Jay come home from school yesterday saying that John McCain steals money from people. After my husband and I stared at each other in disbelief we asked "were did you hear that?" Jay goes on to tell us that someone in his class said it and so did his teacher. We couldn't believe our ears. Jay was insisting that it was true. Why? Because his friends said so. We tried to explain how there are two parties (later the word was changed to teams because Jay wanted to go to the party with us) and how some people will vote for Obama and others McCain. We also explained that neither candidate will "steal" money from anyone but that we have to pay money in the form of taxes. This is way over his head but we tried our best.
Today was my day to volunteer in Jay's class. I spoke to the teacher regarding the statement above. She told me that some in class were saying that and she tried her best to ignore the statement. They were talking about the candidates in terms of where they are from and their families. They have specific instructions to NOT discuss these types of issues in class. She now realizes she should have probably made a statement to address what was said. Hopefully, there will be no more political debates with first graders. Now we have to try to win him over to the other side.
This really opened my eyes to the fact that kids tend to listen and believe their friends without asking parents for their input. This certainly has started early which draws me to the conclusion that we should be the first ones to talk about these subjects so they are not so easily influenced by what they hear. Luckily, they can not vote and they don't really know enough to form a solid opinion on their belief system. But I am sure there are many other topics that will come up that will have to be addressed before long.
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