Mock election gives students better understanding of what to expect

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Five days before the actual thing, Kings County Academy students, still a few years too young to vote for real, went through what the students and their teacher termed a very useful exercise in democracy.

KCA is one of 4,000 schools across Canada, including some in our area, to take part in Student Vote 2008, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works with educators to establish habits of democratic citizenship among young Canadians.

Schools are encouraged to register with the program and organize mock elections, which are like just the real thing in every way other than the votes don’t really count. However, according to KCA social studies teacher Eileen Hiltz, “they definitely do matter. “It amazes me just how ‘into it’ they are,” Hiltz said of the middle school (Grade 6-8) students who took part in the vote Thursday. “They’re impressed that, even at their age, their vote can still make a difference. “They realize it’s not real, but it’s important for the parties to know that youth is out there, they will soon be able to vote and they do matter.” “It’s important for students because it gives us an advantage when we get to be 18 and can vote for real,” said Grade 8 student Brett Holland, who also acted as a poll clerk.

The mock election, he said, “is very close to the vote that’s going to be held in the federal election. The process is the same; we’re even voting for the candidates that are actually running in this riding.”

And while none of the candidates stopped by in person, “since the beginning of school,

we’ve been learning about them, who they are and what they and their parties stand for.” ‘Looking forward to be able to vote for real’

Holland, 13, said he “is looking forward to being able to vote for real and having a say on who’s going to be our next Prime Minister and how they’re going to run our country.”

Admitting he had “already made up my mind,” Holland said he found the process “very useful, definitely not a waste of time at all.”

Maddie Hughes and Morgan Whynot are co-Prime Ministers of the KCA student government for the 2008-2009 school year. Both girls said also the mock election was a useful exercise, even though they were still undecided at the time we spoke. “It’s the first time we’ve done it and I feel we should be doing it every time there’s an election,” Hughes said. She and Whynot agreed the process “has given us a better understanding of what to expect” from a real election campaign.

Whynot suggested, “there’s no apathy around here. Everybody wanted to vote and be part of this.” To make sure students were as informed as possible, “we did announcements and the class reps talked about it in class and answered questions.”

Hiltz, who included Student Vote 2008 as part of her teaching curriculum this term, agreed the students “are very informed. They watched the federal leaders’ debate and are making themselves more aware about the things that affect them, including campaign promises and whether or not they’re kept.”

She described the process as “critical learning” for the students. “Their radar detectors are on and if they see or hear something they don’t agree with, they want to know why.”

For more information on Student Vote 2008, how it works, what schools are involved and, eventually, the results of the voting, visit the project website at www.studentvote.ca.