As a lifelong Democrat and now a high schooler, I have realized just how many of us there are in St. Louis, especially in the Trump era and the recent rise in youth activism regarding gun violence. Thus, St. Louis now has an organization dedicated to high school Democrats. We have had several meetings, met with many elected officials and public servants, and, on Saturday, July 14, endorsed five races in the upcoming August 7th primaries. This was a great way to get involved in the upcoming election and make your voice heard.

The races included US Senate, Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District, St. Louis County Prosecutor, Missouri House District 79, and Missouri House District 81. At the meeting, the Democratic candidates of in these races each spoke for a few minutes and then answered audience. Afterwards, the high schoolers voted on whom they wanted to endorse.

The results were: Claire McCaskill for US Senate; Cort VanOstran for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District;  Wesley Bell for St. Louis County Prosecutor; Lakeysha Bosley for Missouri House District 79; and Travis Estes for Missouri House District 81.

The members of this organization have since campaigned for the endorsed candidates by knocking on doors, calling voters, and writing postcards. Of course, there has been much social media outreach as well. High schoolers love Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, posting their support for candidates, and the candidates have made the endorsements evident on their pages.

Endorsements have become a bigger and more intense part of campaigns and races. Candidates strive to get as many endorsements as they can and then remind voters of them often. With this engagement, and with the desire to reach out to young voters, candidates in many of Missouri’s races wanted St. Louis High School Democrats’ endorsement. This competition for endorsements adds another level to a race, and endorsements can make or break a vote.

Claire McCaskill’s campaign sent a representative, and we endorsed her as the Democrat for US Senate. As for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District, the Democrats who attended the meeting were Cort VanOstran, Mark Osmack, and Bill Haas. Most of their discussion focused on democratic ideals and defeating Ann Wagner. VanOstran talked about healthcare, Osmack about military experience and spending, and Haas about third grade reading levels and a violence prevention hotline.

Wesley Bell represented the St. Louis County Prosecutor race, while Bob McCulloch has again not showed up to a forum and meeting he has been invited to.

The other races were for two house districts that are both part of St. Louis City, 79 and 81. For the 79th district candidates, Lakeysha Bosley spoke about being a woman and representing the district, and J.P. Johnson talked about his experience in politics as an intern and field organizer. In the 81st race, Travis Estes noted that he is the only pro-choice candidate in the race and also that he has experience in the tech world and will use this to implement policy, such as gun registration. Steve Butz was not in attendance, but his campaign manager was. She talked about his views, morals, and experience.

The best part of this meeting was that Democrats were able to come together and talk about what is needed, especially in Missouri. We high schoolers were able to have a voice and be involved in these races, even though most of us won’t be able to vote.

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I will graduate high school knowing how to take the derivative of complicated logarithmic equations. I will not graduate high school knowing how to file taxes. I will graduate high school knowing which European leaders were responsible for the catastrophe that was the League of Nations. I will not graduate high school knowing how to work towards a resolution of the Syrian refugee crisis. I will graduate high school knowing the differences between a Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet. I will not graduate high school knowing how to fix a flat tire. I will graduate high school knowing who has the best chances of playing pro ball. I will not graduate high school knowing if I have an aptitude for my chosen fields of study.

See a problem?

The American education system—public and private—has a tendency to emphasize various academic fields of study that, though helpful to a point, often become essentially unhelpful. Call me crazy, but I think it is important to hold the ability to be able to invest in your own future in high esteem. I ought to be able to graduate knowing I am prepared for at least the most basic difficulties life is guaranteed to throw at me… like filing taxes. After all, Benjamin Franklin asserted that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

I didn’t learn that quote in school, though. No, I learned it in my own independent reading, something I wish more people did more often. The more popular trend, though, is just to scoff because “there’s video games to play.” Are video games going to teach you any life lessons? Help you grow up? Learn something important? No. Try some Shakespeare. Some Bronte. Maybe some Plato. Pick up a Newsweek. If you really need to spend mind-numbing hours staring at a screen, do it when the news is on so you can recognize there are worse horrors in the world- much worse- than the poorly animated zombies running around your TV screen.

I know I’m guilty of spending a few too many hours staring at a screen some days, too, but I always try to fight my way back to reality. I know I have a tendency to slacken my quest for knowledge when I walk out of the school doors, but I never stop. I know homework makes it difficult some days; I’m well aware it’s hard to catch up on world affairs while trying to do some “wicked hard implicit differentiation,” as my Calculus teacher calls it. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. If school isn’t going to provide us with what we feel is the necessary, then we have to work for it ourselves. Even if that means I give up some precious free time. Even if that means I trade in Divergent for Dante’s Inferno. Even if that means I trade in TBS for CNN. Even if that means I trade in pizza with friends for volunteering at a local food pantry.

School can only expose us to so much reality without risking censure from the school board. You’ll probably never see a class field trip to the homeless shelter. So the responsibility falls to us. Our education system can only give us the tools we need to succeed- critical thinking, literacy, mathematical capabilities- but it can’t build the whole boat for us.

Maybe, then part of the reason I can’t fix a flat is because I’ve never searched for the information. Not just because the school didn’t provide it. Perhaps it’s a crazy notion, but maybe- just maybe- we are as responsible for our education and understanding as any school administrator.

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