West Virginia State University

College of Professional Studies

Department of Education
Professional Development (PD) Reflection
Name:
Ashley Setterstrom

Major Content Area:

Secondary Social
Studies

Circle one:
FR SOPH JR
SR

PD Topic/Title:
Bernie Sanders Rally in Huntington, WV

PD Date:
April 26, 2016

PD Units: 5

Please respond to the following prompts:

1

Summarize the key points you learned from this Professional Development experience.

From 4:30 6:00, I waited in line (during a few thunderstorms) to enter the rally and
spoke to many surrounding people in the line. There was a general mood of excitement, but most
couldnt hold a discussion on the issues of our state or our country, nor on Senator Sanders
stance on those issues. I find that incredibly interesting and believe it speaks volumes about our
culture and warrants a discussion in itself. The general consensus of the issues from the Sanders
supporters that I spoke to or listened to was money in politics and universal healthcare. I intend
to compare this to my later attendance of the Trump rally in Charleston when he comes to town.
From 6:00 8:00, it was more of the same but with different people in the bleachers.
Senator Sanders arrived at 8:00 and spoke until 9:00. He spoke on the effects of income
inequality, our broken criminal justice system, and the corrupt campaign finance system and a
rigged economy that go hand-in-hand. He discussed Wall Street, infrastructure, taxation and
trade policy, minimum wage, American manufacturing, corruption of the higher education
system and the importance of higher education and that it should not be counterproductive.
Naturally, he brought up coal and the environment, climate change, and moving on from coal. He
touched on our staggering amount of opioid and substance abuse and suggested it be treated as a
mental health issue rather than a criminal one. He is pro-marijuana legalization done by the states
and is pushing to have it removed from the Federal Controlled Substances List as it currently
shares the same categorization as heroine. Throughout all, he stressed that American be united
rather than divided.
2

Discuss how these key points connect to your content area.

As a Social Studies educator, social issues will be at the heart of what I teach, no matter
the subject. Everything effects social issues in communities, states, and countries. Most of the
issues discussed are issues that will be at the core of most elections. I had never attended a
presidential rally before and it was certainly a unique experience. Getting out there with ones
own fellow citizens and having discussions and listening to other discussions as they occur can
be comforting or troubling depending on the group. My job is to create self-motivated, conscious
thinkers who want to choose to be informed and know how to keep themselves informed. That is

an individual responsibility held by all of us as citizens of this country and Im excited to teach
students how to do just that.
3

Share how you might use this new information in your future classroom.

It is important for students to understand how a democracy works, the various issues that
arise in democracy, and the vast amount of viewpoints that influence the decisions made
regarding these issues. This is an experience could relate to American History or Civics
topics in my classroom.