Policy Paper
_
In today’s world, many of us are
uninformed. By “us,” I mean young
adults. While many young adults, like
myself, are going to college to become educated and to lead our world some day,
many of us don’t even know much about the world we want to lead. This is not just my opinion; unfortunately, studies
support this claim, as well. According
to a 2009 study done by the PEW Research Center for the People & the Press,
“young adults averaged 5.9 correct answers out of 12 news-based questions” (5.9
– Younger People Less Knowledgeable).
This is compared to the scores of middle-aged people and older people,
which were 7.8 and 8.4 correct answers, respectively (5.9 – Younger People Less
Knowledgeable). More interestingly,
according to a 2010 survey done by the University of North Carolina, less than
half of young adults reported that they paid attention to the news (Editorial -
Young Americans). This needs to
change. If young adults are to lead our
country to a better future, they must become and stay informed – they must know
about the events occurring around them.
So, how can we, as a nation, ensure that our young people are aware of current events? People don’t just change their habits easily. Maybe, the answer is to try to make exposure to current events an early habit. As the adage goes, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – so let’s start when they are puppies. By this I mean, we need to reach folks at an early age, perhaps as early as middle school. Consider a policy that requires middle schools to add a current events class to their curriculum. In middle school, students are young enough to have new habits instilled in them. But, they are old enough to start understanding the current events that are occurring in our world. Having this class in an elementary school wouldn’t make sense due to the fact that many don’t understand politics, or anything of the sort. Middle school is where kids begin to form opinions and views, such as the political party for which they feel some affinity. On the other hand, if this class were taught in high school, or even college, it may be too late because habits have already taken hold. As a result, it is likely that many would not take the class seriously, rather than internalize the habit of being cognizant of current events.
In the final analysis, this kind of early education policy is necessary because if kids aren’t forced to create this habit early, it is less likely to form later. This is why more subtle options are less effective. This is clearly illustrated here at Penn State. While newspapers, including the New York Times, are free for students to read, there are a minority of students who actually take advantage of this opportunity. Simply having news available to us is not enough. I submit to you that the university would have to pay students before you could get 50% of the student population to grab a newspaper. Moreover, young adults don’t even take advantage of the Internet to find news. Indeed, “the most technologically savvy generation also is least likely to use that technology to find information about important policy and government issues” (Editorial - Young Americans).
Why is it that my generation doesn’t take advantage of these opportunities? According to the PEW Project for Excellence in Journalism, we are in an “on-demand” culture (Young People & the News). That means we want it whenever we want it and however we want it. We don’t have the habit, like that of our previous generation, to watch the 6 o’clock news regularly. While this policy is not intended to get this current generation to watch the news every night and boost a show’s ratings, it is intended to get kids to form some habit of gathering news – whether from the newspaper, Internet, or television. The idea is to get kids to interested in current events enough to develop the habit to stay up to date with what’s going on in the world around them.
Some might argue that there are flaws with this policy. For instance, many classes similar to a current events class have been weeded out of curriculums due to the difficulty of maintaining an unbiased environment for the kids. In particular, some fear that a teacher will impose his or her views on the class, instead of just informing the class in an unbiased and neutral manner about what current events are occurring. However, while this is a concern, it is one that can be dealt with by peer monitoring of the class and other similar devices. Simply stated, the importance of developing this habit far outweighs any concerns about a biased classroom. Indeed, one could have similar concerns about a biased classroom in the way a history class is taught. However, this doesn’t stop us from teaching history.
That said, here’s an alternative. A simple attempt to solve this problem would be put news in a place where students will see it, and thus be inclined to read it. As a college student stated in a 2008 focus group, “if the news is important, it will find me” (Young People & the News). If the Stall Stories, the one-page news article taped to the bathroom door here at Penn State,not only had articles about what’s going on campus, but also articles about what’s going on in the nation and the world, many would be more informed. One is almost forced to read the Stall Stories, as there is not much else to do while using the bathroom. Another location current events could be placed is on eLion. Along with the messages found on the homepage, there could be a place for a “story of the day,” or something of that sort. This also would get people to read news articles, since many go onto eLion multiple times a day.
If either of the policies discussed herein were enacted, the amount of news young adults would take in would certainly increase. We are the future of our country, so it is important that we stay informed – would you want people who are uninformed to be running our country? Ignorance of the events around us takes us down a path of failure. Indeed, if we know more, we are able to make better decisions. Perhaps one of the best illustrations of the importance of being aware of current events is its potential impact on voting and elections.
There has been a huge increase in young adults voting in the past decade. In fact, there was a 103% increase from 2004-2008 in voting in primary contests or caucuses and even more are expected to vote in this upcoming presidential election (Youth Voting Stats). But do these voters really know about the candidate for whom they vote? If most young adults don’t follow the news, how could they possibly know about the candidates? This means people are blindly voting. For instance, one may vote for Obama simply because he’s a Democrat. Or, one may consistanly vote Republican because his or her parents are Republican. People aren’t doing the full research before they go to vote. And, if this continues, the people who are elected may not end up being what the people wanted due to the fact many don’t know much about the candidate before they vote. If more become informed, not only would voting be more effective, but also even more young adults would become interested in voting.
There can be no question but that being informed about current events makes one a better citizen and a more productive member of society. Studies show that young people aren’t as aware as they should be, especially in light of this digital world in which we live. Young people must acquire the habit of gathering news. These policies are designed to help them do just that. In this Information Age, our young people need to be informed.
Bibliography
"5.9 - Younger People Less Knowledgeable." Pew Research Center: The Databank. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=769>.
"Editorial - Young Americans Disconnected from Current Events." StarNewsOnline.com. 30 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20101030/ARTICLES/101029511?p=1>.
"Young People & the News." Younger Thinking. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.youngerthinking.com/?p=224>.
"Youth Voting Stats." Young Democrats of America. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.yda.org/resources/youth-vote-statistics/>.
So, how can we, as a nation, ensure that our young people are aware of current events? People don’t just change their habits easily. Maybe, the answer is to try to make exposure to current events an early habit. As the adage goes, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – so let’s start when they are puppies. By this I mean, we need to reach folks at an early age, perhaps as early as middle school. Consider a policy that requires middle schools to add a current events class to their curriculum. In middle school, students are young enough to have new habits instilled in them. But, they are old enough to start understanding the current events that are occurring in our world. Having this class in an elementary school wouldn’t make sense due to the fact that many don’t understand politics, or anything of the sort. Middle school is where kids begin to form opinions and views, such as the political party for which they feel some affinity. On the other hand, if this class were taught in high school, or even college, it may be too late because habits have already taken hold. As a result, it is likely that many would not take the class seriously, rather than internalize the habit of being cognizant of current events.
In the final analysis, this kind of early education policy is necessary because if kids aren’t forced to create this habit early, it is less likely to form later. This is why more subtle options are less effective. This is clearly illustrated here at Penn State. While newspapers, including the New York Times, are free for students to read, there are a minority of students who actually take advantage of this opportunity. Simply having news available to us is not enough. I submit to you that the university would have to pay students before you could get 50% of the student population to grab a newspaper. Moreover, young adults don’t even take advantage of the Internet to find news. Indeed, “the most technologically savvy generation also is least likely to use that technology to find information about important policy and government issues” (Editorial - Young Americans).
Why is it that my generation doesn’t take advantage of these opportunities? According to the PEW Project for Excellence in Journalism, we are in an “on-demand” culture (Young People & the News). That means we want it whenever we want it and however we want it. We don’t have the habit, like that of our previous generation, to watch the 6 o’clock news regularly. While this policy is not intended to get this current generation to watch the news every night and boost a show’s ratings, it is intended to get kids to form some habit of gathering news – whether from the newspaper, Internet, or television. The idea is to get kids to interested in current events enough to develop the habit to stay up to date with what’s going on in the world around them.
Some might argue that there are flaws with this policy. For instance, many classes similar to a current events class have been weeded out of curriculums due to the difficulty of maintaining an unbiased environment for the kids. In particular, some fear that a teacher will impose his or her views on the class, instead of just informing the class in an unbiased and neutral manner about what current events are occurring. However, while this is a concern, it is one that can be dealt with by peer monitoring of the class and other similar devices. Simply stated, the importance of developing this habit far outweighs any concerns about a biased classroom. Indeed, one could have similar concerns about a biased classroom in the way a history class is taught. However, this doesn’t stop us from teaching history.
That said, here’s an alternative. A simple attempt to solve this problem would be put news in a place where students will see it, and thus be inclined to read it. As a college student stated in a 2008 focus group, “if the news is important, it will find me” (Young People & the News). If the Stall Stories, the one-page news article taped to the bathroom door here at Penn State,not only had articles about what’s going on campus, but also articles about what’s going on in the nation and the world, many would be more informed. One is almost forced to read the Stall Stories, as there is not much else to do while using the bathroom. Another location current events could be placed is on eLion. Along with the messages found on the homepage, there could be a place for a “story of the day,” or something of that sort. This also would get people to read news articles, since many go onto eLion multiple times a day.
If either of the policies discussed herein were enacted, the amount of news young adults would take in would certainly increase. We are the future of our country, so it is important that we stay informed – would you want people who are uninformed to be running our country? Ignorance of the events around us takes us down a path of failure. Indeed, if we know more, we are able to make better decisions. Perhaps one of the best illustrations of the importance of being aware of current events is its potential impact on voting and elections.
There has been a huge increase in young adults voting in the past decade. In fact, there was a 103% increase from 2004-2008 in voting in primary contests or caucuses and even more are expected to vote in this upcoming presidential election (Youth Voting Stats). But do these voters really know about the candidate for whom they vote? If most young adults don’t follow the news, how could they possibly know about the candidates? This means people are blindly voting. For instance, one may vote for Obama simply because he’s a Democrat. Or, one may consistanly vote Republican because his or her parents are Republican. People aren’t doing the full research before they go to vote. And, if this continues, the people who are elected may not end up being what the people wanted due to the fact many don’t know much about the candidate before they vote. If more become informed, not only would voting be more effective, but also even more young adults would become interested in voting.
There can be no question but that being informed about current events makes one a better citizen and a more productive member of society. Studies show that young people aren’t as aware as they should be, especially in light of this digital world in which we live. Young people must acquire the habit of gathering news. These policies are designed to help them do just that. In this Information Age, our young people need to be informed.
Bibliography
"5.9 - Younger People Less Knowledgeable." Pew Research Center: The Databank. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://pewresearch.org/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=769>.
"Editorial - Young Americans Disconnected from Current Events." StarNewsOnline.com. 30 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20101030/ARTICLES/101029511?p=1>.
"Young People & the News." Younger Thinking. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.youngerthinking.com/?p=224>.
"Youth Voting Stats." Young Democrats of America. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.yda.org/resources/youth-vote-statistics/>.