Every July 4th, as we spend time with our families and friends enjoying picnics, parades, and fireworks across the nation, the day’s real commemoration is the celebration of our nation’s vibrant history. As we celebrate the official birth of the United States of America, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s also a time to remember that despite criticisms that young people only care about keeping up with the Kardashians or Justin Beiber’s next hot YouTube video, we are actually deeply patriotic, highly-engaged in the political process, and optimistic about our country’s future.
Consider this: A recent survey based on the Bill of Rights Institute’s annual essay contest “Being an American” found that student really do want civics lessons and while magazine covers of celebrities sell, students admire American historical figures.
It’s conventional wisdom that Americans don’t care about our past. We see jokes in the media where citizens confuse Ben Franklin as an American President or don’t know the difference between the Civil War and World War II. And yeah, it’s worth a chuckle, but why don’t Americans know more about our collective history? Is it because we don’t care or maybe it’s because time isn’t spent on these topics?
Looking to slash budgets, school districts across the country are dropping civics classes. Perhaps that’s why people haven’t heard of the women’s suffrage movement or they don’t understand why voting is so vital to a democracy. But it appears that students want to know more about a U.S. history and civics.
At Rock the Vote, we know that young people participate in the democratic process when they are asked to. We also know that 18-29 year-olds are the largest demographic and 13,000 young people become of voting age every day.
Eric Axelson, director of Rock the Vote’s Democracy Class program, sees young people eager to learn about civic engagement on a daily basis.
“In the classroom, we see kids getting really excited that their vote matters. And schools seem very enthusiastic at the prospect of getting a little civics back in the curriculum,” he says.
The one period course of Democracy Class teaches young people about the importance of their participation in the political process. The class engages youth on their terms, using music and pop culture as a teaching tool and offers eligible students the opportunity to register to vote. In schools across the country, Rock the Vote is educating a new generation of young voters on their right to participate in their democracy.
This July 4th weekend, as we’re grilling, spending time with the people we care about and enjoying fireworks, let’s take some time and remember that this nation only exists because of what our forbearers sacrificed and it will only continue to exist if we continue to participate in the democratic process. Young people want to participate in democracy, you just have to let them.
Tags: Civics, Democracy Class, July 4
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Jason Bio: Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com |
