(C) El Paso Matters.org
This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Opinion: How El Paso can improve our civic engagement [1]

['Special To El Paso Matters', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar']

Date: 2025-02-04

By Janine Knauerhase and Miguel Moya

The 2024 elections were surrounded by a media storm, with controversies, public dissatisfaction and polarization at an all-time high.Yet, there was little engagement with the mechanisms of what makes our country a democracy.

In a continuation of historical voting patterns, El Paso experienced significantly low voter turnout, maintaining its low national rank. According to the Texas Secretary of State, among counties with more than 100,000 registered voters, El Paso had the second lowest voter turnout in the 2024 general election.

Janine Knauerhase, left, and Miguel Moya

It can be argued that community engagement also plays a role in low voter turnout, and according to the Social Capital Atlas from Harvard University´s Opportunity Insights, only about 3% of people in our county participate in volunteering groups, which ranks us in the 4th percentile, nationally.

This lack of voting and civic engagement contributes to the distance and division that often occurs when discussing how to solve the issues that challenge our community. So, how can we improve voter turnout, civic participation and community engagement in the El Paso region?

We need to recognize that one of the root contributors of low voter turnout is a lack of trust in government institutions. This mistrust is typically fueled by a lack of exposure to and understanding of how government works internally at the local, state and federal levels. Not being aware of governmental processes, policies and limited civic education opportunities also hinders the ability for communities and leaders to have open dialogues regardless of political party or affiliation.

This is where civic education plays an invaluable role. El Paso´s public education institutions, like many others in the United States, do not place much emphasis on civic engagement and advocacy.

An article published by the Center for American Progress showed that states that focused more on civic education and government had the highest youth civic engagement rates in the nation. The National Center for Education Statistics shows that while Texas is one of fewer than than 10 states that requires students to pass a social studies exam, our state still does not have a strong civic education focus or requirement in social studies courses, let alone an emphasis on civic participation.

Independent school districts may choose to incorporate civic education courses or include fewer or additional elements to social studies courses in accordance with the K-12 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requirements. Evidently, efforts to encourage civic participation in Texas schools are restricted.

With limited resources, time and the focus on standardized testing, civic education often takes a back seat. The importance of civic engagement, the value of voting, and related content may only be sprinkled sporadically in middle school and high school social studies courses rather than being an important chapter in school curriculums.

While some teachers may do their best to equip their students with such important knowledge, it is not part of the state or local standards, and not every student receives the same level of education. Generations of students are left lacking the tools and understanding to effectively participate in civic engagement and our democracy.

Many nonprofits nationwide and in Texas such as Move Texas, Rock the Vote and vote.org focus on encouraging voter registration or exercising civic duties. However, what is missing in El Paso are more purposeful educational programs catered to the needs and circumstances of the community.

Programs to fill the gap in civic education which provide the knowledge, understanding, and tools to empower El Pasoans to actively participate in local government and community building are missing. This is where we come in.

The El Paso Leadership Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has partnered with the statewide education and advocacy organization Raise Your Hand Texas to develop a free civic education course with civic engagement opportunities.

As a nonpolitical, nonpartisan effort, our mission is to promote accessible educational opportunities for individual and community development. We hope this program will promote further collaboration and informed decision-making regarding the economic, social and sustainable development of the El Paso region.

The course is structured to be open to both high school students and the general voting population. Through this program, we hope to provide basic civic education, tools and guidance for El Pasoans to grow as individuals and a community to advocate for positive change.

We hope to grow this program and build more partnerships within the city to strengthen and further our mission of providing non-partisan civic education to the region. We invite you to register for and learn more about the course at www.elpasoln.org/events.

Follow our social media @eplnetwork for more updates on initiatives like this one.

Janine Knauerhase applies lessons from her experiences and the education system in Finland, where she has studied, in her role as vice president and educational designer for the development of El Paso Leadership Network’s programs and infrastructure. Miguel Moya is the co-founder and president of El Paso Leadership Network and an English teaching assistant at the Fulbright Association in Bucaramanga, Colombia.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2025/02/04/opinion-how-el-paso-can-improve-our-civic-engagement/

Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.