Plato, renowned thinker and expounder, suggested more than 2,300 years back, “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” Dude was probably right. Or not. Anyway, when it comes to the imperative for joining the government conversation, hundreds of young people every year get it. They engage in very spirited, albeit well-organized deliberation in Olympia.
Sarah Clinton, Executive Director of our state’s YMCA Youth & Government program, told The Advance the other day that this year’s recent convening of high-school and middle-school students featured upward of 350 delegates from 29 delegations. In addition to debating, lobbying, and writing about issues, according to Clinton, students elected 11 officers to lead the program for the next year. This group includes Youth Governor Jade Chowning, Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences. Chowning is Washington’s first female Youth Governor in 10 years.
“YMCA Youth & Government programs teach young people how to be informed and active members in their communities,” Clinton said. “Students who participate in Y&G programs understand the issues facing their community and the importance of working together to find solutions.” Clinton added that this active-citizenship program “fosters a sense of civic responsibility, providing teens with positive adult mentors, and nurturing leadership skills that students use in all areas of their lives.”
Paula Rehwaldt, the Washington State House of Representatives Civic Education Coordinator, noted that “the voter turnout for 18-24-year-olds in the 2012 election was 50 percent. Research has shown that, when exposed to civic organizations and those involved in the process, this age group responds by voting. Civic organizations like YMCA Youth & Government play a vital role in promoting civic engagement and responsibility to future generations of voters.”
Rehwaldt continued: “Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.’ Civic-education groups help strengthen that participation.”
Stay tuned for an upcoming edition of The Advance featuring Part II of this miniseries on the Youth Legislature program. We’ll hear from a current member of the Washington State House of Representatives who is himself a former Youth Legislator. We’ll also:
• Check in with a teacher.
• Present an up-close scoop from a student.
• Briefly review the program’s storied state and national history.