But with the emphasis on higher academic standards and greater accountability, some educators and public policy-makers wonder whether schools are too consumed with producing scholars instead of citizens.

Lawmakers in Hawai'i have tried to get the state Department of Education to make civics more of a priority, and the new education-reform package this year elevates civic responsibility to a primary goal, right next to academic achievement and student well-being.

Students, while not really thrilled about civics, have some suggestions.

Desiree Almodova, a senior at Kailua High School, said schools should expect that every student be registered to vote before graduating high school.

Elaine Kamanawa, a senior at Nanakuli High School, said the morning bulletin at school should mention the major political issues of the day, sort of like a daily news briefing.

Desiree Almodova

Elaine Kamanawa

Fayez Rumi

Krista Scott

Krista Scott, a senior at King Kekaulike High School on Maui, said there should be a class just on voting and civic duty.

Fayez Rumi, a senior at private Saint Louis School, said teachers should consistently stress the relevance of voting.

"Politics are not very 'mainstream' with today's teens," Rumi said. "They grew up hearing about the inconsistencies of our government and the voting process. So now, they just don't care. If trust and confidence in the government could be re-established, then we might be able to interest teens to vote."

The Advertiser is following these four high school seniors, who turn 18 this year, because they are eligible to vote for the first time in the presidential election in November. Young people are traditionally the least likely to vote, and the students are sharing their thoughts on what it might take to reverse that trend.

They all agree that Hawai'i schools could do more with civics to engage students.

School principals and complex-area superintendents will soon be evaluated, in part, on how they promote civic responsibility among students, including lessons on democracy, the skills needed to participate in a democratic society, and the understanding of community and global issues.

The DOE will also have to watch how schools respond, another expectation on a department under pressure to change school finance and improve student test scores.

State Sen. Norman Sakamoto, D-15th (Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake), the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said civic responsibility may be abstract and difficult to measure, but he thinks public schools have an obligation to mold good citizens.

"It's graduating students into our democratic society so they can participate in the civic mission of our country," Sakamoto said.

'New graduation standards'

High school students are required to take courses on the modern history of Hawai'i, world history and U.S. history, along with 1› credits of electives, to meet the social studies standard for graduation.

One of the electives is "Participation in Democracy," a class that explains government and politics and encourages students to take active roles as citizens. The DOE wants to make the class a requirement when new graduation standards are finalized this year.

"The older generation cannot blame the youth for being cynical and unenthusiastic toward voting if they do not take the initiative to educate them," said Scott, the King Kekaulike senior.

Scott said she does not recall much talk about voting in her "Participation in Democracy" class. Interested in politics, she took a political science class at Maui Community College to make up for what she thought she was missing.

The college class, Scott said, "really opened my eyes to the world around me and how to get involved."

In middle and high schools, Project Citizen, a national program, helps teachers integrate lessons about citizenship into core subjects such as math, science and language arts. Students identify issues, such as ocean pollution or teen pregnancy, and then do research and come up with possible solutions.

Teachers learn how to connect the issues to core subjects, so, for instance, a writing exercise may involve a letter to state lawmakers, or a math lesson may explain how statistics are developed and used in political arguments.

"We have to make it fun and relevant," said Linda Kekina, the curriculum coordinator at Moanalua Middle School. "You have to re-educate each generation on what democracy is and how it works."

As part of the DOE's civics standards, all students already have to participate in some type of civic action, from registering to vote to volunteering in the community. Under the education-reform package, students will also have the right to serve on new school community councils, so they may have the opportunity to influence the budget and curriculum at their schools.

"They need to understand that they do have a voice, and that their voice counts," said Mary Anne Soboleski, an educational specialist in social studies at the DOE. "I'm hoping that students, from a young age, will get involved."

Kids Voting Hawai'i, part of a national campaign to promote voter awareness among young people, will again stage mock elections for students this year. Organizers were initially excited after more than 70,000 students voted in 1998, but turnout at Kids Voting dropped to around 58,000 in 2000 and 2002. More than 180,000 students are eligible to vote.

Students can go to the polls with their parents or vote online by computer. In 2002, fifth-graders had the highest turnout, while in high school, student participation was strongest among freshmen and then dropped among older students. Although there was no official explanation for the voting pattern, educators say students typically start learning U.S. history in fifth grade and take "Participation in Democracy" their first year in high school.

Hawai'i allows students to register to vote at 16, and voter registration information has already been sent to high school seniors reminding those who are eligible that they can vote for real in November.

"Voting is just the tip of the iceberg," said Lyla Berg, the executive director of Kids Voting Hawai'i. "It's more of a statement about whether our youth really understand their role as citizens."