When Joshua Spindler teaches government class at Moisés E. Molina High School, he encourages students to get educated about current issues that will affect them in the future.
This is especially important in years like 2024 with national elections when they get to have a voice in how those issues are handled, he said.
“When I tell them about some of the issues, they get depressed,” said Spindler, who has been a social studies teacher for the past 10 years. “I tell them, ‘look, you can’t solve a problem until you understand it completely.’”
He also tells them that they can’t be part of the solution unless they register to vote when they are eligible and then vote. Twice a year, high school principals must offer students the chance to register to vote, if they are 18 or will turn 18 that school year. Non-partisan community organizations like March to the Polls support teachers with presentations for students to learn about the process and the requirements to register and vote.
“Everybody who could register, did,” Spindler said. “A couple of them came back to ask when voting started.”
Early voting in Texas started Oct. 21 and goes through Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 5.
Spindler combats voter apathy among his students by pointing out historical events where youth participation has led to significant change. The right to vote has been at the root of a lot of movements that have changed history, like the Civil Rights movement that led to the Voting Rights Act and the anti-war movement that led to the 26th amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
Spindler’s classroom is set up in such a way that when they discuss issues, students can move to the corner that shows how they feel about the issue—agree, somewhat disagree, disagree. The lesson is that despite the state of politics, people can disagree and still go through the process, he said. They can agree on the outcome because everyone got to participate by having the opportunity to have their voice heard and exercise their power through the vote.
“You have to have skin in the game,” he said.
Spindler has been helping students understand the importance of voting as a social studies teacher for 10 years—eight at Sunset High School and two at Molina.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a medic in 2002, inspired by the events of 9/11. After three tours in Iraq, he started college to get a nursing degree. In his second semester, he needed one more class and chose an introductory course for teachers, which involved 20 hours of observations at Richardson High School. The professor thought he was a student-teacher and put him to work by teaching science lessons.
“I caught the teaching bug,” he said. “History ended up being my favorite and government is how you teach kids how to have some control over their future, how to create their own future.”
