On October 30, 2012, the first, second, and third grade students at Woodland Heights Elementary participated in a nationwide mock-election sponsored by StudiesWeekly.com. Students were provided an “I Voted” sticker after they completed the voting process.
Prior to the mock election, ten second graders researched the candidates and gave speeches to these grades about the candidates. Their speeches provided information that was relevant to issues and helped students understand the voting process that their parents will participate in on November 6.
The results have been delayed due to the severity of the weather on the east coast. A final count will be announced at the end of the day on Friday, November 2nd.
Below is an excerpt from the StudiesWeekly.com website about the program and the significance of children having early experiences with the election process:
Who will Kids Choose?
If students “vote” every four years as part of their education they’ll be more likely to vote as adults.In 2004, our first nationwide “election” gave Studies Weekly subscribers a realistic civics experience with nearly 300,000 of their peers across the country. They accurately predicted the next president.
In 2008, more than 6 million students participated. Millions of students delighted parents as they enthusiastically wore their “I VOTED” stickers home from school. Again, students accurately predicted the next president and perhaps more parents voted too in response to their children’s enthusiasm!
Richard Dreyfus says, “We need to teach our kids how to run our country before it’s their turn to run our country.”
The Woodland Heights Elementary students that participated by giving speeches were (In no particular order): Owen Huntsinger, Caleb Nelson, Andrew Boren, Campbell Gilmore, Cecilia Rodriguez, Brooke Minchey, Jackson Yoder, Sam Bruton, Aishwarya Nigalye, and Peyton Wells.
Pictured top left: Owen Huntsinger gives a speech during the “election.”
