By Independent News
It isn’t only the news media that have been peppering president- elect Barack Obama with questions about what he plans to accomplish once he is in power.
Nine third-graders at the private Carden West school in Pleasanton have taken part in the grilling, too. The children in the class are taught by Lisa Harp. She has been teaching a social studies unit, with a focus on the presidential election.
After Obama won the election, Harp asked the children to write letters to Obama about various political topics. It took them only 50 minutes in language arts class to complete the assignment.
The subjects included the environment, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economy.
One student asked Obama about the search to find a suitable dog for the White House, since one of his daughters is allergic to dogs. Another asked about how “the United States can fix racism in the world.”
The questions impressed Harp enough so that she e-mailed CNN, which was looking for questions for the new President. CNN thought so much of the class’s project that it sent out a camera crew to show the kids reading their letters.
A montage of the questions ran several times on the air, as part of a focus on Obama’s victory. Clips are available on the CNN website.
LANDSLIDE IN MOCK ELECTION
In the run-up to the November election, the students held their own mock election. They registered by political party on a form. There was a decorated ballot box. Harp obtained an entire kit with those materials at a Pleasanton store for teachers.
The children made posters, too. One showed a “split screen,” with Sen. John McCain on one side and Obama on the other, and the student in the middle. The caption said, “Which One Should I Choose?”
Harp said, “I think they got the concept that everyone is making this choice now.”
The landslide for Obama was bigger in Harp’s class than it was nationally. He received eight votes. McCain received the ninth vote.
Harp said that she stayed out of it. It appeared that parents spent a lot of time talking to their kids about the election. “For kids who are only 8 or 9 years old, they are very bright,” and can keep up well with information from their parents, said Harp.
The Carden West school was founded in 1977 by Annamaria and Norman Zimmerman, when they moved to Pleasanton from southern California. The school is named after Mae Carden, a 20th century educator who put emphasized teaching the whole child, and on allotting much individual instruction time for each student, said the school’s deputy director, Kathleen Massie.
