By Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy CEO Joe Dorman
Inspiring youth to engage in policy is an important facet of the mission undertaken by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA).
Through our more than four decades of work in creating awareness, taking action, and supporting policy to improve the health, safety, and well-being of Oklahoma’s children, we have worked to elevate issues impacting young people from birth until they reach adulthood and potential solutions to those problems.
One of our favorite endeavors offered toward this is our Kid Governor® program. We serve as the state affiliate for this initiative developed by the Connecticut Democracy Project. Kid Governor® works with local educators in public, charter, and private schools to provide lesson plans to 5th graders about civics, the importance of voting when they are old enough, and how candidates use campaigns to promote issues.
The curriculum is approved by the Oklahoma State Department of Education to ensure it is age-appropriate and within lesson plan standards. The program’s goal is to not only educate about civic engagement, but to also conduct an election in which one 5th grader becomes Kid Governor®, elevating awareness in a policy area dear to them.
Kid Governor® is designed to be presented in classrooms, but several issues prevented this from happening last year. OICA had almost 30 classrooms registered, but by the time the program was set to kick off in October 2023, each classroom had declined the invitation.
Teachers shared with us three main reasons:
- Some teachers needed that additional time to make up for learning loss and help the youth pass grade-level standardized tests.
- The next issue was classroom overcrowding in that this had created such a nightmare for teachers due to teachers leaving the profession that other teachers were covering double the number of students normally taught.
- The final and most troubling reason was fear that his program might somehow alienate some and somehow put the teacher at risk with their job for teaching a program that upset parents, administrators, or other officials due to misunderstanding. This was despite the fact the state Department of Education had approved the curriculum.
With that, OICA worked with partners to try a new model for a year as an after-school program so as to not lose another year of providing this material. We have joined Oklahoma 4-H to present this for 4-H members in 4th through 6th grades. We decided to invite students from all three grade levels this year so they can learn and expand the reach for the program, cover those students who missed the opportunity to learn last year, and recruit interest for those who will be 5th graders next year.
If you know of a child who is in this grade level, this is an opportunity to get a first-hand look at government, voting and civic participation. During the event to be held on October 26th, 4-H members will also have the opportunity to campaign and elect a 5th grade-level Kid Governor for a year-long term of office. Parents or guardians can register now at okla.st/4h-kidgovernor if their child is already in 4-H. The deadline is October 15
While any Oklahoma student may attend and participate, they must be enrolled in 4-H as a member of a club. If a child wants to sign up for 4-H, please contact your county OSU Extension Office to learn more. For a listing of offices, go to https://extension.okstate.edu/ and learn how to get involved in this youth program.
We hope this program will be beneficial, especially as students in this age range certainly are paying attention to politics and issues in the world.
