There are always a few. Not content to let history teach a giant, life-altering civics lesson, there will be a few school administrators who won't respect students' First Amendment rights to join the groundswell movement of student protests against gun violence, because it's "too disruptive."
When I was a high school journalism teacher, I saw this impulse first-hand. The traditional impulse of many schools is to keep the kids quiet, out of the way, and docile. The Paradigm of Control runs crosswise to the First Amendment (also to critical thinking).
Even more than corporations, kids are people, my friend. They have rights, weirdly enough including the rights of free speech, to freely assemble, and to petition the government. In my research for yesterday's post, I found a quote that seemed à propos of the #ENOUGH movement and students' rights in general.
People tend to place children in some kind of sub-human category, maybe a little higher than pets (or maybe not). That's always bothered me. Even when they're too young to be completely autonomous, they always, ALWAYS deserve respect.
It may be more time-consuming to reason with the child (and--reality check--parents sometimes have to just decide), but in my experience it's always worth listening, explaining, and respecting. In the household, in the classroom, and in life, it just always works out better to listen and to respect. (Remember, they're the ones who'll pick your nursing home).
I also stumbled across a fun website built on that very principle: Kid President (unfortunately suspended in 2016, it seems). But in the spirit of the student protests and the message of this post, here's a word of wisdom from Kid President:
You've now been schooled. Go forth and respect!
IMAGES: Many thanks to to the Mankato Free Press, AP images, and Jim Mone, for the photo of the student protest in Mankato, MN, from which I cropped a detail for emphasis; to Gryphon House via Pinterest for the quote and image from Stacia Tauscher, and to Odyssey, Robby and Brad, for the Kid President quote/image.
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| We owe it to these kids to respect their fear and their feelings NOW. No one wants to live with a target on her back. Seeking the chance to "LIVE in order to LEARN" is NOT an unreasonable request! |
When I was a high school journalism teacher, I saw this impulse first-hand. The traditional impulse of many schools is to keep the kids quiet, out of the way, and docile. The Paradigm of Control runs crosswise to the First Amendment (also to critical thinking).
Even more than corporations, kids are people, my friend. They have rights, weirdly enough including the rights of free speech, to freely assemble, and to petition the government. In my research for yesterday's post, I found a quote that seemed à propos of the #ENOUGH movement and students' rights in general.
People tend to place children in some kind of sub-human category, maybe a little higher than pets (or maybe not). That's always bothered me. Even when they're too young to be completely autonomous, they always, ALWAYS deserve respect.
It may be more time-consuming to reason with the child (and--reality check--parents sometimes have to just decide), but in my experience it's always worth listening, explaining, and respecting. In the household, in the classroom, and in life, it just always works out better to listen and to respect. (Remember, they're the ones who'll pick your nursing home).
I also stumbled across a fun website built on that very principle: Kid President (unfortunately suspended in 2016, it seems). But in the spirit of the student protests and the message of this post, here's a word of wisdom from Kid President:
You've now been schooled. Go forth and respect!
IMAGES: Many thanks to to the Mankato Free Press, AP images, and Jim Mone, for the photo of the student protest in Mankato, MN, from which I cropped a detail for emphasis; to Gryphon House via Pinterest for the quote and image from Stacia Tauscher, and to Odyssey, Robby and Brad, for the Kid President quote/image.
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