Our Voice: Now is a good time to push civics lessons

Civics lessons take on a new appeal during election season, and the Washington Secretary of State’s Office is taking advantage of that this week.

Beginning at 9 a.m. May 16, all K-12 students in the state can experience what it’s like to vote by participating in the Presidential Primary Mock Election. This is a great activity and we hope kids find a way to get excited about it.

Students can go to the mock election website at www.vote. wa.gov/MockElection and choose from among the presidential candidates who are on the ballot that voters received in the mail. Voting continues in the mock election through 1 p.m. May 19.

The rest of us have until May 24 to get our ballots in.

Civics is taught in public schools, but students have a tough time relating to its importance when they can’t yet participate. Now is the perfect time for parents and teachers to push civics education.

And while many adults likely have legitimate complaints about the election process, encouraging kids to get a taste of it is still a good idea. Think of all the lessons that could be taught and issues that can be discussed: the caucus system, delegates and super-delegates, and the significance of the parties’ national conventions.

Teachers and parents who homeschool their children can use this opportunity to explain how the presidential primary system works, then reinforce that lesson by letting kids vote.

For many people, the mock election results may be more fascinating than the outcome of the true presidential primary, but that’s a topic for another editorial.

Today we want to call attention to some great outreach and civics education programs that we unfortunately guess are well-kept secrets.

For instance, the judicial branch of our government is the one most hidden from the public eye. Our nine state Supreme Court justices sit in the Temple of Justice listening to attorneys make their cases. Then, usually months later, their ruling is finally made. Not many people make the trip to Olympia to watch the court in action unless a hearing pertains to them.

For this reason, the justices are making an effort to hold court at college campuses around the state when they can. Earlier this month, they traveled to Central Washington University in Ellensburg and heard arguments on three cases. Chief Justice Barbara Madsen said all they need is an invitation, and they try to visit.

There is also a Judges in the Classroom program that lets a judge present a lesson on state law at a teacher’s request. This and other outreach programs can be found at www.courts.wa.gov/ education.

Also on this site is an introduction to the iCivics website at icivics.org. This is where kids can play games like “Win the White House” and manage their own presidential campaign. They get points for not slinging mud, getting 300 electoral votes in 10 weeks and making it through the campaign without going off message.

We encourage everyone who wants to learn more about how government works to check out this fun website, but especially parents and teachers, so they can introduce it to kids.

Come to think of it, our presidential candidates might want to check it out as well.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Now is a good time to push civics lessons."