Children aren’t allowed to vote. Teenagers don’t have opinions about politics. Gen Z often accused of not being involved enough, whether it be in politics of jobs. But how can they if they aren’t taught it in school. Most schools don’t teach their kids about what’s going on in Westminster. The few who do teach politics, offer it as an a level, that few will take. The problem is not the teenagers themselves, but the fact that adults don’t involve them in it.
Of course, allowing children to vote would be a one-way road to chaos. However, currently pensioners make up 18.6% of the population of England and wales, but of all voters, pensioners make up 32.1%. Realistically, the number of 18–25-year-old who vote is much lower and this could only be because of their lack of political education when they were young. How are Gen z supposed to vote if they don’t have all the facts, so they can’t make an informed decision.
When GCSE students where asked whether they though children should be taught about politics some said:
‘Yes, children should be taught about politics, a lot of the time it will directly affect them more than the average person who votes.’
‘Yes, as long as there is no bias and the child is old enough. I think it is important because politics is very useful and even basic knowledge of what is happening around the world is good for children.’
‘Yes, but in a safe way, because children live in the world too and have the right to know about the country and the world, they live in.’
Overall, the message that can be taken from this is that teenagers do want to know and be involved in politics, but they are held back by the limited education in such areas. The problem doesn’t come from the generation themselves.
If teenagers were more involved and actively taught in, caught up on politics, then perhaps things would look differently in the political world.
