This Jan. 6 marks the fifth anniversary of the insurrection that took place at the Capitol. President Trump ordered an infiltration of Venezuela to seize the president Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. The U.S. struck Nigeria on Dec. 25. Trump threatened to intervene in the protests occurring in Iran on Jan. 4.
These global events are necessary to be aware of and directly related to politics, but because of the indifference and lack of knowledge toward the news, students don’t seem to notice or care.
In regards to politics, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, more than 70% of Americans fail a basic civic literacy quiz on subjects as simple as how our government works. Even worse, of the subjects that were studied, one in three did not know there are three branches of government. But how could teens feel so uninformed about politics when there are classes they can take in school to learn about the basics?
In MCPS, it is required to take one government class to graduate. AP NSL is the most commonly taken government class and in this course students learn about how American government is structured and how it has evolved over time. American government is also briefly analyzed in AP U.S. History. This gives students almost two years to learn about our government, but these classes are not enough to make them aware about what is happening in current politics and events.
For example, the current events above are all topics that were discussed in my AP Comparative Government class. In this course we dive into global politics, while also reading enough articles on what is happening in the world to be aware of current events and politics. So for those who want to or need to become more familiar with politics and current events, this is a great class to learn about them.
However, another issue that contributes to the lack of knowledge on current events and politics is the spread of misinformation throughout social media platforms. According to a 2025 study done by Pew Research, 50% of teens say they visit or use Tiktok almost constantly or several times a day and 40% say the same about Instagram. That means that while teens are spending so much of their time on social media, they are at a risk of being fed misinformation. Therefore, rather than believing any information that gets posted on social media, it is important to visit a wide variety of legitimate news outlets for the purpose of being educated on current events.
Students from the class of 2026 are turning 18 this year, so they are now eligible to vote in the election that will take place in 2028. It is more important than ever for teenagers to read about current events because being uninformed is unsafe for the future of this country. Voting isn’t about blindly choosing to support the party that your parents did or your friends do, it’s about determining which party will protect your beliefs and needs the best based on data. Even though schools require government classes, these courses alone can’t keep students informed about what’s happening in the world today. Therefore, reading an article from time to time or turning on the news are great ways to stay aware of what’s happening in politics and current events.
