The Politics of Our School System

(written 4/18)

It is a perturbing contradiction: we are mandated from elementary school to learn about our American democracy and its utter importance, and yet, when we actually try to use what we believe we’ve learned, we are told to sit down and be quiet.

Two days ago, I thought I would be sitting down to write an impassioned blog about why I was choosing to walk out on Friday, April 20th as part of the National School Walkout -- a nationwide protest on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting that has gained incredible momentum as part of the March For Our Lives #NeverAgain movement -- in spite of the inevitable repercussions and the sure-fire condescending remarks about the naivety and the uselessness of this protest. I was so sure that I needed to do this, for when was there ever progress without disobedience? when was there ever change when the little voices stopped believing that they mattered?

Two short days later, and I am no longer sure what I am going to do. The prospect of detention has suddenly devolved into potential detainment by the police for trespassing on school property - an unexpected and, quite honestly, appalling turn for the anticipated participants at my school. Suddenly what was a hard decision for many of us to make has become even harder. There is a lot more to consider now. If we choose to go through with protest from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. as originally planned, we could very well face in-school suspension and the prospect of being asked to leave or have the cops called on us. If we choose instead to skip the entire day and head to our local government offices, we could lose the important and ultimately defining message that comes with being a part of a nationally-organized movement. (This is, after all, a protest against gun violence, not against school administration.) Lastly, we could choose to yield, to surrender, and simply go about Friday as a normal school day. As Friday approaches nearer and nearer, the valiant idea of standing up for what’s right suddenly feels more and more real and less and less easy to pursue.

I will be the first to humbly admit it. I am a coward. It is scary to pursue what I believe is right when it feels like everything I have ever worked for can and will be put at risk. With college applications just around the corner and the hopeful payoff seemingly right at my fingertips, despite knowing that numerous colleges have come out with statements saying that applicants will not be penalized for records as a result of civil protest, I still cannot help but worry about my record. I still cannot help but be hesitant to defy the authorities I have known my whole life - school administration, my parents. I cannot help but feel fear where I wish there was conviction.

So instead of writing too much into the details about the protest itself today, I am writing about this symptom of a disease. These are petty fears; this much I know. It is a twisted irony to me that I might stand here and worry that everything I’ve worked for and dreamed of might disappear in a flash before my eyes, when the trigger of a gun has done just that to far too many students just like me; the only difference is that I am being given a choice.

The other great irony here lies in the very roadblock we are currently facing. We must ask ourselves, why are we so afraid of the consequences? Why does it matter that we might face such temporary consequences issued by the high school when we have been assured by colleges that these consequences will have no effect on our future?

My best answer is that our school system, our American democratic education is teaching subservience to an entire generation, leading to a consequent lack of much-needed progress. We are taught from infancy to obey authority; that to question it is to mean that we are wrong; that we as merely children, because we are merely children, suffer from a patronizing inferiority. And as we’ve seen, even authorities bend to the will of higher authorities. We are all too willing to compromise our integrity if it means the safety of what we know so well, adults and teenagers alike. For those of us who do not suffer from apathy, we are selfish and cowardly. This never-ending series of playing by the rules and forever appeasing others for the sake of the safe norm, we are taught, is the pathway to success. We are afraid to stand up for what we believe in, because as much as we are claimed to be told otherwise, we are told to sit down. Sit down and be quiet. Stand back and kiss ass. Follow others and you will be rewarded - not necessarily to the full extent, but enough. Our cowardice breeds apathy, which in turn breeds more cowardice. It is the cultural cycle that perhaps so clearly explains why American political efficacy is so shamefully low.

Given these disdainful politics of our school system, it is no wonder that it has been difficult for the National School Walkout to gain its desired momentum in our school, and even less of a wonder why our attempts to protest have been met with unwelcoming responses. It is naive to say that we as a few individuals can defy an entire society… and yet it is also incredibly wrong to say that we are helpless.

For the all the pessimism I may have just presented, there would be an equal lack of integrity to simply complain about a problem and neglect to offer some kind of potential resolution. Yes, I might be a coward, but I’m still a coward with a voice who is learning how less to be a coward and how more to use my voice. Civic engagement, armed with education that goes deeper than the politics of the school system, is the true cornerstone of democracy, and to simply lose faith in that is to lose faith in the possibility for change by the power of the people.

And, of course, it would be wholly wrong of me to fail to recognize the number of individuals who persist in their fight to stand up for what is right, even and especially this Friday. We are not confined to the choke-hold of our so-called superiors. At the end of the day, it is my choice what I do on Friday. It is my choice and your choice and all of our choices whether or not we choose to comply with the system that has been so deeply ingrained into us. The cowardice and subservience and apathy we have unconsciously learned can continue to be a part of us, or they can not. It is unlikely that we will simply allow Friday to pass by as an uneventful school day. The call then falls on me, on us: can we and will we choose to stand up for others in spite of, well, ourselves?

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(written 4/19)

Another short day later, thanks to some awesome friends, we will be carrying out the National School Walkout at our local public library. I will indeed be participating, with anticipations of activities suggested by NSW, including a moment of silence, letter-writing to Congress, and simply a platform for our voices to be heard.

Granted, this has been an easier choice for me to make without the potential of police involvement. Nevertheless, for all there is that I do not know and do not have answers for, I do know that I do not want to keep being that coward.

If you are interested in signing up for Cornwall’s walkout, follow this link: http://act.indivisible.org/event/find-national-school-walkout/11576

You can also click here to visit the official page for the national movement and learn more about the National School Walkout.

Finally, if you are unable to participate in tomorrow’s walkout, the fight is not nearly over. We anticipate providing more opportunities to raise our voices in our school in the near future, but civic engagement is an available option well beyond the short time frame of the National School Walkout. After April 20th, you will still have the abilities to write to Congress, encourage political participation through voting and more, and stay informed. You can start by getting educated on topics that hit home to you, whether or not that is gun safety. It’s safe to say we all pretty much have Google at our fingertips (although, stay conscious of credibility and biases - both liberal and conservative - but that’s a blog for another day).

Here are just a couple links to get you started:

State gun laws http://lawcenter.giffords.org/search-gun-law-by-state/

Student rights concerning peaceful protest https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/student-speech-and-privacy/students-rights-speech-walkouts-and-other-protests?redirect=StudentRights

*Disclaimers: While I am passionate about this protest and its surrounding circumstances, I am NOT responsible for the hard work that has gone into planning this walkout at our school. All credits go to some of my super awesome friends, whom I respect endlessly. Additionally, I am not implying that students who choose not to walk out are also cowards; simply that for my personal beliefs and interests, and for who I would like to be, it is important that I make the choice that is right for me.

#NeverAgain.