Talking Politics with Sixth Graders: A True Story

Yesterday I subbed for 6th grade social studies. I taught the election four times. Thank god it was something I have been paying attention to. At least on a 6th grade level. I was really impressed with these kids.

I was shocked by the level of heated arguments these kids were having over the candidates and wish I could have filmed S., the intense Obama supporter. I'm an Obama supporter as well, but the stuff this kid was spewing out was amazing. Including his chant: McCain just wants to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. These are eleven year olds and I can imagine some pretty interesting conversations this kid must be subject to over dinner. They're not watching The Simpsons at the dinner table like we are.

This kid is the same one who after being told he couldn't write in his Scholastic magazine seemed to believe that actually cutting (with a scissor) McCain's face out of the cover would be okay.

I had to dispel some theories such as they are going to start drafting twelve year olds and that Obama says that he will cancel school on Fridays so kids can spend more time with their families, but McCain says he will not only keep school on Fridays, but have it on Saturdays, too.

I wasn't sure what to do with the theory that people don't want to vote for Obama because they are afraid the racists (because racism runs rampant--not my words) will assassinate him.

I was particularly fond of the girl and the boy (two different classes) that told me that they couldn't do the in-class assignment because they were not allowed to vote because of their religion. It was a good try, but since the assignment was more reading comp then anything else, I thought their god would be okay with that (I didn't use those words).

Our little Democrat asked me if I was Wiccan once he saw the pentagram on my shoulder, but I told him he would have to figure that out for himself and I couldn't talk about it. He was equally interested in whether or not I liked Korn and responded to my saying I love Jon Davis in the same way he responded to my saying I was an Obama supporter: (hands over head in victory) Yes, thank you!

At first, I wouldn't tell the kids whom I supported, but by class three, I figured it was okay. I'm still not sure how that kind of thing works, but I did notice other teachers with definite preferences displayed on posters throughout their rooms.

During a discussion of global warming, perhaps one of the cutest girls who ever lived with tiny features and lots of freckles said that she had read an article that said goat burps are helping ruin the Ozone layer. Of course, this was met with all sorts laughing and sarcasm, but for some reason, I remembered reading that, too. So we discussed it. Not the theory as much as how there are many theories and some are correct and some are not. I didn't say this particular one was accurate or not because honestly, I have no clue.

That was a lot of my teaching social studies yesterday. If I didn't know an answer, we talked more about theories rather than anything specific. Perhaps I should run for president.

Disclaimer: If I do finish my teaching certification, it will be in English.

During another discussion about global warming and Greenland (which the kids had studied the day before), some asked if when all the ice melts Santa is going to die. I assured them no and promised that if they kept on task, at the end of the class we would discuss why Santa wasn't going to die no matter what happened to the ice. Again, I'm going on theory with this one.

At one point someone said that along with the penguins and polar bears, the reindeer would die, too. I restated that we were saving the Santa discussion for later, if they were good, but the reindeer would be fine just like the old guy. Half the class proceeded to get up and show me a poster on the wall that showed that not only are reindeer running around outside the North Pole, they are a great source of meat for some. Did I mention I would be teaching English?

Some of my other favorites not completely political moments of discussion:

Kids: Why do we have homework? The teacher never gives us homework on Friday.
Me passing out the sheet of homework, which details the President's busy day: Hey, look at how busy the President is every day. This little bit of homework isn't bad in comparison.

Girl talking about a "hobo" stealing her bike out of context.
Me: Well talking about hobos, which we are going to call homeless people, leads us right into our next topic on today's economy...

By the end of the day, I had very much decided that kids should be able to vote--they actually study the issues and are very well informed. Very much unlike too many of the grown ups I know.