How to Bring the Election Home to the Kids

It must be a left-over from years of teaching and reading about American history, but political campaigns still fascinate me about as much as some of the recent ones have appalled me. Even this morning, we were glued to the give and take on "Meet the Press," and we will be watching "Super Tuesday" with great interest.

It was always interesting, back in the classroom teaching days, to learn what the kids felt about the candidates and what they thought was important. I always encouraged the students to do their own thinking, whether or not it agreed with their parents, friends, or current media flurry. We plowed deeply into the topics and controversies until the students frequently understood the election issues much more thoroughly than their elders. Over the years I thought that their reasons for supporting candidates were usually sound. So, this blog is dedicated to all of you with children and grands, or those of you who play or work with kids, to consider some of the ways you can encourage those young people to think about this election. The following article appeared in the San Antonio Express News on Friday, and I have copied the original article from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram. Please note the additional sources given at the end of the article which are links to Nickelodeon and Scholastic sites, always good resources.

I especially appreciated the comments by the 14-year old teen reporter for Scholastic News! Let me know what you think!

http://www.star-telegram.com/464/story/425340.html

How to bring the `08 election home to your kids
By HEATHER SVOKOS
McClatchy Newspapers

As you watch some of the kids on Nickelodeon's "Kids Pick the President" series, you may be quietly astonished. They're not debating the cuteness of Barack Obama, or the coolness of Mike Huckabee's electric bass grooves. They're explaining how they're aligned with Rudy Giuliani's stance on gun control, or Barack Obama's plan to make the troops in Iraq recede. You will hear them use phrases like "tax credit," "solar panels and biofuels," and "single-payer health care system."
Wouldn't it be great if your kids were just as informed, and they didn't tune out as election season tunes up? We talked to some experts on the topic of kids and politics; here are their tips on how to get kids interested in Decision 2008, even if they won't be old enough to vote for another presidential election or two.

The journalist: Linda Ellerbee
Through her "Nick News" program on Nickelodeon, the critically lauded newswoman has spent nearly two decades of her career giving kids a voice on current events. The latest production is "Kids Pick the President," a year-long election-awareness campaign that aims to connect politics to kids' lives. It kicked off with "The Kids Primary," and an online primary election where they can cast their own votes. Additional programs will run throughout the year.
How parents can help: "Over and over on Nickelodeon, I have to keep saying: `Our job is not to talk to kids,; our job is to listen to kids.' When you listen to a kid, you're showing respect. And when you show respect to a kid, you find out that they probably know more than you think they do, and that they have opinions."
Use campaign ads as a learning opportunity: "If you're watching TV with your kids - which is always a good idea - talk to them about what they're seeing:. `Is this a fair ad? Does that mean, if you don't think this ad is fair, that maybe that candidate isn't fair?'."
Discussion starters: "Why couldn't a parent say to a kid: `Who do you think I should vote for?' Let the kid know that it's not a test, and they don't have to agree with you."

The educator: Suzanne Freeman, executive editor, Scholastic News Online
Scholastic is a school resource that teachers can use in classrooms; its Kids Press Corps is a group of students (ageds 9-14) who report on the election from their hometowns. Freeman says Scholastic polls show the top issues of concern to kids are: "the environment, global warming, education, and the war in Iraq."
Her tips for sparking interest:
1. Answer questions, but keep it simple. If you don't know the answer, look it up with them.
2. Ask kids questions that might spark their curiosity. "What do you think about the possibility of the first woman president? If you could ask a presidential candidate a question, what would it be?"
3. Find out what they're talking about in class, and figure out how to connect to it.
4. Allow them to get involved. Visit www.scholastic.com and vote in a poll; check out the candidates' Web sites, or blogs written by some of the candidates' kids, such as the Romney brothers (www.fivebrothers.mittromney.com); John McCain's daughter, Meghan (www.mccainblogette.com); and Cate Edwards, at blog.johnedwards.com/Cate.

The kid: Valirie Morgan, 14, kid reporter for Scholastic News
Morgan, a freshman at Hillcrest High School in Dallas, is especially interested in news about going green, health care, and immigration. She got interested in politics through her parents, adding that although her opinions occasionally differ from theirs, they have good conversations about the issues.

What should adults do? "Bring it to our level, come up with some controversial topics, and let us debate. Debating is the most fun way for kids my age to get involved, arguing out their ideas."
What should adults not do? "The only thing I personally wouldn't want is a one-sided interpretation of politics, like if your teacher is just telling you about her ideas. You have to have the whole story."

ONLINE INFORMATION SOURCES:
Nickelodeon: www.nick.com/kpp
Scholastic News Online: www.scholastic.com/scholasticnews