Just to start off, this article is strictly my independent and personal opinion. It is a matter that I have been passionate about since I was in high school and I still feel strongly about it. Furthermore, I am going to be completely honest and simply explain my thoughts about the issue.
Being almost a senior in college, I should know much more about politics and understand what is happening in the 2016 Presidential campaign. Of course, I could have chosen to take political classes in college or spent more time preforming research, but in all honesty, I never found any of it interesting. I know that probably sounds bad, but that does not mean I am not proud to be American or do not appreciate our rights. I purely just never found politics entertaining.
However, I believe that my interest has been low because I was never exposed to a mandatory political class in high school. High school is a time where you start becoming who you are. Not saying that who you are in high school determines who you are for the rest of your life, but the exposure that is received during those years absolutely puts an impact on your values. It is not uncommon to know people who vote for the candidate solely based on whether they are a Republican or Democrat. Some students’ minds are made up whether it having to do with their race or other stereotypical assumptions. Or it can happen possibly because they want to follow their parents’, teachers’, peers’ or significant others opinions; but not their own. I am guilty of this myself.
At my high school we were never taught which beliefs matched with what party. It also strikes me as a problem that individuals vote for a party on a single belief. Voting in this manner, you could be voting for something you do not agree with at all even more than the original issue of concern. In my opinion, high school students should be required to take an informational, non-biased political class so that they can be fairly educated on all issues. I say this because I experienced some political views being pushed on my classmates and me in a “subtle” way. Teachers would explain matters in their opinions, making it seem like the opposing view was incredibly inaccurate or bizarre. From my experience, high school students do not use their free time researching political facts. So, having a mandatory class at least introduces these important subjects to probably uninformed young adults.
Still, at 20 years old, I am unaware of which party specific stances belong. I admire the people my age that truly understand what they believe in, and do not base their decisions off any other individuals. If I would have been introduced to the basics of politics in high school, I would feel more confident in my voting decisions. I believe that if other students were required to take a “Politics 101” class in high school, they could decide what they truly believe in instead of being lazy and agreeing with what is easiest.
Even though I am not a scholar whatsoever on politics or current issues, I am still capable of supporting the expanding of political knowledge starting with a mandatory, general education class.
