Wednesday, October 28, 2009

What Did You Learn In School Today?

My nine year-old daughter, Kira, came home from school last week upset. The source of her angst is what makes this noteworthy, she was upset about politics. She was fully loaded when I asked how her day went and she launched right into a detailed explanation about lists a few of her peers were keeping of who wanted McCain to be our next president and who wanted Obama to win. Also, she told about heated conversations on the play ground (I promise I'm not joking or exaggerating) where some of the kids were telling "lies". I'm always a sucker for a Kira story, so I asked what kind of lies she'd heard. She said some of the kids were saying that Obama was a Muslim, he was not an American, and that he was friends with Osama bin Laden. 

Now, we live in a painfully conservative small town on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. We regularly talk about how many of the people here have different thoughts and beliefs than us. Seth, who is eleven years-old, and Kira have an understanding of politics that perhaps exceeds what you'd expect from young children. They've been in the booth with me as I voted against Bush in the last two elections. The four of us held Hillary signs at a polling location during the primaries. They don't just overhear conversations adults have, we talk to them, ask them questions and answer questions they come up with. These children actually know about many of the issues. 

We talked at length about the reality of what they'd heard at school. We started by explaining that being a Muslim simply describes someone's religion, just like those who are Christian or Jewish. We told them that, ironically, Obama is a Christian just like most of the people in this community. Also, if he were a Muslim it would not be a bad thing and that if he were a Muslim and his policies were the same as today, he would still be a good President. Next, we spoke about their claim about his citizenship. In school they already learned about how one becomes an American citizen and Obama was born in Hawaii, one of the states in the United States of America.

Last, we explained to them that it was absolutely untrue that Obama was in any way affiliated with bin Laden, terrorism, or September 11th. Because we are deeply committed to fairness, I asked Kira what she knew about McCain. She thought for a moment and said, "McCain is an idiot!" I took a deep breath and explained that she was not correct, McCain is actually an intelligent man. He finished high school and college and has built a great deal of experience in his life. I told her that we (the voting adults in our house) had decided to vote for Obama because we looked at both men's policies and records and found Obama's to be in line with our beliefs and hopes for America in the next four years. 

To this elementary school drama we responded by listening to their concerns, educating them on the issues, then we also felt it necessary to prepare them for the next day at school. We talked about the importance of positive discussions, truth, and everyone's right to vote for the candidate of their choice. I told them that their friend’s parents have the right to vote for McCain, but that I hoped their votes should be based on TRUTH. I asked Kira what she'd like to do about it, she said she wanted her teacher, Mrs. Duke, to talk to the class about the facts. We thought that was a great idea, and also told her that she didn't have to convince anyone about the Obama inaccuracies. She could just tell them to check ANY reliable news source online and that the truth would be theirs to find.

After school the next day, Kira reported Mrs. Duke left early feeling ill and that in writing class they had an assignment to write her a letter. Kira wrote and asked Mrs. Duke to talk about politics in class. Kira was pleased with herself and we were deeply impressed. Two days later I saw Mrs. Duke at a school fundraiser and we spoke at length about the matter. I told her that as a family we support Obama, but understood and respected that we live in a conservative community. We appreciate our neighbor’s right to vote for McCain, but that some of the things their children were saying were absolutely untrue and that was the source of Kira’s concerns. 

Mrs. Duke gave me the impression she agreed it was a problem and said she would talk to their social studies teacher about it. I let her know that Seth reported the same types of conversations among his 5th grade peers and suggested she share the information with the administration as a whole. 

I'm deeply discouraged to report that yesterday Kira came home from school to say that Mrs. Duke told the class that it was against the law for her to persuade the students about politics, that the conversations had to stop, and that the lists had to stop. Kira was visibly disappointed and I don't know how to proceed from here. Kristin summarized perfectly that yesterday, in fourth grade, Kira learned that you can make up anything you want about someone and say it to anyone else at school and that it is illegal for the teacher to correct it. The worst part is that Kira believed her. Mrs. Duke planted a feeling of hopelessness about making a change in this world. This is NOT what I want for my daughter or any child in this country to believe. 

I agree that it should be against policy (I'm unsure about the use of the word illegal) for teachers to "persuade" children to want one presidential candidate over another. To be clear, I NEVER wanted or asked Mrs. Duke, the other teachers, or the administration at Westwood Elementary School to "persuade" their students to vote for Obama. I asked them to make use of this wonderful opportunity, this historical political experience underway in our country, to teach the children about democracy, truth, and the freedom to cast a vote for the candidate of your choice. 

These children have a right to a proper education. They have a right to truth. They have a right to observe and feel engaged in the political process that runs the country they live in. Not only do they have a right to this information, there is an entire curriculum that we call “Social Studies” and as of November 5th this will all be “U.S. History”. 

The next time we vote for president my children will be well into their teenage years. In two elections, Seth will be able to vote and it's three elections until Kira will cast her first vote for president of the United States of America. If not now...when? Step up Westwood, now is not the time to be afraid. These children and the future of our country delicately rests in your influential hands.