It’s Election Day at Wilson Elementary School. For second grade teacher, Lisa Lott, that means setting up two poll booths outside her classroom and running a school-wide election.
Students voted for the presidential candidate of their choice. Ballots featured a picture of each candidate with a box to check. Ballots were then folded and placed in a ballot box. And while many people may think students don’t care about the election, Lott disagrees. “It’s been a hot topic around here,” she said. “They definitely have an opinion on who they want.”
Lott used the activity to support math instruction and to link to community events. Her students tallied the votes at 2:30 p.m. Results were announced before the end of the day.
Fourth graders lined the hallway mid-morning, waiting their turn to cast a vote. They have been studying about elections, according to their teacher, June Schneckloth. “They wish their votes counted,” she said. Her class voted on Monday, with a heavy turnout for Hillary Clinton.
After voting, Makia Townsend predicted Clinton would win.
One student mentioned his parents talk bad about both candidates. He was still planning to cast his ballot for his favorite candidate. Others talked about some of the pressing issues but all understood the importance of voting. “It’s important to vote so we can get a new president,” said Mason Schmidtke.
And the winner at Wilson School . . . is Hillary Clinton by a landslide.
