Election FEVER

It's a subject that's usually complex, often passionate and always controversial. It's a topic that you probably don't want your child to learn about on the street or from TV. No, we're not talking about birds and bees, but something almost as volatile and important in your child's social education: politics.

In this election year, when the presidential campaign invades our daily lives, more families are finding political issues cropping up at home and are using that opportunity to broaden their kids' political awareness.

"It's extremely important for them to know about the election," says Arienne Middlebrooks, mother of two. "As a military family, the election is a crucial part of what happens to our family. My husband may have a shorter deployment, he may not get a big enough raise. Many issues affect us."

To that end, the Middlebrooks family has done research on the candidates together on the Internet, discussed current events the kids read or see on TV, and have even included them in the voting process in the past, bringing them to the polling place on election day.

For many families, talking about politics and government is an important way to shape a child's moral character and their perspective of the world.

"It's our personal belief that just as you pass down your faith, you should help inform your children's political outlook, explain why we believe what we do," says Cari Pemberton, mother of this month's cover models Bethany Salgado, age 12, and Erin Pemberton, age 6.

Pemberton has gone to great lengths to get her daughters involved during this historic election year - they attended a McCain-Palin event as a family - because she wants them to grow into passionate and informed citizens.

"Don't be lukewarm. Be passionate about something," she says to her daughters. "Apathy is a huge problem in America. If people were as passionate about politics as they are about football, our country might be in better shape today."

While parents can certainly bring up political issues at home, schools also get into the mix by integrating issues of government and voting into the curriculum, especially in an election year.

"It's the once-every-four-year opportunity to learn about one of the core responsibilities of citizenship. Not taking that opportunity would be a horrible waste for any social studies teacher," says Peggy Altoff, K-12 Social Studies Coordinator for School District 11.

However, she adds, the schools also have a responsibility to keep their politically themed curriculum age-appropriate and impartial. "We have a responsibility to teach to the issues but also a responsibility to stay as unbiased as possible."

So what is age-appropriate where politics are concerned? At the elementary level, kids can grasp what an election is, what it means to vote and the basic outlines of what a president is. By middle school, kids should be talking about American history and the structure of government as well as current presidential candidates and what they stand for. By high school, students stage mock debates, learn about civil discourse and are required to complete a government-themed course in order to graduate.

"Not all kids are going to graduate to become mathematicians, scientists or doctors," says Altoff, "but they'll all graduate as citizens. They will all vote, so it's incumbent upon us to teach these issues."

To help teachers and parents engage kids, District 11 offers online support at www. d11.org/doi/socialstudies/Election2008. htm, where you can find links to games, polls, historical archives, mock elections and more.

"Anything that is participatory and engaging sparks student interest," says Altoff, who encourages parents to look at the political process as well as the candidates with their children - both candidates. "Look at what the other candidate has to say, even if it's contrary to your own conviction. And by all means, go beyond the ten-second sound byte."

After all, even if bringing up politics can be awkward or complex, it's worth it. Kids become voters in the blink of an eye, as mother Arienne Middlebrooks can attest: "We realized that our 15-year-old will be able to vote in the next election!"