On Tue, 12 Sep 2000, Steven C. Anderson wrote:
> And exactly what is different about 18, 25, or 40 year olds in these
> respects? I feel that high school students are at least as capable as
> adults at taking their voting decision seriously and making it
> intelligently, based upon objective facts. In fact I believe they'd
> do a better job at voting than most adults.
>
> >We should remember that students in this age group are just learning
> >about things like world history, American history, civics, and
> >economics. All of these are helpful in making good voting decisions.
>
> Ok, everyone out there who has been out of school for more than 5 years,
> how much do you remember about what you learned in history, civics, and
> economics in high school?
Class O '93:
Heh. I tested out of Civics via the Advanced Standing tests, so I
never had an offical Civics class. :}. But then, I've been dropping
literature for candidates in my area since I was 6, so I had a more solid
background than most on that topic. My 'civics' lessions came in my AP
American History class in 11th grade....
> I think that's exactly the virtue of this proposal: by tying voting in
> with the high school educational process, we get some more freshly
> educated voters, and in the process we give them a way to put their
> civics education to use.
As a mater of fact, my Economics teacher in 12th grade gave a few
points of extra credit to those of us who could vote and did. In-class
debates about candidates in the area would be very nice. Unfortunately,
since Minneapolis has several legislative districts in it, you can't
really discuss those races, but 5CD, School board and Senate are all races
that can be discussed. Civics in action!
> A "learn-do, learn-do" combo like this is much more effective for
> producing good decision making than "learn, learn, learn, learn - wait
> - ok, do, if you can figure out where to vote when you're living
> outside your parents' home for the first time, possibly at a temporary
> address...."
Heck yeah. Even I, a dedicated political junkie, missed an
election or two because I didn't get around to registering in my new home
district. I registered up at college, even though it was only for one
election, so I could vote up there. Heck, I even voted absentee my
Freshman year (the year SSB beat John Derus). That just says I'm FAR from
average. Most people won't even bother voting during their "acedemic
gypsy" years. Once the voting habit is broken, few take it up again.
So I agree, lowering the voting age to something that can be
leveraged in High School would increase voter turnout. It would instil
healthy habits in students, and perhaps lead to a better-informed
electorate.
Greg Riedesel
North HS Class of 1993
SSP
