Howell 2nd grader: 'I wish kids could vote for real'
Southeast Elementary School first-graders and second-graders were given an opportunity to "vote" during a recent lesson on elections and the importance of voting.
Local elementary students get hands on experience with voting in mock election
For the first time at Howell Public Schools, some elementary students were able to go to the polls and cast their ballot in a mock election.
But they weren't voting for the next sheriff or president. Instead, about 60 children voted on pizza or hamburgers, cats or dogs, or planes or boats.
"What if you can't decide?" asked Kevin Wood, a second grader at Southeast Elementary School.
"That's OK. Just like the real election, your parents can either decide to vote for one of them or not vote at all, but you can't choose both or your vote won't count," said Marion Township Clerk Tammy Beal.
Beal, who is not opposed in Tuesday's election, hosted the mock election and spoke to the students about the importance of voting.
"I thought about it, and decided that the presidential race has been so controversial and been on TV a lot, that I wanted to make the ballot items fun," Beal said. "I remember when I was in the fifth grade and we did vote on the president and a boy voted for the opposing candidate and he got teased ... I wanted to avoid that kind of teasing."
Because most kids are off school during election day and tag along with mom and dad to the polls, Beal thought kids should understand the process.
"What better way for kids to understand than having gone through it themselves?" Beal said.
Beal brought ballots, secrecy sleeves, cardboard voting boxes and a tabulator so students could get the full experience of secret voting.
Each students filled out a slip, received a ballot and voted. The votes were tallied like they would in a real election.
"I think voting is important because it shows how much people like something or someone," said Sophia Bearden, a second grade student. "I wish kids could vote for real."
Wood was just happy he had the chance at school.
"I think it's cool I even got to vote today, even if it wasn't for president," Wood said.
Second-grader Madeline Wagner hopes every adult votes because "if no one voted, there wouldn't be a president."
"Having a president is important, so I hope adults vote for the best person so we can have a good president," she added.
Second-grade teacher Roxane Spece said talking about elections is a great way for students to learn about what is going on in the world, at a local and national level.
"They know a lot more than you would think for their age," Spence said. "I want them to understand that they have a right and a responsibility as an American to vote for their leader, and that this is a privilege that other countries don't have."
Even though it was a tough decision, each kid voted.
"I like both pizza and cheese burgers, so it was a tough decision to make," Wood said.
Although the races for airplanes vs. boats and dogs vs. cats went down to the wire, with airplanes and dogs prevailing, pizza was a runaway winner over hamburgers.
Contact Livingston Daily education reporter Abby Welsh Alusheff at firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow her on Twitter at @abby_welshLD, or follow her on Facebook by searching "Abby Alusheff."