EmpowerED 2014 – Elevating Student Power in Los Angeles
“If you had the power to change the education system, what would you do?”
This is my favorite question to ask students that I mentor in Los Angeles. Their responses are wonderfully imaginative, ranging from broader curriculum to outdoor classrooms. However, when I ask them what is stopping them from fighting for those changes, the answers have a similar ring. “I feel alone.” “No one listens to students.” “I don’t even know where to begin!”
As much as it saddens me to hear this, I do understand where they’re coming from. In recent years, the issue of education has gained more attention and has sparked a riveting national conversation about the state of our education system and the reforms it needs. Unfortunately, these conversations are often dominated by those furthest from the classroom, and ironically, almost completely absent from these debates are the voices of those who are most affected by the issues in question: the students.
(Source: teachertownhall.org)
Education reformers Dr. Steve Perry, Michelle Rhee, and George Parker at StudentsFirst’s Teacher Town Hall event in Los Angeles. Ironically, no student voice and very little teacher voice was permitted at the event and I spoke out at the end to bring light to the fact that these education reformers have not taken the time to consider the voices of those closest to the school and its community.
As a result, the so-called “reforms” that have emerged from these conversations have done very little to help students, and have actually left even more of them behind than ever. In the face of all this, how could a student even begin to feel like their voice is important? How could they not feel alone?
If students are the ones receiving the education, shouldn’t their voices be heard?
Students all over the US, from Portland to Chicago to Providence, are tired of feeling powerless when it comes to decisions that affect their education. They are the future of this country and their voices should be the ones leading the national conversation on education.
That’s why they’ve begun to organize together, forming student unions and fighting back against threats to their
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