Students at West Elementary elect first student gov't

What this article fails to mention is that the only students that could run for office were students that could either walk home unsupervised or have parents pick them since the meetings would be after school. Those students that have a dual income family would not be able to participate in running for office. The lessons these children will be taught about the process of elections are that if you belong to an elite group you will have opportunities in this life. I was under the impression that discrimination of any kind was not allowed in a school district but sadly it seems it has slipped in.

Pandora Wells,

Are you kidding me? You're calling that discrimination. That is how most things work in schools. It is an extracurricular activity and typically they take place after school. Sports, cheerleading, debate, and yes even student government is an extracurricular activity. Why don't you take away all of those activities as well? Give me a break!

Out of curiosity, was it stated in writing that only certain students would be allowed to participate, hence children who either walk home or have a parent picking them up? This seems to be a major concern for Pandora and frankly I dont blame her. However, if that is the case and it is in writing then I have to agree that it is discriminating and it sperates the kids into "those who can" and "those who cant".

If this is the case and not all of the children were eligible because of transportation circumstances then why isnt it something that could have easily been solved by having their meeting with the Student Advisor say during lunch? Surely the kids could forgo one afternoon a month or week to spend it in a classroom or lounge holding their meeting with the Advisor.

I also would be interested in knowing why they did not have a representative from each grade level elected. We have County Commissioners, we have City Council and a Mayor, a Govenor, Representatives etc, why only have 4 children running the Student Council when you could have 8? I would have even suggested electing 1 rep from each grade and an alternate in case the elected rep cant be at a meeting.

I do take my hat off to West Elementary for doing this. I agree there are a lot of lessons to be learned from it, I just feel there are some improvements you might look at for the future. I hope that all of the elementary schools, Hacker and the Jr. High follow suit, wonderful learning tool!

Yes, it was stated in writing, just like any other sport/extracurricular activity. Some of the children who ran/were elected came from "dual-income families". Their parents chose to find a solution to the transportation issue.

"If this is the case and not all of the children were eligible because of transportation circumstances then why isnt it something that could have easily been solved by having their meeting with the Student Advisor say during lunch?" I can answer that-all the grades go to lunch at different times. Taking them out early would interfere with class work. With Bush's wonderful "No Child Left Behind," every moment with the kids is precious. Since it is considered an extracurricular activity, losing class time probably wasn't an option, just like cheerleading or football practices.

I commend Mrs. Depew for going out on a limb to do something new. Who knows how many hours she's already put into this & how many more are to follow (let it be known that her own children aren't even old enough to participate)! But, people don't think about things like that, only the negative.

"The lessons these children will be taught about the process of elections are that if you belong to an elite group you will have opportunities in this life." I'm wondering what is so "elite" about having a deployed parent, or having divorced parents? These are every-day kids, just like yours & mine. They're not "elite" by any means & they deserve to enjoy their success! And no, my children didn't win, they didn't even run. I'm just speaking as a parent who appreciates someone doing something for our children.

"You can't please all the people all the time!"

DS_Seester, there is a representative from EACH classroom attending the new student council meetings. The story reads that only 4 students were elected to the major offices, but many other students are involved. These student representatives were selected by their peers.

I also agree that parents that were truly interested in having their children participate could certaily have tried making alternative transportation arrangements. Parents make sacrifices for their kids, and I think even the busiest parent should/can for something they truly want for their kid.

I think that children at this age are not "mature" enough to understand who they are electing and for what they are electing them for. The Student Body election issue should probably be saved for the end of middle school to Jr. High. Now, the Elementary school aged young people are just electing "popular" not representative type people.

I wish them luck, but I feel that student body issues at this level should not really be adressed by the student body, but rather the facilty and the parents.

Please try to get all the facts before you make negative comments about what West is doing. This is not your typical "student government". Students from grades 1-4 are participating in monthly meetings to plan fun and educational activities for ALL students to participate in. Thank you to those of you who have demonstrated support for this project. Mrs. Depew wants to bring fun and community back into the school and wants the students to be a part of the decision making process. The only "student body issues" they will be dealing with include what music to play at a school dance or how can we give back to the community through fund raisers and community awareness. Did you know the students are planning a community clean-up activity in the spring? Did you know that students want to raise money for the local medical facilities in Mtn. Home? Please, ask questions. Don't make assumptions. As far as meetings and transportation, did anyone ask Mrs. Depew if there was any way to make special arrangements for transportation? Do you really think that 20 minutes during lunch is suuficient? Did you know that 30 plus students are invited to each meeting? Let the kids enjoy some great activites, be able to represent their classes and make West an even more welcoming school.

This is a wonderful idea and the kids are excited about it. It's so nice to see kids excited about building community and supporting classmates, which is what this particular 'student government' is all about. My son happens to be one of the representatives - he is painfully shy and was really scared to do it, but he did (first meeting was today) and LOVED it. He's been talking about the meeting and it sounds like those kids are just trying to make their school a 'family' where everyone looks out for and cares about each other. Gee - that sounds terrible! It's a far cry from the crap that goes on in the upper grades right now ... maybe they'll learn some valuable lessons that last them throughout their school years and we'll not have the negative environments that you can currently find at the upper schools. Let's hope so ....

BTW, THANK YOU to Mrs Depew and the other volunteers that are helping with this GREAT civic lesson for our children. This mom appreciates what you're doing.

The kids are so excited to be planning FUN activities at school. There were 30 students smiling as they left Mrs. Depew's room on Wednesday. Keep your eyes and ears opened for some cool things happening at West:)

I can't wait to see what they're up to! I feel that nothing but good can come from this experience. And thanks again to Mrs. Depew!

As a student at MHHS, I think the extracurricular activities ought to be left up to the older grades. There are plenty of other activities for elementary students to be doing.

I believe a better age to start the Student government process in schools would be at Hacker. In the elementary schools students are secluded into their classes. They wouldn't know the people who are running. Where at Hacker, classes are more mixed and you know a lot more of your peers. I also believe students at Hacker would gain more from the learning experience. I also agree that it is unfair to disallow students that don't have transportation to participate.