This November marks America’s 57th presidential election where President Barack Obama is running against Mitt Romney. Political ads dominate television and no matter where you go, there are tons of posters telling you who you should vote for. But why should higher schoolers, most of whom cannot vote yet, care?

This presidential election affects students more than they think. Whoever is voted president this year will be president when this year’s sophomores, juniors and seniors go off to college. That means whatever position the future president takes on college and scholarship funding will affect them. And as for the freshmen? Even though they will just graduate by the time the 2016 presidential election is held, the next president voted decides how much money goes towards education and what should happen with testing in the schools. As students, you might not have a say in who will be president. However, their decisions have a direct impact on you.

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, is the Republican presidential nominee. He believes that a good teacher equals a good student.

Romney stated in a speech, “We looked at what drives good education in our state. What we found is the best thing for education is great teachers. Hire the very best and brightest to be teachers, pay them properly, make sure that you have school choice, test your kids to see if they are meeting the standards that need to be met, and make sure that you put the parents in charge…”

Romney also believes in testing the teachers to make sure they are doing their jobs.

“…We should insist that teachers get evaluated and that schools have the opportunity to see which teachers are exceeding and which ones are failing and that teachers that are not successful are removed from the classroom…”

He also had opinions on school performance testing.

“States must provide a simple-to-read and widely available public report card that evaluates each school. These report cards will provide accurate and easy-to-understand information about student and school performance. States will continue to design their own standards and tests, but the report cards will provide information that parents can use to make informed choices.”

Finally, Romney wants to help students who are trying to gain a higher education.

“Students must have access to a wide variety of options that will give them the skills they need for successful careers. We must stop fueling skyrocketing tuition prices that put higher education out of reach for some and leave others with crushing debt.”

Barack Obama, the current president, is the Democratic nominee. He believes in supporting good teachers.

In a speech he said, “… In South Korea, teachers are known as ‘nation builders.’ Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones.”

He also added that future generations should consider teaching, letting them know that, “If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child– become a teacher.”

He wants to better the instruction of children from preschool through college until they have careers. He wants to make sure children stay in school until they are eighteen and raise standards in schools so that American children can get the best out of their education. Obama wants to work on changing low-performance schools so that children are actually prepared for college. He signed a new law that makes it easier for students to pay back their federal college loans. Starting in 2014, new borrowers will pay no more that 10 percent of their disposable income, and he recently proposed accelerating this benefit for current students. Plans are also being made to make college more affordable by eliminating the middlemen from the college-loan programs. He finally wants to invest in competitive grants to reform community colleges to help provide pathways to good jobs. As president, he has already created a new Community College-to-Career Fund to build on that.

“Getting the best possible education has never been more important than it is right now. And that’s because in today’s world, a good job requires a good education. I travel all across the country, I go into factories, and I go into companies. And it doesn’t matter where you are working, if you do not have a good education, you are not going to be able to succeed.”

To end with, the year is 2012. This means another year and another presidential election. As young teens, many have not really taken notice of the political “drama.” However, as high school students approach adulthood, it is plain to see where a politician’s decision can affect your life. This election, for some, can mean the difference between getting a scholarship or not and even going to college or not.

Even if you cannot vote yet, pay attention to learn about what these politicians can do for you. And if you can vote, vote.