Disconnection from politics
Politics shouldn’t be censored in school
Divide in the roads. Even when students are taught something on politics, it’s always a brief lesson. The subject is not a focal point for schools, and it has not been for a while.
There has been a break in the connection of politics in the education system, but in recent years, there has been a realization in teens the topic is more important than it seems.
In the light of events that have happened over the span of the last 3 years, with COVID-19 and other world events, activism in high school students has especially been affected. An interest in politics and talking about social norms has created a fire in young people’s minds.
While there are teens who find an interest in it, teens that aren’t politically involved can’t stay sheltered.
“83% say they believe young people have the power to change the country,” according to circle.tufts.edu.
Censoring political topics stops teens from knowing how to form their own views or to know how to vote. Students are at school most of their time during the year, educating students on matters surrounding the leadership of the country just makes sense coming from their educators. Preparing students for voting and how to assess a political standpoint should be a priority for the education system.
Opinions being hidden from peers out of shame or that one’s opinion may not matter is a common phenomenon amongst young people. Some teens old enough to vote lack confidence to register and go to the polls.
“Fewer than 20% of youth who will turn 18 by the 2022 midterms were registered to vote,” according to Thecivicscenter.org
From another point of view, censorship of politics in high school is the best for students, not everyone wants to deal with the stress of difference of opinion. However, differences of opinion are good and not only does disconnecting from the topic stop formation of opinion, it may dwindle the confidence of future voters.
Having non-opinionated conversations in classrooms would help students gain more confidence in the political aspects of their life. People can’t escape the general idea of the controversial topic, at some point it needs to be addressed as a whole.
Schools should give students information on the future of voting any way they can so we can prevent voting registration from going down and create an uprising of confidence in political opinion.
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