Elections create teaching opportunities for students of all ages

Amy Hetzner:

Tuesday is decision day at Genesee Depot's Magee Elementary School, where a little girl named Hope is running for the Virtualville state senate with the modest proposal "she will do her best," and where Chloe overreaches a bit with promising "a happy ever after."

It's a kinder and gentler primary than the one the students' parents and others across the state can participate in on the same day. But it's one that teacher Terry Kaldhusdal said benefits from the presence of a real election being fought at a time when Wisconsin usually is an afterthought.

"It's always nice when it coincides with an actual election, especially a national election," said Kaldhusdal, who has made the Virtualville election and government exercise a part of the Kettle Moraine School District for the past decade.

Virtualville's synthetic state election is just one of the ways enterprising teachers in the Milwaukee area are capitalizing on interest in the Wisconsin primary to teach students about the political process.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 17, 2008 12:00 AM
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