The Academic Importance of Government and Politics by Taylor

The Academic Importance of Government and Politics by Taylor - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

If you ask any student what academic subject they would enjoy teaching, you would probably hear the generic subjects such as English, Math, Science, or Social Studies. These subjects all have an extremely important part in shaping our youth in today's society. However, the majority of what we may learn in our schools, we will not use in our adult lives. We won't remember who wrote "The Crucible", what the quadratic formula is, or how fast the speed of light travels. An abundance of the knowledge we are given is on subjects that will not affect our everyday lives. With all of that being said, if I was to choose an academic subject to teach to students in this generation, I would choose U.S. Government and Politics.
In the beginning when our glorious nation was created, our Founding Fathers wrote a set of guidelines for our government to follow and abide by which is known today as our Constitution. The Constitution sets the rules that our government must follow in order to protect the natural born rights of its citizens. Regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sex, the Constitution was established to make sure our government never got too "big" and have absolute rule over the governed or the people. How many people do you think would be able to say what the first ten amendments in the Constitution are?
Our generation needs to learn the importance of having a voice in our republic. Our government deals with all kinds of important issues that affect our everyday lives such as taxes, regulations, foreign policy, education, and trade. These areas are what we need to be pressing into the minds of our youth. They will remember what rights they will have when they come in contact with the police or when they are silenced because they may have a different opinion than others in a room. These key concepts will have a lasting effect on the minds of our youth; not memorizing the Periodic Table.
Many people see our government as a group of overpaid politicians who are just in office to gain more power. I believe with the right information, guided assistance, and realization of personal values, many teenagers or young adults can make an educated decision on how they want to see their government thrive. We, as young adults, need to have the knowledge to apply it to real world scenarios, and that is why I would choose to teach Government and Politics. I would stress the importance of having basic knowledge of how our government was formed and most importantly, why it was formed. Knowing our individual rights as citizens and how we can make a difference will shape the outlook of our country for generations to come.