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I am just...yeah you are raising apathetic non-voters. "Special snowflakes", perhaps. There is more to life then school work. Teaching them to be passionate about the world they live in, and then to take action, being part of a growing movement...these are all so important for teenagers.
Is isn't their battle? WHAT?! No matter what side they are on with the issue, it absolutely is their battle. In a blink of an eye they will be voting age. Good lord.
Our high school is doing this as well...the walkout is being done for 17 minutes all organized by students. The administration is aware of it and it is all optional.
The students also encouraging other students to go out of their way and reach out to 17 kids in acts of kindness.
Wow....I find that really sad. We are raising citizens and voters. Regardless of a parent's personal thought (on either side of the issue), I cannot imagine telling kids not to get involved. I would support whatever choice they made for this as long as they had a thoughtful opinion about it. Have a discussion with your child and find out what they think and why. Listen to them. I told my (now adult) children (and demonstrated by example I hope) that part of your civic duty is to be aware and involved. Have an opinion. I do not expect that their opinion must mirror my own and they sometimes haven't over the years, but I'm still proud that they do have opinions and do feel moved to act on them. High school is not 2nd grade. They should be expecting to be heard and learning how to voice their opinion in ways that matter. Sometimes that looks like writing letters or making phone calls and sometimes that might look like walking out for 17 minutes.
Schools also teach life lessons. They are planning discussions around the walk out, about peaceful protest, about freedom of speech, about the issues raised by these murders, about public participation in politics and public policy and so much more. Hopefully no one is so narrow minded as to think that only what's contained in the pages of a text book is worth learning.
And I'll bet NOWHERE in those "discussions" will there be anything about having to depend on oneself for ones own safety, about the absolute failures of the "nanny state" to protect them, that same "nanny state" that they are constantly indoctrinated to be wholly dependent on for everything from cradle to grave.
The discussion will most certainly be focused on how evil the NRA is, how evil all guns are and more of "you should just let the professionals handle it" etc...
I would be more impressed if students use this as a reason to be kinder to those who are socially awkward , stand against being bullied and not make fun of a student who is different.
Exactly! Why not focus on the things these KIDS have some control over. Maybe if they were protesting and demanding other KIDS treat those who are different better instead of shunning them so they don't become mass shooters to begin with?
What a novel idea, stop this BEFORE it starts, or, just teach these kids to blame others for what they've done as usual.
Nope, we'll go with the usual blame others...... it's the evil guns and the evil NRA's fault...
And I'll bet NOWHERE in those "discussions" will there be anything about having to depend on oneself for ones own safety, about the absolute failures of the "nanny state" to protect them, that same "nanny state" that they are constantly indoctrinated to be wholly dependent on for everything from cradle to grave.
The discussion will most certainly be focused on how evil the NRA is, how evil all guns are and more of "you should just let the professionals handle it" etc...
Narrow minded indeed...
I live in Florida, and while there are some people who want random citizens patrolling school grounds with guns and others who want guns banned, most people are somewhere in the middle. The focus really seems to be keeping kids safe, not ranting and raving about either the NRA or the “nanny state” who wants to take away everyone’s militia machines.
I believe (and hope!) there will be discussions about the history of marching and protests and how a group of concerned citizens can make a difference, how civil disobedience works, and how and why the amendments came to be. Getting teens involved in politics is important.
I live in Florida, and while there are some people who want random citizens patrolling school grounds with guns and others who want guns banned, most people are somewhere in the middle. The focus really seems to be keeping kids safe, not ranting and raving about either the NRA or the “nanny state” who wants to take away everyone’s militia machines.
I believe (and hope!) there will be discussions about the history of marching and protests and how a group of concerned citizens can make a difference, how civil disobedience works, and how and why the amendments came to be. Getting teens involved in politics is important.
You're right <bold> and this is why there's a thing called "U.S. Government" classes in school. Why do you think that Government classes are usually taught to seniors and not freshman? There has to be some foundation laid (history), some critical thinking instilled and taught before you move on to meatier more intellectual subjects.
These KIDS that are walking out and protesting for the most part are KIDS not "little adults".
The reason I am against this is because I think it will have the opposite of the intended effect.
These shootings have not become more frequent due to the availability of the weapons. What has actually changed in the past ten years? It's the media hype that every one of these shootings brings with it. These sick people get all kinds of attention, which was their purpose to begin with.
I've done a lot of studying on this issue. When they interview these people, they are always fan-boys of the prior shooters. They study them, they figure out which instances got the most attention and why. Do you really think stricter gun laws are going to stand between them and their glory? They will move on to homemade bombs if that is the case.
This walkout will bring them even more of the attention they are seeking. It is well-intentioned, yes. But misguided.
This talk of National School Walkout Day got me thinking:
If students walked-out of school for days on end, we might actually see something done on gun legislation. Think about it. Students refuse to go to school. What could be done about it? Truant officers can't round up all the kids in the district. Parents have to stay home. And once things start hurting the pocketbook, they'll clamor for something to actually be done. People on the fence of gun legislation would likely be won over due to the pressure to actually get back to work.
Now, would legislators actually do anything at that point? Meh - that remains to be seen. No amount of carnage seems to make a difference.
You're right <bold> and this is why there's a thing called "U.S. Government" classes in school. Why do you think that Government classes are usually taught to seniors and not freshman? There has to be some foundation laid (history), some critical thinking instilled and taught before you move on to meatier more intellectual subjects.
These KIDS that are walking out and protesting for the most part are KIDS not "little adults".
High schoolers will be voters very shortly. Actual critical thinking is developed by making these very types of decisions after thought and discussion, not just reading about them in a book. This nation has a very strong history of civil disobedience - unless you've forgotten what you read in those books and classes. Perhaps if the lesson was more interactive it would have stuck with you.
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