Victor Sifuentes vs. Hawkeye Pierce

In my Current Events class, we have a weekly seminar about some timely topic like polygamy or taxes. Because it's been such an exciting primary season (and because I can), I am also forcing the students to watch the last two seasons of my all-time favorite show, The West Wing.

I always loved WW and even when the writing suffered from Aaron Sorkin's various trips to rehab, I watched every episode. (He writes much better on the 'shrooms by the way.)

Since the fall, we have been watching an a few episodes per month starting with the beginning of the Santos Campaign. Fans of the show have probably noticed the similarities between the WW and the current Democratic Primary Contest, but Slate TV does a great job of exposing the eerie parallels between real-life and a TV show that was canceled two years ago.




In case you're wondering, my students are now also hooked on the show. My 10th graders ask me weekly, "Will Santos win? Isn't that the girl from Meet the Parents?"

My 12th graders pretend to be bored by the whole thing, but I can sense they're secretly into it. And even if they're not, I love watching it at work.