Somebody has to feed the cow!
The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was
while teaching third grade. The presidential election was heating up
and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would
have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees.
They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.
To simplify the process, candidates were nominated
by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics
these students should have. We got many nominations and from those,
Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.
The class had done a great job in their selections.
Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an
advantage because he got lots of parental support. (I had never seen
Olivia's mother.)
The day arrived when they were to make their speeches
and Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a
better place. He ended by promising to do his very best.
Everyone applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium.
Her speech was concise. She said, "If
you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream."
She sat down. The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We
want ice cream."
She surely would say more. She did not have to.
A discussion followed.
How did she plan to pay for the ice cream?
She wasn't sure.
Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it?
She didn't know.
The class really didn't care.
All they were thinking about was ice cream.
Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide.
A portion of those voters will remain nine-year-olds. The
rest will come to understand that somebody has to feed the cow.
