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Take a Look At. . . Oldest Group and Technology
SPOTLIGHT ON Elections....by Meg deMoll and Bridget O'Brian
Monday
October 25, 2004, was Election Day in the OG. When children entered the room,
they were asked if they wanted to participate in the election. No other explanation
was given. Some said yes and some said no. If they agreed they were given a
voting card. Some missed the window for registration if they arrived after the
8:30 deadline. The room was then arranged to simulate a voting station with
a voter verification process and a voting booth with a real voting machine (lever
style). As voting started, some realized they could not vote because they had
not registered earlier. This caused some frustration both for those who had
opted not to vote and for those who had simply missed the deadline. Some who
voted were overwhelmed by the voter verification process or using the voting
machine with no instructions.
There was a lively discussion afterwards. Some pointed out how
uncomfortable the registration process was for them. What does it feel like
to be asked to register for something you are not sure about? How could I have
learned earlier what I needed to do to register? In our society, why do people
choose not to vote? Why is it so hard to register to vote in our country?
Since September the OG has been examining the election process. They studied political cartoons and commercials. Kids identified issues that were important to them and created their own cartoons, commercials, and Power Point presentations to convey their view point. They canvassed neighborhoods to gather statistics. They are also creating political platforms for a debate. The discussions have been awesome. These children have become so invested in this election. Ten, eleven and twelve-year-olds are naturally curious about social issues and justice. The election provided an incredible authentic learning opportunity at the OG level. It was a natural place to integrate social studies with our technology, math and literacy curricula.
Above: These are examples of some of the graphic techniques used to illustrate the results of students’ election canvassing.
by Meg de Moll, Oldest Group teacher
and Bridget O’Brian, Technology teacher
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