Youth Political Engagement - Essay Example

Civic education is critical in ensuring there is survival of constitutional democracy. Exposing the high school-going students to the civic world early provides a platform that will prepare them to understand the democratic values .civics in high school teach students about government and citizenship. The basic understanding of politics, government, history of the country, and civic life creates avenues to molding informed citizens. The state of civic education has not reached the desired threshold.

Apparently, most students are ignorant of their democratic rights and understanding civic duties that foster liberty and ensure they understand the majority rule and the need to protect the minority rights. According to Dalton (2009), people have become more aware of their democratic rights. Ideally, people drive the process of achieving democracy. This is based on the thoughts and desires of how people want the government to operate. The different political issues require the consent of the electorate.

The penetration of civic understanding into high schools has greatly improved based on the increased participation of young people in the citizenry and desire to know about their government. The Russell Dalton book offers insights on citizen’s politics and offers comparative studies of behavior and political attitudes in France, Germany, the United States, and Great Britain. The new wave of activists used by youth includes the internet-based activism where information is passed to people regarding the democratic process, criticisms, and revelation of various social evils tend to be effective.

The creation of online activists is effective given the penetration of information to diverse individuals and globalization.  The new political consumerism feeds people information on the civic rights and responsibilities in creating an ideal government and ensures there is value for the elections conducted (Dalton, 2009). The structure of the civic curriculum covers citizenship elements by ensuring the school curriculum offers the recommended civic education in high schools. The curriculum is integrated into the school system which takes over a semester and assesses students on their understanding of the various topics in civic education.

  The dynamics in the education system require the application of the current affairs in the political field to create a firm understanding of the structure of government and democracy process (Jenkins et al., 2016). Teaching political engagements in high schools is often challenging. The high school often has diverse students from different political backgrounds. Other issue arises when politics are discussed. For example, racial, gender, resource allocation arises. The sensitive topics require to be handled by experts lest they ignite hate among students (Dalton, 2009).

Civic education must be administered using laboratories for creating democracy.  Imparting knowledge to students about citizenship and government operations requires an ideal environment to ensure pupils get used to the process. This can be done through discussion and debating controversial topics and allowing disagreements respectively. The schools are ideologized zones that embrace diversity hence critical in engaging students in learning about civic education. Learning civic and engagement is legitimate in that criticism and support of various issues are allowed.

According to research by Dalton (2009), high school students who often discuss issues and are used to them are more likely to be politically engaged.  Current affairs play a role in understanding the issues surrounding everyone, this way; they are prepared for the future and understand why they need to vote.  Attitudes to accept people from different backgrounds are also supported by the various programs in administering civic education. It is, however, challenging to instill knowledge to the youth on the values of democracy if diversity is not appreciated.

Civic experiences require participants to understand the essence of citizenship. According to Henry Jenkins et al (2016), dominant elites take over the crucial institutions and public space hence have a network and social movements that are visible to the outside world. The internet age has seen growth in social movements, for example, Occupy Wall Street helped in expressing grassroots issues using a community network and creating a new political framework. The elites should follow the sense of the community that champions social bonds refine rhetoric and reconnecting with historical ideologies.

  The youth approach to civic education must follow the curriculum and address issues despite their sensitivity and allow youth to present their views. This will increase the interest of the youth to participate in fulfilling their civic duties and connect with the political class. People in the past were drawn into the private sphere and given the infrastructure in fostering democracy. The increasing skepticism geared towards disengagement in institutional forms should be addressed (Jenkins et al., 2016). Fostering democracy should be done through the practical process when electing student representatives.

Moreover, teach students the values of democracy and representation. Conclusively, it is paramount to create a robust democracy at an early stage to create responsible citizens.