Claudia Hirsch and Nico Madrid, fifth grade students at Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford, New York,

cast their ballot for president in the 2012 Scholastic Student Vote.

(Photo credit: Scholastic)

Claudia Hirsch and Nico Madrid, fifth grade students at Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford, New York,

cast their ballot for president in the 2012 Scholastic Student Vote.

(Photo credit: Scholastic)

We are down to the last days before adults who haven't voted already go to the polls to cast their ballots. But young people across the U.S., in a wide group of polls and mock elections, have already made their choices, and the winner was Barack Obama.

Not scientific? Cute?

Not so, say many social scientists and observers of child and youth behavior. What engages me, as a cultural anthropologist, is thinking about where children get their first enculturation—at home, then at school, from peers, in a wide variety of religious institutions and also from the media. What is very interesting is that children and teens are not always carbon copies of their parents' perspectives, since what is learned, or heard discussed at home, is affected by other variables.

These "kids" will be our future voters, and the future looks bright for the shift away from conservatism. This is not to say that all adult voters cast ballots in lock-step with what they learned at home. We've read many pieces here over the years from those raised in very conservative homes who have moved on in adulthood to join progressive ranks.

I've been enjoying this cyber visit to schools across the nation, and elated by the intense civic engagement students are involved in. Kudos to their teachers, librarians and local school communities.

If you need a short break from intense pre-election day/night anxiety join me in taking a look at what our future voters have decided.

(Continue reading below the fold.)