Sunday, August 30, 2009

Students Speak Up

Back in April, I posted a Blog "What Students Want." Now, listen to a video to learn more. In it, students speak out to President Obama, telling him how they believe schools should be reconfigured. Watch the short video, and post your comments.http://www.tomorrow.org/DearMrPresidentVideo.html

2 comments:

Jen said...

First of all, I have to say how impressed I am with the way these students carried themselves. Maybe it's because I am not around high school students often, but I thought they all spoke eloquently and intelligently on the subject.
Also, I was surprised at what they had to say. I was interested to see that so much of what they were saying are things that we are learning about in our graduate work. These students are clearly aware of their surroundings and their school and have an opinion. Their suggestions weren't things such as more choices for school lunch or early dismissal, but actually really good, solid ideas. I am by no means trying to sell high school students short with my surprise, I am just happy to see kids so involved.
It was great that a lot of what these students were saying are 'do-able' ideas, besides the money aspect. It's great to be able to hear what kids want. I think teachers should take advantage of this opportunity and learn from their students. It's just as much their school as it is ours.

carrie said...

There are so many issues brought up by the students in this video. Each of which is of equal importance to eachother. I agree with Jen that the students certainly are well versed and wise to the world around them. Two ideas struck me the most.
First, of all the changes that the students wished to make (remember, they were speaking to the president) seemed to be out of his hands and in the hands of the teachers themselves. Things like how what we learn pertains to real life and engaging more in hands-on activities is a change the teachers need to make. Also students spoke about wanting more challenging teachers who have a passion for what they teach. This should say a lot to teachers.
Second, I want to comment on the idea that one student pointed out which was that schools should be looked at more as a business, seeing as how we live in a capitalist society. I disagree with this notion. I think that some of the problems we do have in education are because schools are looked at as businesses where as, in my opinion, schools should not mix the harsh business world with the future of our country's children.

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