Every new president deserves congratulation so teacher Linda Zittel put her fourth graders to work writing letters to President-Elect Barack Obama. And we were so charmed by the results, we couldn’t resist sharing. So here, from Mira Vista Elementary in Richmond, are excerpts from “Letters to Obama”:
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to win.” - Yasmin Saif, age 9
“You are the first black president and I love you so much!” - Anthony Locicero, age 9
It’s been a long time since the White House had two grade school children running through its hallowed halls and playing in the Rose Garden. Chelsea Clinton was 12 when her father took office. Amy Carter was 9, which gets us closer. But the Obamas will bring even more young energy when Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, move to Washington, D.C., in January.
Check out more about what life in the White House will be like for the girls in this video from CNN:
What a night! The presidential election took center stage, of course, but once the hubbub had died down a bit, many parents started anxiously seeking out tallies for ballot battles closer to home.
School funding measures in Acalanes, Dublin, John Swett, Livermore, Martinez, Pittsburg, San Lorenzo and West Contra Costa passed handily. And school boards are being remade across the East Bay. Read the rest of this entry »
I was flipping TV stations last night, looking for the best one for election coverage. At one point, all the major news stations had gone to commercial. That’s when I passed over “Hannah Montana” on the Disney Channel. “We can stop here,” my 11-year-old stepdaughter, Dana, said a little hopefully. Not going to happen, her dad and I explained and then launched into why this election was so important. History was in the making, we explained. Barack Obama was on the verge of becoming the first African-American elected president of the United States. “But I don’t like history,” she grumbled.
When Obama finally sealed the deal at one minute after 8 o’clock, Dana had her headphones plugged into her iPod. “Oh, did he win?” she asked. “Good.” And then she went back to her music. She did stay up to watch Obama’s speech. She listened to all of it, and — I think — seemed to grasp most of the message. Then she fell asleep as we tuned in to check out the early returns on the state propositions.
I recapped Dana’s “experience” with one of my co-workers this morning. It was as if history were lost on her, I said. Maybe that’s a good thing, he replied. And he’s right. Maybe for some of the younger generation, what happened Tuesday night seems less remarkable because it’s part of the world they expect. Dana is fortunate to be growing up in a world that is more color blind than the era in which my parents were raised. She also hasn’t had any experience with racism. She doesn’t see race, age or gender but instead a political candidate who “gives good speeches.” Is it innocence? Sure. But I’d like to think it’s about evolution, too.
Still, Dana’s reaction is not the same for all of the younger generation. Check out how a group of eighth-graders feel.
The Times is collecting commentary on how people think this election has changed the country. If you’ve got thoughts to share, we’d love to hear them! Click “comments” and share here, or phone 1-510-495-1442 and tell us, “How has this election changed the country? How has it affected you?” You can leave a 30-second recording at that number. Audio excerpts are being posted on ContraCostaTimes.com so we can all hear them.
It’s election day! Go vote! And if you’ve got toddlers, head over to Berkeley’s Habitot for “Let’s Go Vote Day.” Preschool aged tots are invited to cast a ballot in the children’s museum’s mini-voting booths, make Lincoln hats and stars-and-stripes necklaces, and settle in for some patriotic storytelling too between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. today.
And tonight, as you watch the big red state/blue state countdown, pass the time by playing a rousing game of candidate bingo. Yep, we’ve uploaded a set of four, ready-for-primetime bingo cards. Didja vote? Fill in the center square. The rest is a lighthearted salute to election night cliches - elephants, donkeys, confetti, tearful candidates and TV anchor platitudes. Enjoy!
The nation’s kids have spoken! The results of Scholastic’s big presidential poll, an online and paper ballot election involving a quarter million kids in grades 1-12, came out yesterday, and it looks like a shoo-in for Barack Obama, who snagged 57 percent of the vote. John McCain grabbed 39 percent of the kiddie vote and another 4 percent of the votes were write-ins for Hillary Clinton, Stephen Colbert and the Jonas Brothers. (And who can blame them? Colbert is patriotic, Lincolnish and multigrain.)
So why does a children’s ballot matter? Scholastic has been doing these children’s elections since 1940 and in virtually every case, the kids’ votes have reflected the general election outcome. The two exceptions? In 1948, kids picked Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman in a vote that echoed the Chicago Tribune’s now infamous and oh-so-wrong headline. And in 1960, children gave the presidential pick to Richard M. Nixon over John F. Kennedy. We’ll know in three weeks whether the kids got it right this time.
After the 2000 debacle with those butterfly ballot chads, maybe FAO Schwartz has the right idea. They’re tabulating the presidential election based on sales of plush toys. At the moment, the red elephant has 50 percent of the vote, while the stuffed blue donkey is just cresting the 49 percent mark. We’re not sure what happened to the other 1 percent. Perhaps people are buying green monkeys too.
Summer’s over and it’s time to bring back the Friday “school headline” wrap-up. And we’ll kick things off with Livermore, where teacher contract negotiations hit impasse - a legal phrase that summons state mediators - last January. Now it appears mediation has failed as well, and the mediator has called for a 3-man panel to recommend a settlement, the last phase before a strike can be called. It sounds scarier than it is - it’s not uncommon for a district to tiptoe up to the precipice like this, only to find renewed enthusiasm for their own quiet negotiating. We’ll hope that happens here.
It’s been quiet in West Contra Costa… unusually so. Times reporter Kim Wetzel notes that school board meetings have been running short, controversial topics have evaporated, there’s little talk of the teachers’ contract, which ran out in June, and a general air of unprecedented civility has settled over the district. (We’re trying to imagining feisty board member Charles Ramsey, known for his short fuse, holding doors and saying, “No, please - after you!” But hmmm…) Everyone’s so focused on the impending parcel tax election, says Wetzel, they’re all getting along. Read the rest of this entry »
Want the lowdown on affordable child care and other issues facing young children and their families in Contra Costa County? Check out the fifth annual Young Children’s Issues Forum, a panel discussion that includes elected local and national politicos. Moderated by Childhood Matters host Rona Renner, RN, the forum runs from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow at Lovonya DeJean Middle School in Richmond. Among the panel: assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier, supervisor John Gioia, supervisor David Fraser, and representatives from U.S. Congressman George Miller and California Senator Tom Torlakson’s offices. Free, including a continental breakfast at 9:30 a.m.
