Foxie Votes

Foxie had noticed that her parents were acting a bit odd this morning before school, but she wasn’t bothered enough to ask them why. When she got to school, she noticed all the teachers were sporting their red and blue clothing items, but she had never been made aware that it was a festive dress-up day. Foxie then overheard some of her classmates and teachers discussing something called “the election” but she had no clue what that was. After some careful listening, Foxie figured out that the country she lived in was allowing the adults to vote for who would be the newest leader. Maybe this is why mom and dad were stressed out this morning, Foxie thought.

Foxie’s teacher eventually addressed the elephant in the room by saying, “An election is held every four years and if you are an adult you can cast your vote to make your voice heard. So, for learning purposes, we will have a mock election here in our classroom today. You will be voting on what desert item you want to get during your afternoon snack. The options are,” the teacher paused to clear her throat then continued, “brownies or sugar cookies!” 

The room went into an uproar as kids screamed their choices aloud. Foxie, however, just listened. She wasn’t sure which one she wanted because she honestly liked both options. As the teacher quieted down the class and began to pass out the voting slips of paper, which she called “ballots”, Foxie raised her hand. 

“Yes, Foxie?” The teacher made eye contact with Foxie to ensure that she knew she was listening.

“I’m not sure I want to vote because I don’t really care which one wins,” Foxie admitted, which was met with a round of gasps from her classmates followed by silence.

“Well, Foxie, that’s perfectly normal. Sometimes, both options are okay. Or, sometimes, neither option peaks our interest. But you have the right to vote for what you want most and you also have the right to not vote if you don’t want to. Simply leave your ballot blank if you would not like to vote.”

Foxie stared at the paper before her with the two options grinning back at her. Brownies sounded good, but she really only likes them warm, and she doubted they would be warm right now. So then she considered the sugar cookie option; this sweet treat would taste really good to her right now, but she was nervous that it would be the least popular vote. Am I wasting my vote if I don’t vote for what everyone else wants? Foxie wondered, but didn’t dare to ask.

Eventually, Foxie circled one of the options and discretely handed in her paper to the teacher. Once the class came back from a very long and anxiety ridden recess, the teacher was able to announce the results of their snack time election. 

“The winning dessert for snack today is…” The teacher started a drum-roll then allowed for the children to join in by patting their laps, then continued, “Sugar Cookies!”

“Yay!” “Yippie!” “Oh, yeah!” Half the class was beyond overjoyed. The other half was still content, but wasn’t as happy. Foxie felt relieved that it was over. She knew she was getting a sweet snack regardless of what won the election, so she was very pleased when the cookie was placed in front of her moments later. The teacher even had milk to go with the cookies. 

“Your moms and dads are voting (or not voting) today in a very important election for the leader of our country. They may feel a bit more tense today than normal, so try to be extra good when you go home today, okay everyone?” The teacher smiled big and right as the bell rang she passed out to each student an “I Voted” sticker on their way out the door. 

When Foxie got in the car with her mom, she smiled big and showed her the sticker on her shirt, saying: “we got cookies for a snack today and we learned about voting!”

“That’s great, Foxie, I voted today, too!” Foxie’s mom showed her the sticker she had gotten at the polls. 

“I will try not to stress you out today, mom, I know how tough of a decision voting can be sometimes.”

“Oh, Foxie, you’re sweet. But, I’ve already voted now, so there is no stress left to have. All we do now is wait and see what happens. It is out of my control now, but I did my part. You’re right; voting can be a tough decision sometimes, but it usually turns out okay in the long run,” Foxie’s mom assured her with a smile. 

Foxie felt like she had learned a lot. Foxie knew that voting was important now and that you don’t have to feel pressured to vote one way or another based on how your peers feel. Foxie was happy that she had gotten a cookie and that her mom wasn’t stressed out anymore. Foxie was excited about growing up and voting for real one day.