With the upcoming election, many people are emphasizing the importance of getting to the polls. The majority of high school students are under 18, making them ineligible to vote. Since students can not vote, how can students get involved, and is it worth their time to do so?
Being a politically active high school student is one of the most important things a person can do. Students need to be involved in politics at some level to give them a better understanding of the world and create more politically engaged people.
Having students get involved is beneficial for them and their learning. According to Diana Hess, the author of The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education, “there are a number of schools that encourage students to get involved in political campaigns … We have evidence that kids learn a lot from doing that.” Having students get work on a cause is helpful for keeping them engaged in their learning. It breaks up their normal learning by letting them go out and do something that they care about.
If it is so important, then how can students actually get involved? An article by Emily Kessler gives us a few examples, saying “Read the paper, watch the news, sign up for that NPR podcast. Keep yourself up-to-date on issues that are important to you. Follow up on policies that interest you.” Involvement in politics does not necessarily need to be directly taking action to change something. It can be as simple as having awareness of current events that you care about.
Kessler’s article goes on to say, “Get involved in small ways with community organizations. Volunteer at a local food pantry or attend that gallery showing off the after-school art program.” Students can choose to take action without having to take on a major responsibility. It can be something local to them that may be specific to their community. This makes it easier to see the outcome of their actions and how it has helped people around them.
Knowing how impactful staying involved in politics is for students, how can we get more students to invest time in something they care about? First, we have to look at why some people may avoid politics. In a paper, Evelyn Vazquez says, “One common comment that I got over and over again from a multitude of students was, ‘I did not know that was considered political participation?’ When I informed them that it was, students’ faces were beaming. They were proud to know that them sharing a post online was making a difference.” This shows that there are students who want to get involved, but there are not enough resources for students to learn what they can do to make a productive change.
Jonathan Lang, a student at SPASH, expressed a similar sentiment. He said that adding a class as a follow up to civics would create an avenue for students to learn more about political systems. To get more students interested, we also need to give people the opportunity to learn about what powers they have.
When a topic seems too difficult to understand, it can push people away from wanting to take on a responsibility they do not feel they can handle. If more people can be given simplified explanations for how to participate and how certain actions can have an impact, they will feel much more confident in being active in politics. Showing that involvement can be in small ways will encourage more people to do more to better their communities.