Kid Politics

One thing that we've talked about in successfully creating a democracy is forming habits. De Tocqueville said that this is essential in creating a lasting democracy, and I completely agree. In America, democracy is habit. From a young age, we're taught that democracies make decisions whether its on the playground or in the classroom. This is crucial in America because at a very young age, residents learn how our government system works in a broad sense.

All of this talk of children and democracy in America reminded me of a great podcast I listened to a few weeks ago on the ride home during Interim break. This American Life has a great weekly podcast (for free!) on iTunes that tells interesting stories in a unique manner. One of the episodes I listened to was called "Kid Politics"-- you can read about and listen to that story here by clicking on Play Episode: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/424/kid-politics

There are stories of kids learning about how to make presidential decisions at different Presidential libraries and acting as a true government. Although teachers do these sort of field trips to celebrate occasions such as President's Day or Lincoln Memorial Day, I now see that the learning experience gained is a good reflection of the habit of democracy that still exists in our country today.