Working Through Democracy

November 15, 2024
“Democracy is sometimes messy, and for leaders, sometimes it’s frustrating. Democracy means that somebody is always complaining about something. Nobody is ever happy in a democracy about their government. If you make one person happy, somebody else is unhappy. Then sometimes somebody who you made happy, later on, now they’re not happy. They say, what have you done for me lately? But that’s the nature of democracy. That’s why it works, is because it’s constantly challenging leaders to up their game and to do better.” ~Barack Obama
Here at Parker, we’ve spent the last week and a half working with our students to announce and process the results of our Parker emblem election. On November 5, 2024, all Parker students (and students only) voted to select, for the first time ever, an emblem to represent Parker. Students chose between a maple leaf, fern, feather, rock cairn, or pinecone. 
Building up to our voting day, students registered to vote, they learned about the history of democracy from our 5th graders, and they worked with their teachers to understand the significance of voting and the democratic process. This looked different at various grade levels, as our students all brought different perspectives and stages of development to this vote. As Julia, our Kindergarten teacher, explained, “In Kindergarten, we really had to work through why it is important to vote EVEN IF your vote may not win. Many of my students dug their heels in and did not want to participate in the process because their choice might lose. We talked a lot about how important it is to use our voice and be represented, even when we might lose.”
In the older grades, students instinctively gravitated towards a higher level analysis of the choices. Many were interested in analyzing the significance of each emblem and how that would lend to representing Parker’s mission and values. Others were inclined to look for relationships between the emblem and our mascot, the bobcat. They rationalized that certain choices (like feather) were not good because a bobcat can eat a bird. Whereas other choices (like pinecone) could coexist with a bobcat in harmony. Still others were not happy with any of the choices, and asked if they could submit a write-in vote. They were asked to consider the implications and statistical relevance of writing in a niche selection.

Ultimately, FEATHER did indeed win the election! When we announced the results on Wednesday morning, there were some VERY strong feelings. The students who voted for feather were obviously elated, expressing sentiments like, 
“I feel great because I voted for it!”
“It feels good because my choice won!”
“Feather is the best, and I picked it!”
Other students, who did not select feather, were still measured and thoughtful in their responses:
“Even though I didn’t vote for it, I think it will work well.”
“I’m pretty surprised. I mean, I knew there were a bunch of people voting for it in the lower school who planned to vote for it, but I still didn’t think it would win. I’m really happy for them though.” 
“I know that some of the kids who planned to vote for feather are pretty well-liked and respected in their class, so it makes sense that it won.”
Inevitably, we also had a minority group of students who were very upset. Perhaps surprisingly, some of the most disgruntled reactions came from our middle school. As they looked at the data and processed the buzz in the hallways, they quickly surmised that the feather won with a predominantly demographic vote of younger students. Some of our middle schoolers found it hard to accept that younger students could sway an election. Others got caught up in the fact that they did not see their vote (remember those write-ins?) represented in the results, and they had to grapple with the repercussions of making a choice that was not statistically significant to the data reporting of valid choices.

The wonderful news is that by involving the students in a process that so closely mirrors real world experience, we have opened the door for a number of very relevant conversations and lessons that our students will carry forward with them long after they leave our halls. Democracy is messy and hard, and someone is always going to be unhappy. The purpose of this all is to constantly challenge us to do better. Throughout this process, our Parker students have demonstrated their competency with informed decision making, critical thinking, empathetic listening, and thoughtful action. We are proud and confident of the young citizens they are, and the impactful citizens we know they will grow to be.
“A lot of the younger kids voted for feather and it won. Although I voted differently, I realize that they are going to be here at Parker for longer, so in a way this affects them even more than it does me. In that way, I’m really happy for them that they won.”