Political Cartoon Contest: Election 2008

Authentic assessment, student publishing, real-world experience, experiential education ... any of these terms can be applied to our political cartoon contest. It was a privilege to again collaborate with Dr. Alan Marcus of UCONN's Neag School of Education and Mr. Bob Englehart of the Hartford Courant to sponsor a Political Cartoon Contest. Mr. Englehart's editor at the Hartford Courant proposed the topic of the 2008 election. Top entries were published in the Courant and can be viewed here.

In preparation for the contest Mr. Englehart came to Bloomfield High School and conducted a cartoon drawing seminar for our students. It was an amazing experience to watch Mr. Englehart at work and to have him critique some of the student's projects.

School-Wide Cartoon Contest & Gilder Lehrman Exhibit

I sought and was awarded a display grant by the Gilder Lehrman Instutite to host one of their professional quality traveling exhibits. From early December 2006 to early January 2007 we hosted the “Looking at Lincoln” display. In order to promote school and community awareness of this exhibit and political cartoons we conducted surveys amongst the student body and provided interpretation for the exhibit during the annual winter concert. View images of the display, survey, and interpretation here.

In conjunction with this exhibit I initiated the first school-wide Political Cartoon Contest which was judged by a university professor and prominent, nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist. View the cartoons here.

A.P. Exams Editorial

Providing students the opportunity to seek academic excellence is part of the goal of external exam based programs such as the Advanced Placement program and programs such as IGCSE, A-Levels, and the International Baccalureate. My letter to the editor of the Hartford Courant on February 12, 2007 is focused on the importance of academic excellence and the opportunity for academic achievement inherent within the A.P. program. A full version of this editorial is available here. The Courant edited my original version to fit their space requirements.