Ep. 556: The Making of A Mindless Movement – A Teacher’s Perspective On Student Walkouts

Hi Brett,
I am an elementary school teacher and a relatively new listener to your show. When the School Walkout happened, I was compelled to write about it. Then, I heard your latest episode with Thad Russell! Many of the thoughts you shared are also echoed in my piece. Perhaps I am preaching to the choir here, but I would like to share my perspective anonymously somehow. Do you have any interest in accepting a written submission? Please see attached and let me know either way. If not, is there anyone else you recommend whom I could direct my submission to? Thank you for your time and consideration, and for the wonderful forum you’ve created through School Sucks.

Best,
Concerned Teacher

The Making of a Mindless Movement

There are no words to repair the tragic loss of innocent lives. In the wake of the Parkland massacre, parents are left bereaved and outraged, continuing to fear for children’s safety. As an elementary school teacher, parents entrust their children to me on a daily basis. There is nothing I take more seriously than my duty to protect the children I work with. I can’t imagine the sadness and anger those affected by the Parkland shooting must be experiencing. No child, parent, or teacher should ever have to experience such horror and pain.

From #ENOUGH, to last weekend’s March for Our Lives, and an upcoming National School Walkout commemorating those killed at Columbine 19 years ago this April, we are experiencing an unprecedented wave of youth activism across the nation. With crowd estimates of at least 1.2 million people across the country, the turnout on March 24 made March for our Lives perhaps the largest single-day protest that the capital city has ever seen. I can’t claim to know how these events have been orchestrated. If they are in fact due to the true leadership and coordination of students, that is commendable.

However, I also cannot deny the reality that there are always politicians and media sources waiting to seize opportunities like this in order to build momentum behind their initiatives. The exploitation of people’s emotions is an age-old strategy used to secure the support of new voters. The timely and skillful organization of select groups, aided by social media and a culture that glorifies activism, has produced a formidable new generation of change-makers. For better or worse, these well-financed iGen activists will pledge their votes to anyone who will appeal to their cries of outrage.

This generation coming up – unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic – I’ve seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, just, inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, something not to fear but to embrace, and you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result that the future is in good hands.
― Obama, 2017

Change is a necessary element of progress, and people must always speak out to challenge the authority that threatens their freedom. The fact that school safety is compromised by incidents of mass violence is enough to warrant a call to action. But safety should not be confused with freedom, and the means we use to achieve safety should be carefully weighed.

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
― Benjamin Franklin

Administrators at my school claimed that these movements are simply comprised of children advocating for their own safety, and that safety is not a political issue. Though school safety itself may not be political, the new legislative measures that protestors are demanding certain(continued)