Although I am a nearly seventeen year old, highly opinionated girl applying for college this year, I am a child at heart.
So as I decided to escape the political realms and debates that plague every television channel and watch Spongebob Squarepants (shut up), I was quite surprised with what I saw during commerical break.
Every election year, Nickelodeon launches "Kids Pick the President", where viewers are educated about each party's candidate and then cast their own ballot. Commericals about the process of putting a candidate in office, as well as spots informing children about each nominee, come in the form of catchy songs and jingles...and seemingly have no hidden agenda.
Intrigued, I logged on to the Nick website, and was astounded with what I discovered. The page for "Kids Pick the President" is extremely user friendly, concise and informative. It features biographies on both presidential and vice presidential nominees, as well as their stances on issues from terrorism to education. Blogs and message boards are available to read through and stimulate conversation.
Quite frankly, I found it fascinating to see the opinions of people younger than myself regarding this election. It amazes me to see children willing to engage in political discussions and learn about the processes and choices that will affect them now and in the future.
At the same time, it saddens me to see that as these kids grow up, such resources may be hard to come by.
I'm not saying anything against the media. In fact, I hope to become a journalist someday.
I just find it tiresome to watch a debate or speech, and before I get to process and formulate my own opinions, have political analysts scrutinize every detail imaginable.
I long for the simplicity that is childhood, as well as the option to be given information and decide what to make of it on my own. Any thoughts? You're always welcome to comment!
Regards,
Kanika
PS-Check it out at Nick.com !
Nickelodeon has always been awesome. I love that they're engaging kids too young to vote in political discussion. That's awesome. I might just have to check out the site and inform myself a little bit...
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
--
The Story of Myself
Definitely check it out. I might bring it up in my AP Gov class on Monday...haha.
There's a reply button at the bottom of every comment box. If you click this when responding to comments, it helps maintain the flow of conversation. Thanks.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Didn't see that before - my computer has a tendency to not load certain links on this page...there are "x"s everywhere. But I probably didn't notice it. Thank you!
Everyone's computer seems to have its own unique beef with the site. Mine likes to time out pages and only load half a thread.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
When i was younger, i didn't pay any attention to any kind of debate or election; i guess it shows how much i've grown since watching Nickelodeon trying to catch "Rugrats". Kids learning about poltics is a double edge sword for me- they are getting an early start with their future and have a background, but children don't get to be children. Now as a senior in high school, i miss being a little kid, not having to worry about anything- all i was focused on was running around playing freeze tag or cops and robbers.
I support your outlook, tremendously. I'm excited to see who "the kids pick" is and how they compare with the actual voter counts.
-JB.
Freeze tag and Rugrats...the joys of childhood. I never followed current events the way I do now. It's hard to see how fast kids have to grow up, but maybe they will gain more from getting involved early on. I hope so.
My Blog: http://progressiveu.org/blog/kkhanna
This is an excellent post. After seeing not only Nickelodeon, but SpongeBob mentioned, I was pleasantly surprised to see a well thought, informative, and constructive blog. The only suggestion I have would be to include a link to the website you talk about.
"Live above money; put your heart in front of you and follow it."
Unknown
Thank you so much! I didn't realize I never put up the link...so I included it now.
I know what you mean. Sometimes I want to write how I feel, but before I can gather all of my thoughts together, to make something worth reading, I feel like it's not worth it anymore, because it's drowned out by the big guys. But that's the way the world works I guess, haha. I guess it helps on strive to be a big guy, and helps people figure out what they want to do. The big guys all die off one day, so what's the point of wanting to stay a kid forever?
Ha, yeah, that's just the balance of the universe. I guess we can strive to be one of the big guys, but I hope that if I get there, I'll allow others to share their opinions too, and not overanalyze everything to death.
I remember something like this when I was in second grade, and Bill Clinton was running against Bob Dole. It was in Scholastic News, a national paper sent to schools. Although it wasn't quite as detailed. I voted for Bill Clinton, partly because according to the article, he had a cat, and my parents told me Bob Dole was out to destroy the enviroment. Ok, so that wasn't their exact words, but that is how they felt. I think it is important for kids to be exposed to these things, maybe not at the age of five, but at the age they are watching SpongeBob. After all, these issues will affect them, and they need to know about them.
Like what you've read? Well, then here's more:
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711
I completely agree with you. And you bring up another point; how do parents influence their kids?
My Blog: http://progressiveu.org/blog/kkhanna
I can't believe that it must be something new becasue my sisters have recently just grown out of nick.com. They would have definately mentioned that to me. This is one of the most important presidential elections. It is amazing they are making children more informative at a younger age. Something they did not have for me back then!!!
I definitely remember a "Kids Pick the President" thing from when I was younger. It's been around a while. Maybe it's just hard to find if you're not looking for it?
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
--
Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!!!
For those of you that are interested, there is a Nick News special on tonight at 9PM EST (check your local listings) where kids ask the questions. Be sure to tune in!
My Blog: http://progressiveu.org/blog/kkhanna
I was actually going to get off my butt and watch it! But my roommate was having a freak-out session on the phone with her mom over a paper, and I wanted to give her some privacy... so I missed it. *gloom*
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
--
Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!!!
It makes me so happy to see kids have access to something like this. I don't remember this being around when I was younger but I really wish it had!