The Grade 7 class at Nakusp Elementary School – with the help of Mrs. Leitch and her WKTEP teacher candidate Mr. Johnston – has been getting political.
For the past month, the class has learned about different forms of government, including the systems of government in Canada, B.C., and Nakusp – and were even able to chat with the Mayor herself.
Through Student Vote (a CIVIX organization), the class has been studying the political parties represented in the West Kootenay electoral district. Many lively political discussions have been held, and the students were able to discover their own political ideologies through careful study and focused questions.
To cap off this learning, the class held the official Student Vote Student Election for Nakusp Elementary School on Monday, May 8, 2017. The students took turns running the polling station, and mimicked the official provincial system as much as possible.
After their polls closed, they counted and tallied the ballots, and reported their results to Student Vote; which will be announced along with the official election results after the vote on May 9.
It has been a fantastic way to get students to engage in political discourse and consider what might be important to them in a government. As well, there is hope that these students will be more likely to take part in the democratic process when they come of age.
What have you learned about politics and government through this process?
Mia Roberts – When it was my turn to do my job only two people came
Unnamed – People are very serious about the election
Connor Hilborne – That there is a huge responsibility for the government.
Maia Zinselmeyer – I learned that the process of voting has many steps and roles so everything runs smoothly.
Aidan MacKay – I learned what a “scrutineer’s” duties are in an election.
Abbe Fellows – The process was not fun because my group didn’t do much. All we did was count, no one came to vote for my group.
Horatio Kostuch – I learned that elections are very official.
Tayleur Moffat – I thought that the Student Vote was a very good learning experience. I would love to do it again. It was hard to cross off all the names and make sure there were no fake notes.
Amber LaMarsh – Through this process I learned that voting is very organized and serious, so there isn’t any mishaps or misunderstandings.
Unnamed – I learned from my experience at our Student Vote that many hands make light work.
Amelia Driedger – I learned that there are only three parties to vote for in this election [in our electoral district].
Unnamed – I learned the different views of each democratic party.
Bryce Alstad – I learned that British Columbia uses the First Past the Post system [for voting].
Lucas Robins – I learned that there are 87 electoral districts [in BC this year].
Riley Baron – I learned how the Student Vote election works.
Phoenix White – I learned about oligarchy.
