MADISON, Ala. - Students at James Clemens are mixing US history with current events. One class is talking about the recent resignation and impeachment hearings of former Governor Robert Bentley and tying it in with another significant event in history.
In Ms. O'Donnell's AP US History class, they're learning about the parallel between President Nixon's impeachment process to most recently, Governor Robert Bentley's.
Among the class discussion, some students were surprised about the similarity between the two events, despite how long ago it took place.
"What I thought was, immediately I came to this lesson where I thought, 'Wow this is happening again,'" said sophomore, Kendrick Yu. "It's kind of a repeat of impeachment and how Nixon resigned and Bentley also resigned."
Despite realizing history does sometimes repeat itself, one student enjoys knowing the checks and balances system worked in Bentley's case.
"We're putting these people in places of power where they control a lot of things and they're not using their power correctly, it can lead to a lot of bad things," said sophomore, Ange Long.
For Ms. O'Donnell, showing her students history is happening right before their eyes is what she hopes will shape them into an educated future voter.
"I want them to be able to see how politics works, how government works, what the motivation behind many acts that the government undertakes are, so that when they get to vote they're going to make good decisions," said O'Donnell.