Student Involvement

As I read the article Students walk out in protest over teacher layoffs it reconfirmed my belief that students (especially at the high school level) should be involved in their own educational process (and gave me hope that at least some want to be involved). 


Some students in the Katy Texas school district protested staffing cuts at their schools. One student even suggested that they need their teachers more than smart boards in the classroom. Governor Perry's response to these protesting students was...


"There are better ways to send your message than walking out of the classroom," he said. "The fact of the matter is, I feel quite confident that the Texas Legislature will fund our schools appropriately. At the end of the day, being in the classroom is a lot more important to them than protesting, particularly during school hours. If they want to come here on Saturdays and Sundays or after school, have at it."


It's ironic that teenagers get accused of having attitude problems. Gov. Perry's comments remind me what's wrong with some leadership when it comes to schools, particularly high schools...attitude. Instead of seeing these students as passionate about their school and a possible resource, his take-away of this situation is that the students' actions are inappropriate and a waste of time. If they would have "sent their message in a better way," would he have taken notice? Probably not! These students are begging for the chance to be involved, and they are pushed away and put down by the leadership of the state. 


At the most, these students are 3 1/2 years away from being on their own, faced with a variety of situations just like this. There is absolutely no reason that they should not be involved in the process of their education (since soon they will be asked to be involved in the process of figuring out their own way). Research has proven that the more perspectives we take into account, the clearer picture we get about the subject. Instead of doing education to students, why are they not involved in the process? My guess is that people like Gov. Perry think it would be too hard to figure out a way to make that happen...great example/model for those students!