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Over 1,700 students in MHS Social Studies classes cast ballots in Mock Presidential Election
By Steve Freker
While a couple of hundred million American voters are eyeing next week’s Presidential Election with lots of anticipation, the vast majority of high school-aged students have to wait for some more birthdays to get their chance. Most of the students had never even laid eyes on a voting ballot before. For the majority of them, it was due to their age, and for others because they are new to this country and are still learning concepts and customs.
Over the course of two days this week, over 1,700 ballots were handed out, and the same number of votes were cast in the Malden High School Mock Presidential Election on Wednesday and Thursday.
Matheus Martins, a 17-year-old sophomore, arrived in the United States from Brazil just this past summer. He’s never held a ballot in his hand until Wednesday. “Esta é a primeira vez que voto (This is my first time voting),” Martins, an English Learner (EL) student, said in his native Brazilian Portuguese.
For the latter reason, it was rather fitting that this authentic exercise in civics was held in The Gallery area of Malden High School, where majestically, over 100 flags are hung in respect and representation. Recently, Niche announced that for the 10th straight year, Malden High School is rated as the most diverse high school in Massachusetts, with more than 70 languages spoken by its students.
So who won at Malden High? Was it the Democrat, Vice President Kamala Harris, or the Republican, former President Donald Trump?
“We will announce the winner in our mock election the day after the nation votes for real next week [Tuesday, November 5]. Our students are really anxious to know who won the Malden High vote right now!” said Malden High School Social Studies Teacher Leader Kurtis Scheer, who was overseeing the balloting on Wednesday and Tuesday this week, getting through the voting process with the help of his colleague educators and a slew of student volunteers.
Malden Public Schools Director of History/Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts Gerard Tannetta is monitoring the event and any other similar election-based events in other schools across the district.
The Mock Election at Malden High is an annual event at the school. For Scheer, who is in his 12th year as an MHS educator and second year as Teacher Leader, this is his third Mock Presidential Election. “There’s definitely a bit more excitement when there’s a Presidential Election, just like there is the country overall every four years,” he said.
Scheer explained that every Social Studies student at Malden High School will go to the voting booths set up in The Gallery over the course of the two days next week – over 50 full History, Civics and Social Studies-themed classes from all four classes: 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th. The MHS educator told The Malden Advocate that all of the MHS History and Social Studies teachers paused the coursework they were working on with their students and took class time to discuss the election, its parameters, the voting process and its ramifications, all before the Mock Election was held. “Then, it’s all up to the students to make their own choices,” Scheer said Wednesday. “That is what we are seeing here today.”
There is a lot of emphasis within the Malden High School History and Social Studies curriculum to educate and promote the concepts and values of citizenship and civics along with courses of study in Mock Trial and, new this year, a Speech and Debate course.
Scheer, for most of the 12 years he has been at Malden High, has served as the advisor of the Speech and Debate Club. This year, Speech and Debate has been elevated to the level of a full course of study. Scheer teaches the class and he could not be prouder. “We had over 65 students apply for entry into the class but we had to cap it at just under half of that,” Scheer said. “It’s fantastic we drew that type of interest and we will use that in our planning for the next academic year.”
As for the Mock Presidential Election, it has been another year of success for the MHS event. “It’s really great to see, a lot of the students get truly excited about [the voting] since they really get to have their say in an important national election, even if it is in this setting,” Scheer said.
