Kontan Jou

I certainly hope that this year will be as good as the first week indicates. It is students like my current that make me hopeful for the future of this country. In years past it has made me fearful of reaching my golden years. These students have a greater understanding of their world and the world around them. They have obviously been well taught through the years and have taken the initiative to absorb their teachings. I have known students who could tell you neither the parties of the Civil War, nor the outcome. I have known students who placed MS in the greater northeast corner of the US. They had no concept of the world around them, nor did they care. I am going to be more challenged this year than I have ever been in the past. Even if the year does not continue on the wonderful path that it has started on I will be positively challenged for my greater good.

This past week students in one class made a strong argument for lowering the voting age. They pointed out that many of them knew more about the candidates than the citizens you see on late night word on the street entertainment segments. Many adults have no idea about the politicians they are voting for and vote uninformed. Isn’t that a dangerous thing for our nation? In their opinion anyone who passed a qualification test, such as the US Citizenship test, should be allowed to vote if they took the initiative to learn about our nation and pursue the right to vote. How do you defend the rights of citizenship with students who see that so many take it for granted? Should the rights of citizenship be automatic? Would we take our citizenship for granted if we had to work for the rights of citizenship?

The fact that students are seeking to explore these questions means that they appreciate the respect one should have for the rights of citizenship. There is hope for the future.