In class, we are talking about Spain’s political parties.
“I don’t get this,” a student exclaims. “Why are you saying that Partido Popular is a conservative party located to the right of the political spectrum if it supports all these social programs?”
So I had to explain that political Left and Right have different meaning in different countries and that President Obama is located to the right of Spain’s major conservative party.
Then I told the students that the other major political party in Spain is the Socialist Party.
“What is Socialism?” I asked.
“It’s like what Obama is!” several students responded in unison.
So I had to explain that Spanish Socialism has nothing whatsoever to do with Obama.
Then I moved to the Communist Party of Spain.
“What is Communism?” I asked.
There was a pause and then one student suggested in a small voice, “It’s like what Obama is?”
I think now everybody is completely confused.
Clarissa's Blog 
Do you know the Political Compass website?
http://www.politicalcompass.org/
It’s a test designed to identify where you are on the political spectrum. It might help some of your students identify where they are in relation to people like Obama.
It’s free too.
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I hope that you cover the Civil War in that class. I’m sure your students will have fun sorting out the anarchists, the socialists, the communists, the POUM, and the liberals–and that’s just on one side. 🙂
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Obama is a socialisn’t.
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