Students across Union County are learning about the importance of citizens casting their votes to fulfill their civic responsibility .
Sun Valley Middle School eighth-grade social studies teacher Jenny Kanagy , held a mock election in her classroom Monday ( Nov . 7 ), a lesson that she hopes students will take with them for the future . “ I tried to set it up like they would see in the real-voting world ,” Kanagy said . “ It ’ s important that they understand they have a voice , and eventually their voice will count when it comes to our government .”
Sun Valley Middle eighth graders Brooklyn Sholes and Devin Lyash agree .
“ You have to know what ’ s going on ,” Brooklyn said . “ If we don ’ t know what ’ s going on , we ’ ll be completely blind . If we ’ re completely blind , what will we know about our future ? It ’ s important to know candidates ’ political views so we know what ’ s going on .”
Devin said knowledge is the key to making the right decisions on Election Day .
“ We ’ re going to be voting in a few more years ,” Devin said . “ I think we need to know how it works so we ’ ll know how we ’ re suppose to vote . It ’ s been really interesting to see how many electoral votes each state has .”
Kanagy has been pleased with her students ’ involvement in this lesson on the election process .
“ As we ’ ve been talking about the different parties , realizing their different views , you see the students agreeing with or disagreeing with the different views rather than just saying what they ’ re hearing from the media or from their parents ,” Kanagy said . “ I think we have a thinking generation . While they can ’ t vote this time , some of them will be able to vote in the next election in four years .”
With a show of hands , students stated whether they felt states would vote Republican or Democratic . They felt Florida , Georgia , Mississippi , Arizona and Alabama would vote Republican , while Connecticut , California , Colorado and the District of Columbia would vote Democratic .
As a whole , the overwhelming majority of the class felt Donald Trump would win the presidency . Some felt the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton had cost her , while they felt that Trump had been able to say what people wanted to hear .
Kanagy said one of the issues she discussed with students was the $ 54 million Union County School Bond on which voters decided on Nov . 8 .
“ We have asked them to encourage their parents to vote , but we didn ’ t tell them how to vote . We told them the reasons why the bond is out there ,” Kanagy said . “ It ’ s important . You want to put the information out there , so the people can make their own decisions . I think helping them realize they have that power is huge , especially for this generation .”
Marvin Ridge High School DECA ’ s Club held a mock election in the school ’ s media center Monday ( Nov . 7 ), with students actually voting on a paper ballot for president , the United States Senate , the US House of Representatives and the North Carolina Governor .
UCPS mock elections offer real-world experience
Left : Thomas Miller-Starnes places a Republican tag on Arkansas after a show of hands of fellow classmates decided the state would probably vote Republican .
Top : Carley Wilton casts her ballot in a mock election in her eighthgrade social studies class at Sun Valley Middle School .
“ It was different ,” said a Marvin Ridge junior . “ Instead of voting for just the presidential election , you also got to vote for governor and House of Representatives . It was interesting hearing what people were saying while we were in line .” — This article was provided by the Union County Public Schools Communications Office .
Parent Teacher Magazine • Jan / Feb 2017 • 5