Educate to Empower: Social studies classes need to emphasize current politics to encourage political involvement

On Nov. 5th, Kansans will vote for local, state and national candidates in the general election to affirm their vision for the future — a future that hangs precariously between polarized views regarding immigration, abortion and international relations.

That is, for those who actually vote.

According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, only 45% of Kansans aged 18-19 actually voted in the 2020 general election.

Younger voices are also less interested in civic participation like grassroots campaigning, according to the Institute for Citizens and Scholars — 35% of young adults aged 18-24 say they don’t feel informed enough to participate politically.

The problem starts in high school. 

Social studies classes at East and other high schools need to emphasize the analysis and debate of current political events to create politically active and nuanced graduates. 

In high school, classes are built to prepare students for the future. English class prepares students to write emails and reports, and math class prepares students to calculate costs and manage finances. Social studies classes, however, seem inherently focused on content and not application — we study history, geography and government, but we rarely cover how we will actually use it.

Part of this is because some of the curriculum isn’t applicable — European history will likely never play a role in how you lead your life.

But for American Government, the class that is actually relevant to students’ potential future civic participation, the single semester of curriculum is primarily focused on how the government and laws were set up and not how we can improve on them.

Students don’t learn about why they should campaign and participate in political activism to impact change in the world. Instead, they learn how to answer multiple-choice questions about old dead guys on 100 question Scantron tests. 

The point of the American government’s structure is to be flexible — the laws are fluid because people’s values and beliefs change. How can students think flexibly if they only learn the objectively “right answers” for IB, AP and finals tests? 

In order to stimulate interest in civic participation and to provide a background for students to understand how current political topics can affect them, all social studies classes at East should be required to analyze and debate current political events, from local bills constructing elementary schools to Supreme Court cases altering executive branch powers.

Argumentative essays and group discussions about these topics would force students to think about the merits of both sides of a modern issue, developing their opinions about the world and fostering interest in participation.

Sure, students will disagree with each other. That’s the point. Democracy is deliberation and disagreement, not consensus. By having students take standpoints and think critically about how government can actually affect them, they’ll be better equipped — and more inclined — to be politically active citizens after graduation.