of government, how the government works, the important parts of the government, and the historical changes that have happened over time,” junior in AP GovPo Jordan Frantz said.

“We talk about them understanding the role of our government and the importance of registering to vote and casting an educated ballot,” Caldwell said.

“I really try to stress that they participate in our democracy, and I tell them to be informed and look at the issue,” Carreira said.

When students learn things about their government and learn about politics, it can help them later on as well. “I will know how to read ballots on important issues, and I will also know how the government is run and why certain things in government happen,” Frantz said. “It keeps me an updated and informed citizen.”

Both classes aim to help students’ ability to be positive contributing members of society.