For seniors, the word hectic doesn’t even begin to describe the month of October. We are just getting back into the swing of things, except this year our classes are even more arduous and require more focus. On top of long term commitments we were already juggling in the past, and taking some of the hardest courses our school has to offer, in October, many students are taking the SAT/ ACT, and beginning their college applications.
It is completely unfair for Civics and Econ to require 4 hours of volunteer work, outside of class, for a campaign.
And it is not just that it is a very weighty “homework assignment”, it is also the fact that many seniors do not know their political stance. Myself and many of my classmates I have talked to do not want give their time to campaigns that they could end up totally disagreeing with. I understand that maybe it’s a good assignment to help students figure out their political beliefs and get involved, but in my volunteer work I really learned nothing about politics at all. I simply made phone calls off of a premade script, something a robot could of done.
It was a total waste of my time that I could have spent working on filling out the Common App, or working on my psychology notebook, or preparing for my Hamlet essay, or studying for a Calculus test. Or even, god forbid, taking a break. This assignment comes at one of the worst times in the year for seniors. Everyone is starting applications, and for the many who apply early to schools, it is crunch to time to write your personal essays and supplements.
Civics/ Econ are classes that nobody chooses to take. They are mandatory to be able to graduate. In a class like APES, which also requires community service hours outside of class, I can understand the additional commitment more because students choose to take that class and are obviously interested in environmental science. Because all seniors must take, and pass, Civics/ Econ, it is ridiculous to give them an assignment that is a time suck and supports a campaign a student might know nothing about.
Our time would be better spent in Civics/ Econ visiting a political office and having a real politician talk to us. We would be able to ask questions and I think this would require less time and be more educational.
Participating in a campaign is a cool idea for high schoolers. It allows students to get involved in something before they can even vote, especially in this exciting election. However, this assignment is executed poorly and pushes seniors to the brink of disaster and prompts meltdowns. I urge Ms. Kashani and Mr. Keller to really consider what their students are getting out of it, and whether or not 17 year olds are learning anything about Constitutional Law or Economics by making phone calls, handing out flyers, counting votes, or putting together mailings.
Teachers need to realize that their class is not the only class students are taking. Especially in a required course, teachers need to think long and hard about requiring significant out of school commitments.
