Electing an Identity

When 4^th Grade Teacher Karen Balian learned that her home country of New Zealand was considering a new flag design, she wanted to share the story with her class. She and her students had been talking about the theme of identity, and New Zealand’s flag debate offered a way to explore the notion of national identity, voice, and choice.

 

Karen told her students that New Zealanders were able to submit new design ideas to represent their country, narrow down the submissions to a final design, and ultimately decide whether to retain the current flag or opt for the newer design. The story inspired Karen’s students to critique Lowell’s flag, and they decided to take on the challenge of redesigning it. The idea caught on, and soon the other two 4^th grade classes took on the challenge as well. Two questions guided their design process: What is unique to Lowell? What identifies us as a school?

While 4th graders were off creating their flags and writing persuasive essays explaining the virtues of their designs, 1st graders were deepening their understanding of voice and choice as they explored voting and elections. First Grade Teacher Colleen DeChancie capitalized on her students’ interests in the current presidential election to give them insight into how voting works and why it’s important. She began by reading books about voting to her class and guiding discussions on the pros and cons of various subjects, such as what animals make good pets. “Through exploring age-appropriate topics, they were able to explain their views and listen to one another’s opinions,” says Colleen.

 

First graders were so intrigued by the idea of voting that they decided to hold an election and vote on what kind of juice they would serve at their next Authors Celebration. They conducted taste tests, built a polling station in the classroom, made campaign signs, signed in voters, and even provided security on the day of the vote.

 

As buddy classes, the 1st and 4th grades shared what they were doing with each other and decided to hold a Primary School election to vote on the best 4th grade flag design. The first stage is the primary election—happening live this week! All of the 4th grade flags are on display on the third floor, and Primary School students have been asked to choose six flags that they think best represent Lowell. Then, the 4th grade students who designed the six flags will “campaign” for their flag, sharing the persuasive essays they wrote during Gathering. In a final election, the Primary School will vote on the winning design.

 

“Students were incredibly engaged throughout this process and deeply invested in the production of the flags,” says Karen. Colleen adds that learning about voting and the election process helped her students “learn to listen to and respect views that might be different from their own in a peaceful way.”

 

 

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The 4^th grade project to redesign Lowell’s flag was picked up by Simon Marks of Feature Story News. When Simon heard his son, Danzi, talk about the project and its origins in the New Zealand flag debate, he saw an opportunity to share the story with a broader audience. Simon came to Lowell to interview the 4^th grade teaching team and students for one of his clients, Radio New Zealand.

 

Click to listen to Simon Marks’ story.