In education both students and teachers often feel that they have no voice. That no matter what they say or how they feel that nobody will listen seriously to their concerns. In the past five years I have felt that while people will hear what I have to say that they do not really listen.
This past week we had a young man write a poem, with the theme "Black Lives Matter" When he presented the poem to his administration they told him that it was offensive and that he could not present this poem at the schools talent show.
While this person does not go to my school I was able to find his performance online, which I played for a couple of my classes. I was interested to see if any of my students were offended by his words. Most of the students were fine, one student thought it might be offensive, and almost all agreed that if you agreed with his stance or not he should have the freedom to express himself.
The poet however, did not take no for an answer. Instead of getting frustrated with the Principal, he decided to write our Superintendent, County Executive, and area representative. One of his friends took to face book to post the poet reading his poem, and started a petition to allow him to read it. The fact is that denying him originally to perform allowed more people to see his work.
When I asked my students what they thought would happen, many of them said nothing. They did not think anyone would listen to a student's petition or student grievance. But they were wrong.
The next day the poet was told that if he changed two words (which he was fine with) he would be able to read his poem at the talent show. While nobody should have to work that hard to perform at his school's show it does prove that if we organize ourselves correctly we all have a voice.
The student used social media, the direct access we all have to our superintendent, and the alumni of his school to rally support. Instead of complaining about his situation he worked hard to fix it and therefore stand up for students freedom to express themselves in an appropriate manner.
I think this is a great lesson for all of us. If something is important we should think about how we can solve the problem instead of how we can complain about it. This young man has totally inspired me to take action when I feel that I am not being heard. WE HAVE A VOICE, WE JUST NEED TO USE IT. People will listen.
As always your thoughts are appreciated.
