Of those in that same age bracket, only half are registered to vote and merely 46 percent of those registered plan to vote in the November election, according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The same survey noted that seven out of 10 in the same age group polled noted that the politicians are out of touch with the concerns of those in their age group. They also believe the results of the 2000 election will have little impact on their lives. John Dervin, Youth Vote 2000 political and debates director, said on the website youthvote2000.org that youth will make a significant impact on the upcoming election. Youth make up approximately 20-25 percent of registered voters in many of the key battleground states.
Candidates ignore youth at their own peril.
The other day I overheard someone close to me complain about possibly failing a U.S. history test. I asked the person why and the answer was because I didn t know who won the Revolutionary War. The war this person was referring to was the American Revolution. One reason could be the apathy of the youth toward history. Another could be the same old teaching style of their history teachers, who give straight lecture and avoid making the subject interesting in school because they always learned that teaching style instead of interactive methods.