Every time I teach about government, students instantly ask, "Why does this matter?" I used to offer a pat answer about civic duty. "If your school lunch is free, you at least owe it to your country to go to the polls when you're older."  Yet, there was a nagging sense that guilting people into voting was less than inspiring. Moreover, it seemed to me that voter apathy was often justified.  Sometimes there is simply no candidate who fits your beliefs.  (Show me a candidate who is socially liberal and economically conservative, who is both against war and abortion - see, I can't find a candidate who shares my belief system)  

Despite my cynicism, the truth is that politics make a huge difference for me. Currently, my school is going through restructuring as a result of No Child Left Behind. It's a heavy-handed measure that is based soley on standardized test scores.  In other words, it's a great way to syphen funding from teachers and into large corporations.  Why don't they just take ten percent of my pay check and send it to McGraw Hill?

In addition, we will cut back the number of teachers due to the drop in the student population. Enrollment is down by about four hundred. The culprit? Many "illegals" have left for Mexico. I use quotation marks because this used to be their land and actually we are currently in violation with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Some of my best students have already left.  In fact, I've already lost two from my honor's classes when INS did workplace raids on construction sites.

So, two examples (one state-level and one federal) that specifically impact my life. The War in Iraq might be more of an abstraction (unless you're my close friend Ed, who is over there right now) and genocide in Sudan seems like a movie. And that's the danger of politics.  To make a difference, it takes so many people and usually it's so far removed from people's everyday life.

Here's where it gets hard: I believe politics matter, but I'm not sure how much of a difference I can make. Here in Arizona, even if I work to elect pro-immigration people, the voters can simply pass anti-immigration propositions. Similarly, I might someday work to change No Child Left Behind, but I cannot fight the whole standardized education system that drives the NCLB Law. The problems seem to complex.

So, what do I tell students? Do I tell them that people can make a difference, but that the difference is often small and hardly noticed by anyone? It just doesn't sound that hopeful. Any ideas?

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