The Politics Academy @HOME
The Politics Academy @HOME is an intensive four-day online weekend program for high school students interested in politics. The core of the Politics Academy is around its lessons: You will be taught by Harvard students on the topics of political theory, international relations, campaign management and hot topics in the US government. Throughout this program, students will also have the opportunity to form groups and tackle a policy problem that they are personally passionate about. Our model is based on hands-on learning where students are faced with the same challenges high-level political decision makers face everyday. Throughout the week, students will work together in diagnosing symptoms, getting to the core of the problem, and finding innovative solutions with the skills they learn each day of the course. This culminates in group presentations at the end of the week where students present their research and provide actionable policy recommendations.
Become a leader.
Brainstorm innovative policy.
Accessible Education. Harvard Quality.
Program Overview
The Politics Academy will be taught in a combination of lectures, forums, sections and a final project. Each day will begin with a lecture, taught by engaged Harvard undergraduate instructors and will introduce students to the broader themes in politics. From there, students will have an opportunity to dissect the material covered in lecture with their peers. Through active discussion of historical and current events, students are forced to face difficult decisions in policy, which will prepare them for a career in government. Students will also be doing a lot of hands-on work through their project groups. The Politics Academy will provide students with a hands-on experience through workshops and a project that culminates their learning and experiences.
Our goal is to create a space for open political discourse by educating students on modern day political issues. By creating an immersive experience for students to communicate and brainstorm solutions, we instill the ability to pitch ideas as well as persuade others to align with a proposal, a skill crucial to a future in international relations, government administration, or any career in politics.
Schedule
Day 1
Introductions & Icebreakers
Week Overview & Policy Pitch Introduction
Lesson 1: Introduction to the US Government
Worksheet Activity
Policy Pitch Group Assignments, Brainstorm, & Selection
Lesson 2: Campaigns & Elections Overview
Election & Campaign Considerations Activity
Day 2
Lesson 3: Campaign Considerations
BYO Campaign Platform Activity
Group Work: Underlying Causes & Identification of the Problem
Workshop
Hot Topics in US Politics & the 2020 Election (Platforms & Debates)
Activity: Debate
Day 3
Lesson 4: International Relations
IR Game Theory Activity
Sample Policy Presentation & Analysis
Group Work: Solutions to the Problem
Activity: Write an OP-ED
Day 4
Student Presentations
Activity: Asserting & Defending Your Position
Harvard Q&A
Day 5 (Summer)
Guest Speaker - usually a Harvard professor or graduate student; sometimes a leading expert in the field.
Leadership Workshop
Lesson 5: Political Theory & The US Government