Students check the (ballot) box for civic engagement

As the entire nation voted and anticipated the results of the Nov. 5 elections, more than 1,900 students at Central Middle School (CMS) also voted in an all-school mock election.

Andy Malone, a CMS social studies teacher, was the driving force behind the event, which has been held every four years since 2012. Malone said the event was an ideal opportunity for students to explore the electoral process and the steps required for selecting a candidate.

He said that over the past few weeks, students in all of the school’s social studies classes have been learning about civic engagement and how elections work. This event was the culmination of their studies.

The event supports a broader effort to integrate civics education into the curriculum, aligning with new state standards.

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Malone said that while students had the same ballot as every other Eden Prairie voter in the real election (minus judges), the learning process was intended to be nonpartisan. He said the unit was not supposed to be about specific candidates but about learning how American democracy works.

He said it’s also important for students to understand that politics can deeply affect their lives, and engagement is crucial. “I think there’s a lot of apathy towards party politics on the national level,” Malone said. “But at the local level where your life is, engagement can really be effective.”

Malone said he hopes this civics unit will help students understand how important it is to understand their own values, and to research candidates before voting. “The desired goal is for students to learn who they are in the political world and to find candidates that best align with their beliefs,” Malone said.

Students completed a political ideology quiz and a candidate match game in class, and many discovered that their political leanings differed from what they had expected, Malone said. He said this will ideally make students more open-minded and willing to consider other viewpoints.

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Students voted from a polling location in the Performing Arts Center community room and theater, cycling in and out throughout the school day with the help of staff members and parent and community volunteers.

In addition to filling out a paper ballot that was a smaller version of the ballot everyone else voted on this year, students used their iPads to record their votes via Google forms.

After the event, the votes were to be tabulated to determine a winner. “Each social studies class has an electoral state assigned to them, or a part of the state,” Malone said. For instance, he explained, “My fifth hour’s state is Minnesota, so whatever my fifth hour votes, that’s where those 10 electoral votes will go. Results from each class will determine our school’s electoral map for the president.”