In Schools, Election Is a Living History Lesson

This from Education Week, photo by Christopher Powers:

For students at two suburban Washington high schools, Barack Obama’s election as the nation’s first black president was an inspiring example of history in the making. Chanell Richardson, a 17-year-old senior at Potomac Senior High School in Dumfries, Va., couldn’t contain herself last night when CNN announced that Mr. Obama would be the next president of the United States.

“I ran outside, in the rain, screaming Obama ’08! Obama ’08!” Ms. Richardson said this morning. “I didn’t go to sleep last night. I was too excited.” But, wired on caffeine and the knowledge that the candidate she supported had succeeded in his quest for the White House, she had no problem making it to school. And Ms. Richardson, who served as a volunteer at a polling place, steering voters to the correct lines and handing out “I Voted” stickers, confessed that she has fledgling political aspirations of her own.

“I’m interested in public policy now,” she said. “I want to be like Michelle Obama. I love her.” ...