Training tomorrow’s voters

Congressional candidate Steve Young visited Newport Harbor High last week, pushing teenagers to get engaged in politics and to vote. How might our schools better prepare students to become interested in voting?

The privilege and duty of voting in a free country should be taught starting in preschool. Each year, history lessons should extol the virtues and uniqueness of America’s heritage and her wise Founding Fathers. By the time students turn 18, they will be eager to register to vote because they will understand their God-given rights as citizens and that their one vote makes a difference in keeping America free.

All of our students should spend much time before graduation studying the rich texts of the Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and Gettysburg Address, to name a few. Speeches such as Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death!” inspire patriotism and passion for freedom and should be studied in depth. By studying contextually the documents and the authors’ lives, students will know the principles of individuality, self-government, independence, liberty and why their vote counts.

Students will be inspired to vote if they are presented with a balanced and accurate history of America. But I know that is not realistic, because our secular public schools must downplay the remarkable faith-based stories of many patriots. Because textbooks have gradually eliminated the teaching of God’s providence in America and replaced it with the dogma of separation of church and state, our students are missing out on historical facts that inspire patriotism and compel them to vote. Many history textbooks do not always present America in a favorable light. Personal opinions and interpretations of the writers, many of whom are hostile to religion and its influence in America, cause students to have an inaccurate and skeptical view of America.

George Grupe, a local historian who has spoken in our schools, has done a lot to instill in local students a pride for America and appreciation for sacrifices local heroes have made for freedom. He has also helped to see framed copies of America’s most important documents mounted on walls at schools, the airport and Newport’s main library. If students were required to study and apply the principles therein, I believe they would have a passion for voting and for preserving America’s heritage.

* WENDY LEECE is a Costa Mesa parent, former school board member and member of the city’s parks and recreation commission.

For the most part, the high schools and many individual teachers do a reasonable job of encouraging interest in voting and politics. It’s tough to get many kids interested, as evidenced by the fairly weak turnout at the Newport Harbor event last week, simply because politics isn’t on their short list of important things. It’s easy for kids to feel that politics and voting really aren’t that important because most can’t vote and therefore don’t feel like they can make much difference even if they do care. That’s often reinforced by candidates who don’t feel that they need to pay attention to people younger than voting age, because they need support now and aren’t going to spend precious campaign time with people who don’t have a vote. Republican candidate John Campbell’s lack of a response to Newport Harbor’s Student Political Action Committee request that he come to the school to speak is an example of that approach.

The best way to get kids interested in voting is help them gain a real awareness of the world and what’s going on in it. The best way to get kids aware is to have them read a newspaper every day. TV’s sound-bite approach and surface-level coverage are very poor substitute for reading. Kids can start when they’re young, even if some of the front-page topics seem beyond them. If you’re reading this, then you probably have a Los Angeles Times nearby. Hand it to your kid and have him or her read it. When time is limited, pick a story or two and ask your kid to read those at a minimum. Then discuss, even if just briefly, some of the news of the day.

The schools get newspapers, and I know several teachers who make good use of them. Students can read newspapers during the daily Sustained Silent Reading periods, and they should be encouraged to do so. If every high school kid read even part of the front and California sections of the L.A. Times every day and then spent just ten minutes discussing it with parents, teachers or peers, we’d have incredibly well-prepared young voters.

* MARK GLEASON is a Costa Mesa resident and parent.

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