Saratoga News
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Program coordinator Jane Varner Malhotra reads 'Mama Went to Jail for the Vote' during storytime at the DC Democracy Project put on by the Southwest Santa Clara Valley League of Women Voters.
League program teaches children about democracy
By Shannon Burkey
The room was packed with children eager to learn. But this was no regular class and the children were all there to learn about something a little different.
These children wanted to know how democracy works and why their peers in Washington, D.C., don't have representation in Congress the way everyone else in the country does.
The DC Democracy Program, sponsored by the Southwest Santa Clara Valley League of Women Voters, kicked off its six-month program on Jan. 3 at the Saratoga Library, designed to answer those questions and teach Saratoga children how they can get involved in their government. Modeled after a similar program in D.C. called DC Young Suffragists, the program hopes to show children that their voices matter and need to be heard.
"This program is meant to teach them about democracy, how it works and how they can make it better. The biggest thing is to let them know they can make a difference," said program co-coordinator Jane Varner Malhotra. "This is the kind of project the league sees a need for."
For years the national League of Women Voters has been working to raise awareness of the fact that the people who live in the nation's capital have no voice in the national legislature. To help accomplish this goal, the national league recently gave $1,000 grants to many of their local chapters so they could bring awareness to their communities.
Fred Armstrong, president of the Southwest Santa Clara Valley League of Women Voters, said his chapter decided to use its money in a place where it saw the greatest need--the future.
"We decided to build the program around our future leaders. We hope to foster children's natural sense of justice and interest them in becoming engaged and informed young citizens," Armstrong said in a press release. "The League of Women Voters is proud to help raise awareness about the democratic injustice in Washington, D.C., while bringing families together to experience democracy in action."
Many of the children seemed to know the basics--such as where the president lives and how old you have to be to vote--but they were unaware residents lack representation.
"I wasn't sure what my senator did before today, but I know I have one and I'm glad," said 8-year-old Casey Amrine. "It's sad that they don't even have any for Washington."
Malhotra said that in a time when budgets are being cut in schools, a program such as the DC Democracy Project is even more important.
"Funding for civics in schools is down, and classes that teach it are constantly being cut," she said.
Along with teaching them that they need to be heard, DC Democracy is a way for the young California suffragists to learn what it means to live in the land of the free.
Children who attended the first meeting, which coincided with the start of the 110th U.S. Congress, heard passages from the book Meet My Grandmother, written by Sen. Dianne Feinstein's 6-year-old niece, and Mama Went to Jail for the Vote. They also read and responded to postcards written to them by children in the D.C. group describing life in the capitol.
Over the next few months, many other activities and projects are planned. Weekly field trips to San Jose City Hall, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda's office, the Japanese-American Museum and the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters will take place in March.
Toward the end of the project, a democracy day, which will give the children the chance to visit different stations with hands-on activities featuring different aspects of democracy, is on the agenda. The project will culminate with a bi-coastal outreach about democracy and D.C.'s limited representation that will be coordinated with the children in the D.C. group.
"The activities they have put together are wonderful. There's so much knowledge the kids can gain by going through the entire program," said Sarah Greening, whose 5-year-old son, Dylan, took part in the first part of the program. "I wasn't sure what to expect when I heard about this, but I'm glad my son had the chance to come today. I think he probably learned a thing or two."
Malhotra said childhood is the perfect time for exposure to the world of politics and democracy.
"Kids have a really honest and pure sense of justice that is not tainted by politics," she said. "If you present a subject to them openly and honestly, they will see what is true in it. They can quickly learn they can make a difference."
