Edu Change & Student Advocacy

     Ever since I began teaching 28 years ago, I have always been interested in student voice and ownership. Maybe it was because my bachelor’s degree was in journalism and my initial career was media. Maybe it’s because I never felt like neither I, nor my peers, ever had as much say in our education and learning as I think we could have or should have. Maybe it’s because I think finding one’s voice and the leadership required to take action on that voice are the hallmarks of real learning and self-actualization. Regardless, I’ve seen the power, over and over, of students when they are engaged in pursuing work they have chosen or helped create (voice, choice) and are willing to take responsibility for (ownership).      Throughout my collective experiences as a teacher, advisor and site leader, I have consistently witnessed students producing amazing, powerful, relevant and impactful work when given the opportunity and support. One of those experiences that ...

     Ever since I started teaching in 1990, I have been a student voice advocate. Whether it was as a media/English teacher, student leadership advisor or a site leader. I have always believed that students not only have good ideas, but that they may just have new, unique or even better ones. In an effort to find their own voice and place in the world, they may see things that we don’t see or have long been paralyzed to do anything about. In 1999, I saw students address a school’s racial divide and cultural issues by creating a school-wide learning experience (see Harmony at Buchanan High School in this article from USC Rossier's online masters in teaching program).      Ever since then, I have believed that projects with real-world outcomes hold some of the greatest potential for helping students become driven, empathetic and engaged citizens. The outpouring of student voice in the wake of the recent tragedy in Parkland, Florida, is a great example. ...

     As a former high school media teacher, a recent news story about high school journalism students in Utah and their pursuit to publish truly warmed my heart.      The backstory is about how two high school seniors, inquiring why a well-liked history teacher was dismissed from their school, were determined to find the truth regardless of how their school or administration would handle it being published in the school newspaper.      They did interviews, requested public records and soon pried open the proverbial can of worms. Initially, their story was published on the school’s student newspaper website. But after an unprecedented amount of traffic, they discovered that their story was pulled down. Ultimately, they had to publish their story outside of school on their own newly created website just for that reason. (see the full story here: http://bit.ly/HSStudentsPersevere4Truth )      And that’s what I want to examine. W...

     Most of us (educators, business leaders, researchers, students and parents) have realized by now that our educational system has been and continues to be desperately behind in terms of success, especially as it connects to the future of work and our economy. If you don’t agree, stop reading and go watch one of those “Housewives of $%&^#*” shows.      With the continued demand need for change, we have turned to many solutions - including, but not limited to new standards, assessments, technology and programs. Historically, we had two high school tracks. There was vocational education - programs designed to train people for blue collar jobs. And then, in contrast, there were those that did a college prep program where the goals were college and a white collar job. Ironically, many of our college grads and non-grads now find themselves in grey collar jobs (underemployed and working in a career that did not require a college degree or their level of ed...