Alex Patton has never really been interested in politics. Not many 12-year-olds are.
But this election season, Alex said, he has learned more about the political process than ever because of a social-studies assignment -- one that he said he'll keep to show his children later.
Alex's teacher, Susan Burroughs, a social-studies teacher at St. John's Lutheran School, asks her sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students to write, design and assemble political notebooks that include in-depth studies of politics, current events, their own political cartoons and more.
Burroughs asks that each notebook include about 30 reports on historical politicians, current candidates and issues in the past and now.
The students also have to volunteer 10 hours with local or national campaigns.
"I think it's fun because I've never gotten really involved with the political stuff," Alex said. "It's interesting because I never learned so much about it."
Burroughs has been giving her students the same assignment for more than 20 years.
With the Nov. 4 general election two weeks away, Burroughs said, her students are excited.
"These are probably the most enthusiastic and interested children," said Burroughs, a teacher at St. John's for 32 years. "They come in with, ‘Did you see or did you hear this?' ...and depending on the topic, we discuss it."
Sixteen of her sixth-graders were chatty and inquisitive during a discussion of branches of government and congressional districts yesterday.
Burroughs said she decided to start assigning the political notebooks to students because she felt that they were necessary for her students to have a complete education.
"Not only do we want to educate our children well … but we also want them to become good citizens, and that means informed citizens," Burroughs said.
Sage Schweickert, 11, a sixth-grader at St. John's Lutheran School, said that politics was a mystery until she started in "Mrs. B's" class this year.
"It's amazing to learn what actually goes into it," Sage said of elections.
Erica Alexander, 11, said that Burroughs makes the class fun.
"Mrs. B. is really fun. She sings all the time in class," Erica said with a laugh. "She also makes us get into it, so we understand it more. It's really fun, but also you're learning a lot from her."
The notebooks are work, Erica said, but worth it to see how candidates are elected.
"You actually get to see them running against each other, see what they stand for and see all the things that you have to go through to become a president," she said.
Erica said that she and twin Maya Alexander even went with their mother when she voted yesterday morning.
■ Lisa Boone-Wood can be reached at 727-7232 or at lboone-wood@wsjournal.com.
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