The Opinion Journal links decreasing voter participation to the dire state of public school social studies education these days. The theory is that dumbed-down social studies education, which is so "tailored" that kids often don't learn about anything not directly related to them, has resulted in a new "standard":
The percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds who voted fell to 32% in 1996 and 2000, from 50% in 1972. A study in 2000 found that only 28.1% of college freshman kept up to date with politics, a record low and down from 60.3% in 1966. "The current generation of young people may set a new standard for both civic disengagement and civic misinformation," writes J. Martin Rochester in his Fordham essay.
When I was in college (late 1980's), I remember waiting for my boyfriend so he could cast his vote for Michael Dukakis. I didn't cast a vote, mainly because I had very little idea what was going on with either candidate. By graduate school, I was watching the debates, but nothing about either candidate seemed to affect me to the point where I felt the need to vote in either '92 or '96.
Now, of course, it's a different story for me, thanks in no small part to the blogosphere (and September 11th, and the fact that I pay taxes, and etc). So how can we get the bloggers to invigorate political education? Some college courses require students to survey blogs; I think that needs to be pushed down to the high school level as well.
Posted by kswygert at September 29, 2003 05:37 PM