On Student Walk Outs
Multiple schools across the USA have had student walk outs over the past few weeks, to varying degrees of success. One school near me had a full walk out with a few hundred kids. All of the schools with whom I have teacher friends have had either a walk out, or a planned one.
Why now?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has invaded communities all through the US, including the one I am in. There was an ICE Out march in Houston last weekend. Various local groups are organizing continued demonstrations against ICE and their reign of terror.
Many students know someone whose family member has been deported. Those students who are plugged in see how the sanctioned rules of engagement have been futile in preventing more harm from happening. Schools in Texas have a difficult line to walk, caught between: Angry parents who are already suspicious of them; students personally hurt by deportation; and an increasingly aggressive and authoritarian state legislature.
Despite the headache it causes for school staff, students who choose to engage in civil disobedience are walking in the steps of an American tradition.
An American tradition
Children's Crusade: This is arguably one of the most famous examples of student civil disobedience. In 1963 as the United States tore itself apart over racial injustice and segregation, hundreds of student skipped class to join in protest at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Photos of children being arrested and receiving police violence shined a light on the ugliness of Jim Crow and its hateful defenders.
East LA: This is one of my favorite walk out stories. The post-WW2 period was an explosion of civil rights movements across the racial and sexual spectrum. The Chicano movement was identifying massive disparities in educational outcomes in Los Angeles schools. Segregation was applied to Mexican Americans cross El Norte (the part of Mexico that is now the southwestern United States). The massive disparities in class sizes, extracurricular opportunities, and school quality were among the key demands. They were also protesting their cultural erasure from the curriculum. It sparked a movement in the rejection of assimilation among the Chicano community.
Parkland: This one is within recent memory. In 2018, a walk out was planned in protest to the American paralysis in the face of mass school shootings. I consider this a great example of when, sometimes, the rules need to be broken. The government had refused to meaningfully discuss addressing these issues at the national level. When the 'correct' channels to make change fail, it's time to challenge the foundations.
Closing Thoughts
People my age and older set up our kids to be disengaged as adults. We talk over them, curb their speech, or write off their concerns as youthful ignorance. And don't get me wrong, there are absolutely some bad actors who are just wanting to get out of class when they walk off.
But quite a few of our kids are genuinely motivated. They see injustice and want to let their voices be heard. Youth in America are going to inherit this hot mess we've made. They should be encouraged to speak up in the proud tradition of Americans before them. Some of those kids showed up with signs and heart. I will not, in good conscience, stand in their way.
On the day of our failed walk out I saw some of the kids across the street, with signs and chanting well after the school day at ended. I gave them a honk in support.