Teacherken has a post that all of you should read.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/30/74422/3288
I dedicate the following to him because teaching is a patriotic act and he has displayed patriotism at its deepest. He has spoken out in defense of our nation. So should we all.
There are two parts: the first is for your students, the second is for your former students. Copy and post, copy and send.
For your students (on your bulletin board or door?):
I want you to tell every adult you know, especially your parents, to vote.
I know you're not old enough to vote now. I know there's a lot going on in your life and voting just seems far away. Patriotism, itself, is kind of a mystery to a lot of you. What I want you to do is tell the adults in your life that you're learning about this in school. Tell them that you're watching their example.
Voting is physically easy and doesn't take a lot of time. As a matter of fact, if a voter wants, he or she can request an absentee ballot. This means a voter can vote at home and mail in the ballot.
I teach because I believe in you. I want you to succeed. I want you to be a worthwhile American adult, one who uses his or her brains to make decisions about the future. One way to do that is by voting.
I want you to tell every adult you know to vote. Tell them you're watching.
For all of your former students:
I want you to vote.
I taught you in Junior High School. That was a tough time in your life. You might not remember me much. I was one of those teachers who were demanding but fair and sometimes funny. You might not have liked my subject. You might not have liked me much, either. That's o.k.; it's been a long time. I did my best and you know that's true. I wanted you to succeed, I tried to make that happen and I did it with passion because I knew that one day your vote would equal mine.
If you are eighteen or nineteen, you were in my classroom on 9/11. I showed up for work that day even though what I wanted to do was stay home with my wife and kids. If you're older, you know I showed up on other bad days, too. I was there for you. Do you realize that this country depends on a little less than one million teachers to care for and protect almost fifty million children every school day? My school's disaster plan says explicitly that if a disaster happens, I'm expected to stay no matter how much I want to seek out my family. If you have kids, I will stay with them.
I want you to vote. You owe me that. I work awfully hard to turn out decently educated citizens and I have great faith that I did well with you. You are a citizen of the United States of America and you have no reason not to vote. If you're at college, you can register at home and request an absentee ballot. Make sure you fill it out right away and mail it back. If you're at college, you can register there and vote. You're going to be there for a couple of years, why not get to know the local politics? If you're out of school, you really have no reason not to vote. If you have enough time to stop at a Starbucks, you have enough time to vote. If your schedule is really crowded, request an absentee ballot. Heck, request an absentee ballot if you don't trust those electronic voting machines.
And if you have your own kids and don't vote what the heck are you doing? What kind of example are you showing? It is physically easy to vote. You have to make some decisions but you have the brains to do it. I believe in you. I always have. Trust your old teacher. I need this.
I want you to vote.