Politics is an integral part of our everyday lives, with new laws being proposed on a daily basis. These laws can have an influence both domestically and on an international scale. In the 2015 general election, only 43% of 18-24 year olds turned out to cast their vote. One of the main reasons behind this has been attributed to the fact that the younger electorate didn’t have a clear understanding on the main issues being discussed. This raises the question as to whether children and young adults should be taught about politics as part of the national curriculum.

Teaching politics in schools, colleges and academies will allow students to gain a basic understanding of the main issues in politics. Politics can be a very complex topic, with many different views, opinions and points of discussion. Providing pupils with a certain level of understanding will ensure that when they are old enough to vote, they will understand what parties, policies and issues are important to them. This will in turn improve the ‘turn out rate’ at elections.

At present, students are expected to make the decision of who to vote for without any background knowledge or understanding. Many 18 year olds who show an interest in politics will be left to formulate an opinion based on which media they choose to read, or be influenced by their parent’s political standpoint.

Despite many expressing their backing for politics as a taught subject in schools, others are strongly opposed to it. Many believe that teachers would naturally give biased judgments on political parties and leaders based on their own political persuasion. Other criticism has arisen implying that children are too young to learn about politics and would be disinterested by the subject if it were taught in school. This could deter them from the subject in later life.

In recent years, lowering the voting age to 16 has been discussed by parliament members within the house of commons. At present, individuals must be 18 years old to vote in the general election. If the voting age was to be lowered to 16 or 17 years old, many argue it is essential that students have a greater understanding of politics than they do at present.

Politics has been at the forefront of the western world’s media throughout 2016, with the U.S. election and Brexit being the two main talking points.

However, not educating children and young adults on politics at school can cause them to be unaware when they come to the age at which they can vote. This could lead them to make an uneducated decision regarding which way to vote, on decisions which can have a major impact on their future and the future of their children. The government could address this issue by making politics a compulsory subject across all levels of education to ensure that when a student’s time to vote comes around, they are making an informed choice that they fully understand.