Learning to Lead: How SRDS Teaches Election Process and Civic Engagement

These days, you can’t leave the house without seeing evidence of our upcoming elections everywhere you look. Signs for local, state, and federal candidates have popped up in front yards and next to highway on-ramps, and their numbers and variety point to the complex nature of this democratic republic within which we live. For our kids, who might just now be tuning into the ways in which our country is shaped by our elections, the intricacies of the process can be confusing and overwhelming. At Saddle River Day School, we are committed to empowering our students with deep knowledge, factual insight, and robust critical thinking skills to fully grasp the electoral process. Our faculty members set an example by fostering respectful dialogue without engaging in divisive political discussions, creating an environment that promotes understanding and balanced learning. We steer clear of pressures to take sides, encouraging our students to explore complex issues thoughtfully and independently with an emphasis on the importance of being active, informed participants, helping them understand why their engagement is crucial for shaping their own futures.

As part of the SRDS mission, to inspire each child to “become a caring and ethical contributor to society,” educating our students about the importance of knowledgeable civic engagement begins in our Early Education Center. Our PreK4 and Kindergarten students have spent the month of October learning the basics of what voting is, participating in votes with simple binary choices, and learning that with direct voting, the choice that receives the most votes wins. Students also learn why they vote and the effect of voting on communities, along with the importance of participation in the process. The month will come to a close with students engaging in a full election experience, including campaigns, speeches, and mock voting to bestow the very important title of Early Childhood Class Mascot on one very deserving and qualified candidate.

In the Lower School, the first and second grade students have been doing a deep dive into the question, “What is a President?” researching Presidential roles and responsibilities, and identifying characteristics of an effective president. Students were paired in groups to craft presidential speeches, starting with the prompt “If I were President…” and will present speeches to their class. Third and fourth grade students return to the topic of elections, answering the question “What is an election?” by reading about the history of election day, the different ways to vote, and discussing why we vote and who can vote. 4^th grade students will be paired with 3^rd grade students to dig into the question of presidential eligibility and fitness with a writing activity in which they will detail the qualities they think are the most important for the leaders of our country. The 3^rd and 4^th graders will also had the opportunity to participate in a “Mock Election” in which they chose the design for this year’s “Rebels For A Cause” t-shirt. You’ll know your student participated when you see them proudly displaying their “I voted” sticker. 

At SRDS our goal, as articulated in our Strategic Vision statement, is to create a foundation on which our students can build their lives. We strive to empower each child to lifelong success in the 21^st century. We give our students the tools so they know how to think, and the skills so that they can discern and decide, through examination of their own values and principles, what they think. In support of these objectives, civic programming in the Middle and Upper Schools have focused on an exploration of the election process, voting systems, the pros and cons of polling, and the power of participation. Students have explored the concepts of direct and representative democracy, they’ve gained an understanding of the way their individual votes can translate into electoral power at each level of government, they’ve analyzed how polling can (and can’t) affect the prediction of election outcomes, and they’ve seen the effects of voter turnout and educated, fact-based participation on democracy. Students took part in a mock town hall, examined a New Jersey ballot, delved into the intricacies of the Electoral college, explored the mechanics of polling, and investigated historical U.S. voter trends. The intention behind each of these interactive activities and in-depth discussions was to underscore the remarkable responsibility we, as U.S. citizens, have been given to direct our own destiny through our engagement and participation in the democratic process. 

Saddle River Day School’s primary core value is “Everyone Counts.” We interpret that to mean that all children and adults matter, and their contributions are prized. To this end, our educators developed and implemented a curriculum aimed at giving our students, in age and developmentally appropriate ways, the encouragement and license to participate in the process of choosing, through critical evaluation and deep understanding, the candidates who are asking for the job of both representing them now, and safeguarding their future. This kind of multidisciplinary, cross curricular instruction is a hallmark of an SRDS education and is what will give our students the power to affect their own futures both while they are here, and long after they’ve graduated and moved on.