When You Ask Students...
Yesterday Ethan and I had one of our talks with about 85 students who were in DC on a CloseUp program. Instead of our usual spiel, in which we talk to students about the critical need for students to have a voice in the issue (punctuated by an incredible story we tell where a US Congressional aide actually responded to our assertion that youth must play a critical role as partners in school reform by snipping, "eh, but what are kids gonna say?"), we decided to break the students into smaller groups and ask them how they would suggest improving our American education system.
The solutions we offered included:
- Strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act
- Provide School Choice to all Students through Publicly Funded Vouchers
- Repeal the No Child Left Behind Act
- Pass an Amendment to the US Constitution guaranteeing all children the right to high quality public education
- Design your own
So what did the group say? Of the 8 groups, two suggested we strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act by fully funding the law and pushing for stronger state (or even national) standards. Two other groups designed their own strategies, focusing instead on teacher pay and recruiting high quality teachers into our classrooms. And four groups (without our prompting, we promise!) suggested that education ought to be a right guaranteed to all children as a fundamental American right.
To be sure, the menu of options we presented the students was very broad and there wasn't much time to get into the nitty gritty details - which make a world of difference. But this much was clear about what these students from Alaska, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Wisconsin, New York, and other states had to say: major change is needed in our schools, and no one knows this better than the young people themselves who stand to suffer if we fail to commit to the tough policies and resources necessary to make quality educational opportunity available to all our children.
Comments
I was part of the Cloes-Up program and Ethan and Aaron's seminar on education. They did an amazing job comvincing me that the government is not doing enough to promote our education, in fact as some students in our small group from Montana said, the No Child Left Behind Act actually contributed to the firing of one of the best science teachers in the state. In our group, we unanimously decided that the government is taking a wrong turn when it comes to education, and I think this petition and the amendment proposed would greatly improve our education in America. I would gladly help out in any other way as well.
Posted by: Tanya Fridland | April 30, 2006 12:46 PM
Hey Aaron and Ethan,
I just wanted to commend you both on your amazing website. I was one of the participants on the CloseUp Program, and I really enjoyed meeting you both and hearing your desire to improve our education. I feel that by creating awareness about “Our Education” to our public and to our government officials will really make a difference. After signing your petition, I intend to mention your program to both my principal and my peers at my high school in Wisconsin. Finally, if you guys have any advice for me on how to get the word out or take action on "Our Education" feel free to contact me.
Thank You,
Tony Puccio
Posted by: Tony Puccio | April 30, 2006 05:57 PM
I just wanted to let you know that I am one of the students from the CloseUp program that met with you. Last night, when I got home (to Wisconsin) from Washington DC, I spoke with some friends about what you told us. Just a little while ago, I sent an e-mail message to EVERYONE on my contacts list so that they know about your organization and the petition. I sent it out because I believe that major change is needed in our schools. Thank you for letting the CloseUp students know about this issue and for inspiring me to get involoved!
~Sasha
Posted by: Sasha | April 30, 2006 07:21 PM