Enlisting the help of home-schooling families, state Sen. Patrick O’Malley is assembling a campaign workforce of preschoolers through teens whose lesson plans include erecting signs, slapping bumper stickers on cars and doing other political work for him.
Students who participate in the curriculum, called Home Schoolers for O’Malley 2002, get a free T-shirt touting the candidate. Those who complete assigned campaign chores as part of their instruction also get a certificate signed by O’Malley thanking them for their efforts.
“It’s part of a coalition-building program,” said Dan Proft, a spokesman for O’Malley, whose campaign has cultivated the religious right. “We don’t see anything wrong with getting kids involved. It’s fun for them putting on a T-shirt or putting out a yard sign or stuffing envelopes. They’re getting involved in the wonderful civic process of politics.”
Illinois law gives parents who home-school children broad discretion to teach what they want. The only specific requirements are that children study the same “branches of education” taught in public schools and that instruction be in English.
An authorized offshoot of the O’Malley campaign, the home-school initiative is run by Oak Forest supporters Fran Eaton, and her husband, Joe.
The Eatons previously served as officials in the Christian Home Educators Coalition and Fran Eaton is currently president of the Illinois chapter of Eagle Forum, the group founded by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly. Fran Eaton also serves as a coordinator between O’Malley’s campaign and conservative groups and was paid $4,000 from his election fund in November and December.
“I really wanted this to be under the radar,” Eaton said of the program. “That’s where we’re most effective. We like to stay under the radar.”
Eaton said about 300 families residing in at least 64 communities across the state have signed up to participate in the program, and she expects more than 1,000 families to join in the weeks leading up to the March 19 primary. She said a similar effort that the Eatons conducted in the 2000 presidential campaign enlisted more than 10,000 families across the nation to help President George W. Bush.
Among participants in the program are the four children of Pamela Johnson of Downstate Quincy. Johnson said her youngsters, ranging from kindergarten to high school-age, have put up O’Malley yard signs, attended rallies for the candidate and stuffed envelopes as part of their classwork.
“My children enjoy politics very much,” said Johnson. “They find it exciting and they want to make a difference.”
Johnson said her youngest child, 6-year-old Micah, is especially motivated because he is adopted.
“We’ve talked with him about how we’re very thankful his mother didn’t abort him despite the pressure surrounding her to do that,” said Johnson. “And so he feels very personally motivated. We want to elect people who believe abortion should not be legal.”
O’Malley opposes abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother.
To broaden the appeal of the program beyond home-schooled children, Eaton said students in public and private schools who have community service requirements could get credit by helping O’Malley.
As outlined in a curriculum guide, the program features basic studies that have nothing to do with the candidate, such as learning to identify various state symbols, drawing a map of Illinois or answering trivia questions about state history. But to successfully complete the curriculum, students also must participate in what the organizers call “civics-political activism.”
To do that, preschoolers are encouraged to help parents put up an O’Malley yard sign in the neighborhood or a bumper sticker on a car. High school-age students must complete similar chores but also get credit for displaying a homemade O’Malley campaign poster in their window or meeting O’Malley at a campaign event.
Other tasks that translate into class credit include writing a letter to local newspapers “saying why you, as a young person think that Patrick O’Malley is the best candidate for governor.” They get extra credit if the letter is published.
Additional credit is added for doing volunteer work at a local O’Malley campaign headquarters and for campaign brochures they distribute in their neighborhood or church.
“We’re not using kids,” Eaton said of the program. “This is just offering an opportunity for political activism.”
I don’t know of a better thing to do than to let kids know that they can make a difference at a young age and to equip them for doing this. … It’s really exciting to me that parents want to get their children into the political system early on.”
Of the candidates for governor, Eaton said only O’Malley has shown any interest in appealing to home-schooling families. She said home-schooling groups are consistently fighting off attempts in the legislature that would require their curriculum to be evaluated by regional schools superintendents.
“A Democratic liberal in the governor’s mansion and a Democratic General Assembly is a threat,” she said. “The bottom line is these (home-schooling families) don’t want anything. They want to be left alone.”
