My first year teaching was during the '04 Presidential Primary.
I drove into the school parking lot on the day of my state's
primary and was ecstatic to realize the voting was being held at
our school. Knowing the families I taught and how many jobs they
worked, I didn't think they would be taking their children along
with them to vote. I doubted the children had ever seen what it
was like to experience the voting process, and, as a first year
teacher not yet obsessed by the demands of my plan book, I
decided to remedy this. I got permission from the poll officials
to bring my loud first graders down to our gym. Then I tried to
prep my kids. How do you explain a primary to first graders? Ok,
so you know we have a president. Yes, George Bush. No, not
George Washington DC Bush, just George Bush. No, George
Washington is dead. No, so is Abraham Lincoln. Yes, a long time
ago. SO, YES, a president. Well, every 4 years we decide if we
want to keep the current president and we give other people a
chance at the job.