The bustling of standing lines and the rustling of ballots made up the scene of hot voting contention in the halls of Canadian democracy on Friday (Oct. 16) – well, school halls that is.
Lawrence Grassi Middle School students took part in a mock federal election to learn the ins and outs of what is needed and expected of our next generation to start making serious changes towards our dismal voter turnout numbers during election periods.
Canadian political institutions is part of the curriculum in Grade 6, and also continues into Grade 7 for students to start the learning processes of the election landscape.
Lawrence Grassi teacher Cori Fraser was on hand throughout the day’s programming, which also included other tools to get students ready for when their vote will really matter.
“Another perfect example is we’ve paired Grade 8 students with Grade 4 students, and what they’re doing is learning about (CBC’s) Vote Compass before they vote this afternoon,” Fraser said. “Also, my Grade 7 class has gone to each individual classroom to explain the voting process and show them a ballot box.”
This is the fourth time Lawrence Grassi students have taken part in a student vote program with traditional looking ballots and realistic screening procedures with a need to properly mark their ballots.
“I can bet you $10 pretty safely that they know about issues more than their parents do,” Fraser said. “They’ve taken a look at all the platforms and have had candidates come in, so they’re going home and saying, ‘Hey mom, hey dad, who are you voting for? And why are you voting for them?’ So the outreach is pretty spectacular.
“They can tell you what is in Bill C-51, so it’s not even just local issues that they’re thinking about, but globally in terms of what’s happening in Syria and how one party platform is ignoring or embracing what’s going on.”
Three students who took part in the day’s election included Grade 7 students Adam Weatherhog, Ryan Connell and Xavier McKeever, who felt the program was a positive first step towards an adulthood of civic duty.
“I think that everyone has the right to vote and they should use it correctly,” Connell said. “I definitely think I’ll vote now when I’m 18 because you can start having a real say in the country and have a bigger influence.”
“I learned a lot, I learned how to mark a ballot, how to fold a ballot and how people sign in when they’re voting,” McKeever added.
“It felt good to show kids how to vote when they’re older and to get kids more engaged in voting, because they should get a voice in who the government is and not just leave it to certain people,” Weatherhog said.
