Dear Mr. President

Hello, blog followers. We hope you are doing well this week. As all of us are aware, our election results came through last Wednesday, November 9th. We here at the Allentown Learning and Engagement Center remain non-partial when it comes to political happenings, as we want to foster an environment that encourages scholars to think for themselves. We DO, however, want to keep our students informed on how to raise their voices and be heard. Voting is one form of civic duty, reserved only for us legal adults in this nation. We decided to explore, then, what other forms of civic engagement are available to today's youth- whom are aware, invested, and affected by such things as the election results.

The lesson was brief and, on November 10th, was kicked-off by a brainstorming session around how youth can be agents of change. Local politics matter, and writing to our representatives is a great way to directly reach out to foster change in our communities. The children, 2nd through 5th grade, added different ideas to our discussion to transition into what we would do next: write to both our President Obama and President-Elect Trump. We made sure to differentiate between the two. All that were provided were sheets of paper and writing utensils, and the rest- their ideas, thoughts, and hopes for the future- were there own.

 This student wrote this concise, respectful list of concerns out for our President-Elect

 Another student took the time to express some anxieties centered around recent comments made by our President-Elect

This thoughtful goodbye is a wonderful sentiment to send to our President, and acknowledgement of change

This student asks our President to speak to the President-Elect on their behalf

 Another respectful goodbye sentiment is pictured above 

And last but not least, this student wishes the President well in his next venture 

Overall, this was a very positive experience. The letters pictured above are not even half of what was created. Our youth felt empowered in new knowledge of the inter-workings of our government and we believe it was a cathartic experience to get out their emotions, as many of them had been needing to do so throughout the week. We at ALEC hope they will continue to use their voices in all arenas of their lives going forward, as citizens of this country and world.

"When they go low, we go high" - President Barack Obama

Thank you for reading,

Alyce