Would you want to be President of the United States? According to a recent election year poll by Scholastic News(R), America's leading news source for kids, most kids would pass on a job in the Oval Office, especially girls. More than 30,000 students in first through eighth grades from across the country took part in the poll (graphs below):


-- 55% of participating students said that they would not want to be
President.
-- 45% of participating students said that they would want to be
President.
-- 66% of boy respondents said yes to being President and 34% said no,
-- 19% of girl respondents said yes to being President and 81% said no.


(Print-quality graphs are available at www.scholastic.com/news/wouldyouwanttobepresident.htm)


The numbers are in contrast with a similar Scholastic News poll conducted in March 2006, which found that 81% of students did not want to be President, while only 19% did want the job.


Ten year-old Austin of Florida was one of the boys that said he would like to be President of the United States, because he "wants to make this place better because people deserve more." He noted, "They work hard, even the kids."


On the flip side, classmate Kayla, age 9, voted no to being President: "It would be hard and too much work to handle," she said, adding "I would not be able to stay organized."


Results varied by home state:
-- California students' votes split almost in half: 49% said yes, while
51% said no.
-- Most kids who voted in New York would like to be President: 82% said
yes, while 18% said no.
-- Students in Texas preferred not to be President: 19% said yes, while
81% said no.
-- Of the 1,842 kids voted from our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.,
only one of them would want to be President of the United States.



The student polls will culminate in the 2008 Scholastic Election Poll, an opportunity for students to cast their vote for President of the United States at Scholastic News Online(R) and in Scholastic News(R) (for students in grades 1-6) and Junior Scholastic(R) (grades 6-8). Since 1940, the outcome of the Scholastic Election Poll mirrored the outcome of the general election, in every election but two (in 1948 when students chose Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman and in 1960 when more students voted for Richard M. Nixon than John F. Kennedy).


The Scholastic News poll is not based on a scientifically designed sample of the student population. These polls are designed as an educational activity to encourage student thought and debate, and to give students an opportunity to express their opinions. The respondents are self-selected, based on teachers who want their classes to participate and students who want to participate individually.