Could our schools do more to get young people engaged? Surely the answer has to be Yes. I'm still annoyed that I had to learn about a "pocket veto" in high school while learning little about how social change really happens (with apologies to my government teacher whom I adored).
Well, Hamid Shirvani, president of Cal State Stanislaus, has some ideas:
Read his article in the Modest Bee here... and then write your own for your paper!
Well, Hamid Shirvani, president of Cal State Stanislaus, has some ideas:
The answers are many. The solutions few. But one essential element is clear -- public education has failed to prepare our young people for civic life.
Read his article in the Modest Bee here... and then write your own for your paper!
posted by Hans Riemer at 6:30 PM
2 Comments:
The last things govt schools are interested in is getting young people engaged in anything. Want to be really be involved with your education and the world? Try homeschooling.
www.sepschool.org
www.maybewewouldbeamazed.com
I agree that it's foolish to place so much blame on one's education when we're talking about civic activism. We need look no further than the home to find a reason why the youth are still traditionally not higgh-percentage voters. But how has such a subjective term as "patriotism" made you so cynical about your role in the government decision-making process?
You and others sharing your viewpoint should care. Why? Because you will have to pay student loans, have credit card debt, want clean air and water,jobs, and kids. Our legislature is on the verge of cutting college loans by 12.7 billion dollars, and only civic activism is going to stop them. All it takes is a small group of devoted citizens to accomplish something special, something you can be "glad to have been a part of."
My government teacher speaks with great pride when she tells her students she helped end Apartheid in South Africa, and she should because I have no doubt in my mind that she did. People like my brother and I, who wrote letters to papers and officials voicing our displeasure with affirmative action, were able to at least get the issue on the ballot in Michigan for the next election.
perhaps I'm naive, but I still find myself inspired when I'm asked to rock the vote.
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