News Clips: 2016 Election
In the past couple weeks, I have had the opportunity to speak with a few of Norwell High's history teachers regarding the upcoming election. Although the election isn't fully upon us quite yet, the buzz around this election has caused teachers to begin discussing it earlier than usual. A few of the teachers I've spoken with say they try to relate the election to things they are teaching in history, while others set aside time to discuss the election explicitly. I asked teachers the question, “How much do you think your students actually know about the politics surrounding the election?” I was then met with a few quizzical expressions, and one teacher looked a bit taken back before responding, "that's a good question." Some students behave indifferently, saying things like "What does it matter, we can't even vote.” Some simply do not wish to become involved. Others voice passionate opinions based on factual, and sometimes not so factual, stances taken by the candidates.
But where is our generation getting these ideas? Over the past few months, social media has blown up over the candidate’s behavior. Some Twitter accounts pit Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton against each other, while others pick apart Donald Trump’s family. Parents also remain a very strong influence on their children's beliefs, as many kids pick up on the talk around their house. Apart from social media, the media has also been quite persuasive in past months, zeroing in on each candidates mistakes and magnifying them for the world. So what happens when impressionable young people are thrown into a crazy election year similar to the one upon us? With minimal education about each party's platform, let alone each candidate's stances on important issues, we are left to form opinions based on biased sources. Yes, many high schoolers will not be able to vote in the upcoming election. However, this election is going to affect all of our futures, which is a good reason as to be informed on the matters in front of us. Although most of us cannot vote, we will be able to sooner than we realize. Also, generations that senior us are most likely to not be properly educated either, and sadly they are still left to form opinions the same way we do, through the media. Let's take it back a couple hundred years to why exactly public schools were instituted: to create educated voters. So where did we take a turn in the opposite direction? Perhaps teachers should be required to teach a unbiased, small amount of material surrounding politics in order to inform students and hence create educated voters. It is the world we are living in after all.
