Many young people in Romania do not know or know very little about how state institutions work, they do not understand the importance of elections and the democratic exercise. In addition, they are vulnerable to all kinds of ideologies because they no longer know anything about them. In school he learns too little.
Social education is a subject in the school curriculum PHOTO unsplash
Young people have always been the most indifferent category regarding voting in elections. At least in the northern counties of Moldova, the pensioners bore the brunt of the election and most of the time the young had to accept the candidates chosen by the older, but more electorally conscientious. One of the reasons why many young people do not go to vote is that they know little or nothing about the importance of elections, about how the Romanian state works and especially how their decisions, when voting, can affect their future. “There are many colleagues who have no idea what the Parliament does. I don’t understand what a deputy or even the president of Romania does. Under these conditions, I don’t even understand why they should go to the polls, nor the importance of choosing the right people for these positions. The lack of knowledge in this field makes them careless”, says a high school student from Botoșani.
The subject that should teach students how the state works, a “Cinderella”
What’s more, this information is accessible to any middle school student. From the 5th grade to the 8th grade, there is an object in the school curriculum that over time has had many names, from civic culture to civic education and most recently, social education. Although it is extremely important, even primary for the civic education of students and their transformation into responsible citizens who can make correct decisions for the future of the country and future generations, this object is usually underappreciated. It obviously pales in front of subjects such as Romanian, mathematics, biology or foreign languages.
It is right at the bottom of the ranking, as an optional subject that everyone gets a 10 for regardless of how much and how they study. Obviously, this does not happen at all schools in Romania. There are also dedicated teachers, like Elena Ciubotaru from Botoșani, who struggle to teach secondary school students how the Romanian state works and what responsibility they have when they choose. “ Every time I ask them questions about the Parliament, the Government, the president, I notice that they only know things that are not provided for in the law, only myths or opinions of parents or acquaintances. And when we begin to dismantle them, they are shocked at how people can believe certain things without informing themselves when the information is available to everyone. And they are taught in school, they are four in gymnasium.“, says Professor Elena Ciubotaru.
According to the Ministry of Education, high school students no longer need citizenship education
Culmea, about Parliament, Government, ideological currents teaches middle school children but not high school students. Although teenagers are close to or even at the age when they can vote, they do not receive any information from school regarding the functioning of the Romanian state and the importance of voting. They are not told about ideological currents or political doctrines, necessary to discern for their future. It seems that the Ministry of Education did not consider it important for high school students to learn these things. And the results are visible, generations of students who do not know how the Parliament works, what powers, for example, the president of Romania has and why they should go to vote.
“Unfortunately, there is a rift at the high school and these notions are no longer taught at this level. And the students, especially those from the twelfth grade, ask me. But why don’t we learn about these things because we can vote but we don’t know what that means, we don’t even know which elections to vote for or how important they are. They think they live in their crystal bubble where the state does not affect them, measures are not important because they go to school and everything seems normal. But in reality we are all in a mechanism, in a system, and any decision from above shows us what we can and cannot do. “, adds Elena Ciubotaru.
