Why Every High School Student Should Take an Intro to Politics Class Before Graduation

Every four years, Americans ages 18 and older have the right to vote for the next leader of our country. What surprises me is how little information the younger generations have entering into this age bracket.

As a member of this group, I had first-hand experience as to how much of an impact this can have on the way younger people tend to vote. It was not until my senior year that the idea of voting actually crossed my mind, or even knowing which party I wanted to support. My time at college was full of political parties trying to win my support, but didn’t give them much thought for a majority of my time. I even had the opportunity to attend two presidential campaign rallies on my campus, which opened my eyes.

Now is not the time to lower the voting age

Some in government and the public sector, are advocating lowering the voting age to 16 years, teens with little political knowledge. If we want to make this a reality, the education system needs serious reforms. Looking back, I wish the base of my high school history requirement was government, instead of world history.

Universities have a duty to change this, in order to send well-rounded and educated voters off into the real world. High school history classes should focus on government and expand on their knowledge of politics and how our government works. It will create a spark of interest in history classes.

College helped me become more engaged with US history

When I took a comparative politics class as a freshman, I finally felt engaged with history, of the United States and beyond. I entered college as an ill-informed of the reality of politics. Starting out at college in California, my political education was very skewed by liberal professors, who did not address both sides of the issues at hand.

We need to build political engagement sooner rather than later. This can also lead to an increase the number of political science and history majors in college. In order for America to reach its full potential, young voters must be well informed. Each election matters, whether its small local elections or national elections. Everyone needs to be voting, with a better understanding of the policies they are in support of with the vote they cast.

Students need to learn about the political issues of the day

Too many voters are staying home instead of going to the polls. Politics is more than what the media makes it out to be. These issues need to enter the classroom, to make them better informed American voters.

We're seeing a lot of young people get more involved politically, but it may just be an instance of wanting to get their 15 minutes of fame. For example, consider David Hogg, survivor of a school shooting. He immediately went on TV blasting politicians. I don't believe at the time he truly understood the process and why certain things were not being done.

High School is the place to learn about what matters. So, we need to better engage students with our government and the issues of the day. If lawmakers want to lower the voting age, schools need to start educating their students about American politics.

Whatever happens, the future of American government rests on the shoulders of the young people. The young people will decide the fate of the country and what will become of the hot issues of the time. What are your thoughts about better informing students about US government and politics in high school? The future of our country is at stake?