Student walkout

                                                            Student Walkout

I wanted to wait a couple of weeks before I addressed this topic.  Time allows me to gain some perspective over the event.  In our school a group of students decided to organize and lead the student walkout.  They met once a week in person while communicating electronically throughout the week.  They met with the principal to keep him informed and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

The Friday before the walkout, administrators and our SRO (school police officer) started pulling students out of class to talk with them.  For some of the student leaders, this was 90 minutes of interrogation which none of them were used to.  At the end of the day they were told that they could not communicate with students through our traditional school platforms of announcements and homerooms. 

When I heard this at first, I was extremely upset.  Why was the administration not more supportive?  How can anyone not be supportive of non-violence in schools?  Why is not every teachers, administrator and student walking out together in protest of school violence?

Now with some perspective, I am glad that every student did not walk out of the building.  There were adult cynics who were claiming that students were just walking out to get out of class.  The fact that many students stayed in the building showed that the students who left were just leaving to support a cause they believed passionately about.  So, by everyone not leaving the students proved the adult cynics wrong.  That students are not about missing class but standing up for what they believe in.

Secondly, it was very impressive to see that the students who left, did not put any pressure on the students who stayed. The students who stayed did not pressure those who were leaving to stay in school.  While there were opposing arguments, both sides showed great respect for each other something our adult politicians could learn from.  In one of my classes we discussed the walkout and again both sides argued passionately to support their side of the argument but listen intently to the opposing viewpoints.

  If the school stood behind the student leaders, if everyone walked out together, it would have seemed way too easy.  The truth is that making real change in the world is difficult and that the student leaders were forced to face obstacles thrown at them from different directions was good.  It forced them to think, was this a cool thing to do or is this really something I am passionate about doing.  It made them realize that making change in the world is a difficult thing to do and no matter how right you think you are there are always going to be those who pushback.

At the end of the day I realize that you need to give things time before you make judgements.  That things worked out for the best because there was opposition which allowed all of us an opportunity to learn.  I now feel more optimistic about our country than ever before since I know that our students will play an active role in the process