As campaign debates go, especially in this bitter 2016 electoral season, the final confrontation Monday at Winnetka’s Greeley School between the sea turtle, the giant panda and the red panda was peaceful, insult- and interruption-free and focused on each candidate’s positive traits.
Peaceful didn’t mean quiet, of course. The young supporters of each endangered animal were wildly, ear-piercingly, enthusiastic. First through fourth graders carried signs advertising their choice, wore the occasional appropriate animal costume, and broke into deafening chants for their favorites.
But students quieted when Spanish teacher Alisa Shapiro-Rosenberg, sporting a giant star-spangled hat, officially welcomed them to the debate.
“You have to listen carefully,” she told them, “so that you can make the decision about who best represents our school.”
That meant listening to supporters of each animal – whittled down from seven in an October “primary season” – make their case. How did the sea turtle represent Greeley’s values of kindness and empathy? How could the red panda resonate with students? What was the giant panda’s strong point?
First and third grade students trooped up to the front of the auditorium, accompanied by teachers Sara Friedman and Laura Lieberman – the former decked out in a cunning sea turtle costume – to extol the sea turtle’s strength and long tenure on earth (“they’ve been here for 110 million years, and they’re strong, like Greeley students,” one campaigner explained earnestly.)
Next, students from fourth and second grade teachers Drew Peterson’s and Elissa Cornyn’s classes rolled out a surprisingly sophisticated campaign video they had put together. In scene after scene, viewers were told that the giant panda makes a great friend, believes in peace, respects everyone and, by the way, is unbeatable at tetherball. Oh, and there are only 1,700 of them left in the wild, so they deserve Greeley votes, the video and its creators insisted.
The roof nearly came off with cheers when the red panda’s supporters, second and fourth graders from Juli Ross’s and Daniel Miller’s classes, made their case. It was clear that their devotion was top-notch, (Miller, like Friedman, wore a costume; in his case, an exceptionally impressive red panda suit) even if their campaign video was a bit rough around the edges. Students in handmade red panda masks talked about the danger their candidate faces from loggers and traps, and praised its ability to eat sugar bamboo and be friendly. Also, they reminded potential voters, “It’s super adorable, so vote for it.”
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With that, the election campaign, which started in September when students had to register to vote, wound down. On Tuesday, the same day their parents would head to the polls, Greeley students would decide which animal would represent the school for the next four years, Shapiro-Rosenberg said.
Greeley’s mascot election has become a tradition going back several presidential cycles, she said.
It began as a way to introduce students to electoral concepts, she said. Youngsters who’d been hearing grown-ups talk presidential politics might be too young to fully grasp the issues in such a contest, but could begin to do so if the election was packaged as a ballot battle between endangered animals, she said.
“We’re trying to teach for democracy and social justice, which are central to Greeley’s mission,” she said. “We felt strongly that we could teach them about important aspects of democracy and the democratic vote, like the confidentiality of each person’s vote, and the importance to protect that.”
Students learn about the importance of registering to vote, of listening to debates and, in the case of Greeley’s campaigns, they learn about endangered animals and what people can do to help those animals, Shapiro-Rosenberg said.
This year’s mascot election, with its emphasis on positive values, has been very important in a political season marked by negative publicity, she said.
In the end, the most important lesson Greeley students might learn lay in Shapiro-Rosenberg’s final admonition to them: “We need to vote for the candidate that we believe in our heart and mind is the best candidate. You don’t have to vote the way your friends are voting. You vote the way you feel is best.”
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy