Tag Archives: Voting

Ballot Box Stats Prove Voting MATHers

Hilary Clinton wasn’t the first presidential candidate to win the popular vote yet lose the election. Truth is, statistics and demographics have affected several elections over the centuries. And that’s important stuff to know, according to Stephany Subdiaz, Math Instructional Specialist, who is teaching a class this trimester called Voting MATHers.

So, was it entirely unfair that Clinton received more popular votes in the 2016 campaign than Donald Trump? Perhaps. But maybe not. Students enrolled in Subdiaz’s class are exploring the mathematics behind our nation’s elections. How do all those individual ballots get counted? Is the count generally accurate?

In Voting MATHers, students are also taking a close view of the Electoral College — a complex system that some folks believe should be disbanded. They’re also looking at alternative voting systems and methods of tallying votes, with an eye on the advantages and disadvantages of some of these vote-counting options.

So far students have discovered that depending on what state someone lives in, their vote can count more than others and vice versa. For example, a candidate could potentially win the electoral college vote while winning only 22 percent of the popular vote in certain states.

This week, for example, students are Continue reading…

Our 82nd Trimester Offers Life-Changing Classes for Students

As we began our 82nd trimester here at Eagle Rock School & Professional Development Center, we again found our student body proactively participating  — albeit online and at home for now — in a half-dozen classes that are likely to have real-life impacts on our committed and engaged students.

Nearly all of this trimester’s class offerings are explored with an informed lens on what’s occurring across the United States at the present moment. From the Black Likes Matter movement and the upcoming Presidential election, to the health pandemic, students are exploring and learning about the important issues behind peace, social justice, nonviolence, the current and future state of the nation, and one’s own health and wellbeing.

As you’ll read below, this time around, students are looking at nonviolent protests through the works of Nobel Peace winners, as well as the determination of athletes who have opted out of participating in their current season, instead dedicating their efforts to activism.

Finally, below, we introduce three personal growth experiences in which all students are participating. These cover stress, resilience, and staying connected during these most unprecedented and changing times.

Over the next five weeks or so here on the blog, we plan to shine an additional spotlight on five of the classes mentioned below. In the meantime, here’s a short synopsis of what our students are studying and experiencing this trimester at Eagle Rock School:

Voting MATHers: Granted, it’s a clever name for a math class, but Eagle Rock Math Instructional Specialist Stephany Subdiaz is showing students how mathematics plays an important part in our nation’s complex voting system. Stephany’s students are exploring the math behind the ballot box. How are the ballots counted? Why does it matter? How do statistics and demographics affect the outcomes? There’s plenty of math in Voting MATHers.

You Are What You Eat: In this class, students are taking a close look at how Continue reading…