Start teaching politics in school

Re: How do we politically motivate youth in B.C., Opinion, Aug. 4

Michael Taylor is right that young people should be encouraged to be interested in politics and vote. The school system is the obvious place to start. Students could be encouraged to take part in democratic meetings by having a chance to make collective decisions at school. For instance, when there is a field trip planned, there could be a discussion about when and where, and a vote taken. Students could take turns chairing such meetings and everyone would learn how to take part. It wouldn’t require much of a change to the curriculum to allow students to discuss the timing of courses or the choice of books to read. One of the reasons people don’t participate in politics is because they don’t know how the parliamentary system works. It should be part of the educational system. Marguerite Ford, Vancouver