On November 4, Sen. Barack Obama stood amongst the nation to accept his role as the next President of the United States. The race is over, but for many Americans-- skin color, gender, and age alike-- a newfound patriotism has begun to emerge. Just ask Miss Rebecca's third grade class in the Mission District. At Marshall Elementary, nine-year-olds are talking politics, too. One word, they tell me: "change."
"'C' is for change!" exclaimed third-grader Angela, forming half a circle with her small hand. Like the majority of the students in Room 48, Angela was born in the city and has lived in The Mission her whole life. She and her classmates are members of "Mission Graduates," a non-profit after-school program designed to prepare its K-5 students for college, according to their website.
Angela and her friends may only be under a decade old and too young to vote in the recent 2008 Election, but when it comes to politics, all six students interviewed were clearly Obama fans.
"I love Obama, I'm so happy he's our president!" shouted 10-year-old Mariana. "His speech was wonderful... I cried."
"I knew he was going to win," reassured Angela. "A lot of people voted for him-- I voted for him-- and he gives money to the homeless."
This appeared to be one of their main concerns for their country and their community. They said they'd like to see the next president fix poverty, clean their streets, and stop the war.
It's hard to say whether or not these kids picked up their political knowledge from their parents, the television, or advertisement and protest in such a liberal city as SF. Regardless, there seemed to be a strong sense of honesty in their responses, and their outlook on global and local issues may go a little undermined.
"I like Obama, but I think he's going to be assassinated," said Holden, the only Caucasian student in the class. "Our country isn't ready for a black president."
If Obama is able to follow through with his educational pursuits, however, the students at Marshall Elementary may have a promising future.
While in office, Obama says he wants to increase the number of Charter Schools, schools a part of the public education system that are not allowed to charge tuition to their students. Admissions are usually done on a lottery type basis, so space is limited, but necessary in certain cities. He also plans on creating what he refers to as the "American Opportunity Tax Credit" which is worth $4,000 a year for college students in exchange for 100 community service hours a year, according to OntheIssues.com.
"What you see consistently are children at a very early age are starting school already behind," said Obama to OntheIssues.com. "That's why I've said that I'm going to put billions of dollars into early childhood education that makes sure that our African-American youth, Latino youth, poor youth of every race, are getting the kind of help that they need so that they know their numbers, their colors, their letters."
Pictured above: Angela and Estrella
Photo Courtesy of: www.missiongraduate.com
1 comment:
That was a really creative approach to an election story. I enjoyed reading it and I think it's refreshing to hear a young perspective on politics. I can't believe that some of these kids know things about Obama's ideas and promises, I know when I was that age I didn't know anything about politics.
Post a Comment