Students from McKnight Elementary School recently returned from Philadelphia with a first-place prize in hand after competing in the Citizenship Challenge, a civics competition.
The competition, organized by the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement, asked students to consider whether the Constitution should be amended to remove the Electoral College in favor of a national popular vote for the presidency.
In a 750-word essay, 10 fifth graders in a gifted education class at McKnight argued against the Electoral College, according to their teacher, Patrick Frank. A panel at the Rendell Center, a youth civics organization founded by longtime Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Federal Judge Marjorie Rendell, selected the essay as one of the top 10 from more than 200 entries.
That brought the students to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to perform a skit for the final stage of the competition.
“With it being an election year, we saw it as a good way to learn about the Electoral College and how we elect our presidents,” Frank said.
The 10 students were asked to put the essay together collaboratively. Initially divided, Frank said the students had to take a vote to determine whether to support a national popular vote in the first place. Then, different students took responsibility for different sections of the work, coming together at the end to edit, he said.
The students argued that a popular vote would encourage more people to cast a ballot and make races more equal since certain swing states would play less of an outsized role in a nationwide election.
“We do understand it is hard to amend the Constitution, but the change is necessary. There are many reasons why the popular vote is better but, most importantly, for fairness and equal rights for all citizens,” the essay concluded.
In Philadelphia, the students staged a skit where they played wig-clad Founding Fathers in 1787 and frustrated voters in 2016 as they debated the merits of the Electoral College. Frank described the performance as “almost like a rap battle.”
Judge Rendell, former Gov. Rendell and Philadelphia entrepreneur Ivan Watson — later with the help of the Phillie Phanatic — awarded the McKnight students first place and $1,000.
Frank said the students were “thrilled” to win, and they later visited the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in what developed into a “whirlwind day.”
Will Goehring, 11, one of the McKnight students, said the competition was “nerve-racking,” but all in all it did improve his understanding of American government and elections.
“We were all extremely excited, and we knew even if we didn’t take home first place, it was still a great experience. But winning was astonishing considering how well other classes did,” he said.
Writing the essay and creating the skit was a “great experience,” Will said, and he and his classmates worked well together. In the future, the fifth grader said he thinks he will remain interested in government.
McKnight Principal Chris Shute said the school “celebrates their success” and thanked Frank for “leading them in a memory that will last a lifetime.”
“The kids worked hard on this for months, and for us to make that kind of trip and get rewarded with a first place just made it a really satisfying day,” Frank said.