Teaching Elementary Students the Electoral Process: A Fun Approach

At a time when American politics is marred with divisiveness and addressing the election can pull a community apart, Boulder Country Day School (BCD) has chosen to lean in, address the issues, teach the democratic process, and focus on the school values of meeting the challenge and being a part of something bigger.

BCD 4^th graders are holding a guinea pig election to learn the electoral process. This may all sound like a purely fun exercise, but students have learned the democratic process and more through this experiential education unit.

The two classroom guinea pigs, Sneffels and Belford, are set to face off in a school-wide election after a month of campaigning. Students have worked hard to develop candidate position statements, made stops on the campaign trail in classrooms throughout campus, and even held a student produced and filmed debate in which candidates earned points for their kind words. Debate topics covered nutrition, health care, animal welfare, education, environment, and personal views.

Former Head of School, John Suitor, shares, “This is an amazing, hands-on way for students to gain insight into some of the key features of the democratic process, including election law, voter eligibility, access to polling stations, campaign strategy and more. At the same time, our community is brought together in support of the greater lesson being taught to our children.”

The time has come for ballots to be cast by all members of the 370 BCD student and employee community. Fourth grade students will oversee the voting process and tally ballots on Election Day, November 5th. The winner will be determined by the BCD electoral college vote. The prevailing guinea pig will serve a 4-year term until the next election cycle. John Suitor again, “By focusing on the guinea pigs, who the students know and love, we are able to help them feel more closely connected to the process and outcome. When I think about empowering students to ignite global change, there is no more powerful opportunity than developing an understanding and respect for the democratic process.”