When I was in the third grade, (oh, this is going to date me) Nixon resigned from office. The only reason I remember this is because we had a class president who didn't do much and our teacher, probably deciding to teach us about politics, told us we could impeach him. We all voted and soon our playground chant was "Presley got impeached!" Other than that, I knew nothing about what was going on in the world.
Fast forward to 2008. Yesterday, I was watching 'Ellen' and Joe Biden was her guest. Spencer (who is 9) came in my room, looked at the TV and asked, "Isn't that Obama's.."
I said, "Running mate? Yes. Do you know his name?"
"Oh, I know it, it's John Biden."
"CLose, it's Joe." I was pretty impressed, not only that he could recognize him, but know the name. So, I decided to test him.
"Do you know who the Republican candidates are?"
"Yep. John McCain."
"Who's his running mate?"
"Oh, I know it, um..."
"She's a woman,"
"I know!"
"Her name starts with S, it's Sarah..."
"Palin! Sarah Palin!"
I don't think Spencer is that rare, our kids are so much more aware of what's going on. The media, of course, has helped that. I'm glad, though. It's important that they grow up understanding the world they're living in. It's such a mess now, they're going to have a big responsibility when they're adults. Hopefully, having them so aware will make them want to be involved and work for changes on their own.
#332
6 years ago
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3 comments:
I agree - even kids here in Canada are very much aware of the people running for election in the states. Growing up, I could never have told you who the president was! It's good to see more awareness happening.
That is awesome. I highly doubt that Jackson could name the candidates, and he's the same age as Spencer.
yes, they're definatley more aware. I've even noticed a difference between my generation and the next. My YOUNGER siblings love to explain things to me. Hmmm? I think Kowhai knows the candidates and who she would vote for. They "why" is always a funny story.
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