Current Issues

Daylight Saving Time Year Round?

The proposed change would mean that we do not move clocks back in the fall. Instead New Jersey would keep clocks set to Daylight Saving Time all year, with a later sunrise and a later sunset.

• Student Graphic Organizer for organizing research
• National Geographic: The Odd History of Changing Our Clocks
• US Geological Survey Time Zone History and Link to Printable Maps (link to maps in grey box on side)
• Time Zone Map and Pending Legislation By State (2019)
• Time.gov Map of Time Zones
• US Dept. of Transportation Procedure for Requesting Change of Time Zone. This concerns the related issue of requesting a move to a different time zone.
• National Geographic: The Case Against Daylight Saving Time
• CNN Opinion: Keep Daylight Saving Time All Year
• Popular Mechanics Opinion: In Defense of Daylight Saving Time
• Pro and Con Regarding Daylight Saving Time
• UCLA Opinion: Vote to Stay On Daylight Saving Time
• Quartz Opinion: Against Daylight Saving Time
• Should NJ Consider Ending Daylight Saving Time?

No School Before 8:30 a.m.?

Such a proposed state law would require that New Jersey public schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. The proposed law is in response to research that suggests that student academic performance would benefit from students having extra time for sleep. The law would not change any requirements regarding the length of the school day.

• Student Graphic Organizer for organizing research
• NJTV: 85 Percent of NJ Schools Start Before 8:30
• NJ Dept. of Education Considers Later School Start Times
• Does School Start Too Early? In Ocean County Some Say Yes
• NJ School District Debates Cost of Changing Start Times

The Primary Candidates

Democrats

• Joseph Biden – Joseph Biden served as a senator from Delaware from 1973-2009. He was vice-president under President Obama from 2009-2017.
• Michael Bloomberg – Michael Bloomberg is a former investment banker, philanthropist, and media executive. He served three terms as mayor of New York City.
• Peter Buttigieg – Peter Buttigieg is a former business consultant and two-term mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
• Amy Klobuchar – Amy Klobuchar is a lawyer and former county attorney. Since 2007 she has served as a member of the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota.
• Bernie Sanders – Bernie Sanders was mayor of Burlington, Vermont from 1981-1989 and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990-2007. He has served as a member of the U.S. Senate representing Vermont since 2007. An independent, he caucuses with the Democrats.
• Elizabeth Warren – Elizabeth Warren is an attorney and former college professor. Prior to her election to the U.S. Senate, she was appointed to several commissions and panels regarding banking and finance and helped President Obama establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Since 2012 she has been a member of the U.S. Senate representing Massachusetts.

Republicans

• Donald J. Trump – Donald J. Trump was elected president in 2016 and is running for re-election. Prior to winning the presidency, he ran the family real estate business and was executive producer of a reality television show.
• Joe Walsh – Joe Walsh was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011-2013, representing his district in Illinois. After leaving Congress he was a talk radio host.
• William Weld – William Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991-1997. He ran for president in 2016 as the candidate of the Libertarian Party.

Teachers are encouraged to guide help students become media-literate as they research the candidates and the issues. Two sites that may be useful as starting points are Ballotpedia and Vote Smart.

Ranked Voting
In this primary mock election, students submitting online ballots will be able to rank the primary candidates. Most elections in the United States employ a “winner takes all” system of voting where voters choose one candidate on the ballot. This often works to the detriment of third-party candidates, as voters decide to vote for the candidate with the perceived best chance of winning, rather than the candidate who best represents their positions and beliefs. In an age of political polarization, a system of ranked voting has been suggested as a means to allow more moderate candidates to have a greater chance of success.

• Ranked Choice Voting – National Conference of State Legislatures (with links to additional resources)
• Ranked Choice Voting, Pros and Cons – Ballotpedia.org
• “Ranking Candidates Is More Accurate Than Voting” – Scientific American
• “Ranked Choice Voting And The Quest To Save Democracy In The U.S.” – Quartz.com
• “A Mathematical Approach to Moderacy” – Smerconish.com