How one preschool is using PAW Patrol to teach democracy Achi-News

ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) – As lawmakers voted on a budget deal in the U.S. Capitol, a different kind of vote was taking place a dozen miles away in a sun-drenched Virginia preschool classroom. At stake: which animated dog was the best character on the cartoon “PAW Patrol.”

In a heated primary school, the 3- and 4-year-old students in room 14 of ACCA’s Child Development Center were narrowed down to two finalists: Chase, a German shepherd who wears a police uniform, and Skye , who wears a police uniform. pink “pup pack” and is a favorite among the girls in the class. The children cast votes by scratching their names in crayon under pictures of the two characters. By mid-morning, it was a dead heat: five votes to five.

Benejas Abeselome, 4, put his name down for Chase.

“Police take bad guys,” Benejas said. “I wanted police because I like policing.”

It will be years before these young people vote in a real election, but ACCA is one of many pre-schools across the country that have been starting students early on civic education. The goal is nothing less than raising good citizens and strengthening democracy.

At this age, children do not learn about the three branches of government or how a bill becomes law. Teachers work with them on how to solve problems with classmates, how to deal with anger or disappointment without being hurtful and how to think about the needs of others. These are lessons, teachers say, that can be difficult for grown-up politicians to learn — especially during a vitriolic campaign season.

“We are all here to help develop these children to become better citizens … to solve problems better and to have better resources socially, emotionally,” said Mary Folks, a teacher at the school. “Because once they have a handle on that, I feel like things they achieve and things they do have a better impact on this world.”

The most important civics lesson preschool can teach is “social democracy,” says Dan Gartrell, an early education expert. His book on teaching preschoolers about democracy, “Education for Civil Society,” is used by ACCA and other preschools.

It “starts with valuing each member of the group as a worthy member and worthy of expressing thoughts and ideas,” says Gartrell. From there, she says, children can learn to treat their peers with kindness, resolve conflicts and negotiate difficult situations without using hurtful words.

Engaging young children in ways that make them feel their voice matters is an important foundation, says Rachel Robertson, chief academic officer at Bright Horizons, which runs more than 1,000 pre-school centers globally and is embraces democratic ideals in his early education.

Around age 3 or 4, a child “starts to be a member of the real community and contribute to the classroom community and think a little more broadly about the world,” Robertson said.

At ACCA, like many pre-school children, young people are given a lot of independence. There are hours set aside for free play. Children get to vote on what they study and eat: A classroom had just finished studying sand because children were curious about it after summer beach trips. And students get to taste apples and vote on which variety the school will order.

It is all intended to confirm to children that their thoughts are valuable – along with the thoughts of their classmates. This Thursday, they were all thinking about “PAW Patrol.”

In Room 11, 3-year-old Jade, who wore pink sneakers that lit up when she stepped, explained why she supported Skye.

“I like her helicopter,” Jade said. “I like that she saves everyone.”

In Room 13, teachers created polls in English and Spanish. When they asked the class who had won the election, one boy confidently said: “Me!”

Many of the preschool’s students represent the first generation of their families born in the United States. María-Isabel Ballivian, the preschool’s executive director, said she looks for ways to remind them that they are Americans, even if their families don’t speak English and have only recently arrived from other countries. For one, she throws a big Fourth of July gathering.

“If we give them that sense of belonging now, that’s going to be a tool they’ll have to become resilient once they’re faced with discrimination,” Ballivian said.

Ballivian said many politicians could learn something from going back to preschool – things like how to survive disappointment and how to think about the well-being of people who are different from them.

“I don’t see how we can change the adults,” Ballivian said. “But I know that if we work hard, we can prepare our children for a better future.”

Back in room 14, there was an important development. Another student called Janet had cast her vote, writing her name under Skye’s photo with a ‘J.’ back. The students counted the votes out loud. Skye emerged victorious.

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Associated Press journalists Nathan Ellgren and Almaz Abedje contributed to this article.

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