If you are a junior or senior at Cardozo High School, you might’ve heard of something called “Civics Week,” happening during the month of March. If not, you might’ve been urged by your history teachers to register to vote. Many students were wondering—what exactly is Civics Week and why is it so important?
At Cardozo, Civics Week is advised by Mr. Malekpour and Mrs. Adezio, two social studies teachers. Throughout the week, social studies, and even some English classes, participate through lesson plans that teach the importance of everyone’s civic duties.
In Mrs. Adezio’s class, she gave her students a choice board of activities that they can all participate in, while Mr. Malekpour had his U.S. History class go through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) throughout and the role it played in shaping America and economics as a whole.
“In the classroom, I’m really trying to teach students what they can do in the community, and how it benefits them, as well as who to reach out to,” Adezio explained.
Throughout the week, students learned bits of important pieces of information about America and American politics. A major part of Civics Week is Voter Registration Day, which was held on March 14th. This day emphasized and reminded students of the right they have to vote as citizens in the country, as well as how important voting is to ensuring that the community flourishes within everyone’s best interest. A lot of planning behind the scenes went into voter registration, with a lot of it consisting of counting the amount of juniors and seniors at Cardozo.
“It’s important to remember that not every single student in the school is a citizen,” stated Malekpour, “So the democratic voting system is not the only way to go about this. There are steps beyond just voting that everyone can participate in.”
Mr. Georgatos, the Assistant Principal of Social Studies, Naval Sciences, and Music, also emphasized the importance of the Student Voter Registration Day, explaining that it is one of the many ways for students to create and start the process of changing things that they aren’t satisfied with.
“For seven years now, our school has gotten more students to register to vote than any other school in New York City. It’s the whole idea of civic responsibility…it allows kids to have the power to have a say in our community,” Georgatos shared.
According to the Chief Democracy Officer of New York, Kathleen Daniel, civics for all is actually a “year-long curriculum” for New York City Public Schools, but we have Civics Week specifically for students to actively learn and recognize the importance of being apart of a democracy, as well as understanding the importance of civic duty. Civics Week has been adapted nationally for the second time ever thanks to the emphasis that New York State puts on it. As a part of Democracy NYC, Daniel helps students pre-register to vote, and is able to also talk to students about voting and civic duty as a whole.
Although many students may not see the importance in having a Civics Week, it is actually extremely important for us to participate in it. It’s the perfect time to get any questions regarding voting answered, and for us to take the first steps to taking up adult responsibilities.
