Hersey Holds It's 2012 "Election Project," Brainchild of Veteran Teacher Dale Dassonville

     As the 2012 election season nears its culmination, so does the fifth installment of John Hersey High School's "Election Project:" an ongoing series of speakers and activities that moves the students of John Hersey High School beyond the doors of the standard curriculum.   The intention of the project is to foster in students a civic awareness pertaining to real world contemporary issues through their exposure to and immersion in the political process. The "Election Project" is the brainchild of 35-year-teaching veteran, Dale Dassonville, who started at Buffalo Grove High School in 1977 and transferred to Hersey in 2002.

     "This project is consistent with John Hersey's goal to graduate informed and involved citizens," Dassonville explains.

     "A passion for intellectual citizenship fuels Hersey's Election Project," says Dassonville's fellow Hersey English teacher, Jim Miks.  "This belief in constructive public dialogue serves students well and engenders a just, thoughtful political process. Dale's passion for civic education enhances student capacity to link learning to experience." 

     Hersey's English Division Head, Dr. Charles Venegoni, believes, "'The "Election Project'" brings civic concerns and decisions directly in front of our students, who are afforded rare opportunities to engage in the issues that will define their futures. These events define the emphasis on civic awareness and critical thinking that we cultivate in our students."

     Past speakers in the Election Project have included Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, Representative Bob Dold, State Senators Matt Murphy and Dan Kotowski, State Representative David Harris, and numerous candidates including Brad Schneider, Dan Seals, Bill Brady, and Rick Santorum.  Activities have included teacher presentations on campaign ads and the political process, political satire, and the impact of super-pacs on current elections.

     Venegoni claims, "Dale Dassonvile is a rare talent, a sophisticated intellectual with a wide range of diverse experiences, who provides large numbers of students meaningful experiences that will impact considerably their lives as students and their futures as citizens."

     Over his career, Dassonville has influenced thousands of students and countless colleagues. He is a unique teacher that understands that the students' education doesn't begin or end at his classroom door. Dassonville feels his obligation is not limited to the students on his class roster, but to all students who walk the halls of Hersey.  Since his transfer to Hersey, he has been a leader in and organizer of the Forum series that supplements Hersey's academic programs. "Forums" at Hersey are a shared-educational experience for all students, and Dassonville has readily taken on this responsibility. Whether the presentation is on Hero Iconography, Medieval Architecture, or Aristotle and Citizenship, Venegoni believes that these opportunities for students are, "…crucial to the intellectual community and climate that typifies Hersey and its instructional model."

     In his final year of teaching, Dassonville refuses to slow down, as this year's Election Project indicates. The weeks leading up to the election have seen him juggling his regular schedule of classes with a hectic slate of arranging and facilitating a multitude of speakers and activities, as his website daledassonville.com/epc.htm demonstrates.  Still, he continues to send more emails and make more phone calls in hopes to convince other candidates, including Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, to visit Hersey and speak to the students. And, while many candidates see this forum as a campaign stop, Dassonville steadfastly maintains a purely educational, and non-biased, experience for the students. Each speaker must choose a focus topic (role of government, alternatives to two-party system, the election process etc…) to speak about rather than just giving a "stump" speech, and the agreement for each candidate is at least half of the time has to be set aside for student questions so that they can better shape their educational experience.  For Dassonville, there is no greater goal for education than to ensure that the students of high schools today become capable and flourishing citizens of the world tomorrow.