Welcome to the Twenty-First Century

This is what you need to know…

You have the right to remain silent. Everything you decline to say will never be heard. You have the right to remain hidden. Everything you refuse to do will never be realized. You have the right to sit back and relax, and let others run your world. You have the right to adhere to broken principles and guidelines that are anything but constructive.

You have the right to change. You have the right to redress. You have the right to assemble. You have the right to speak. You have the right to act out against a government that does not fully understand the high school environment and the education process.

How do you have all these rights? Even as a minor, you are a U.S. citizen, and the Constitution along with its Bill of Rights and other Amendments apply directly to you. Just because you are under the age of 18 does not mean your rights can be violated. It’s up to you to know your rights and understand them, though.

Among these Amendments, all twenty-seven of them, is the First Amendment. If you are at all familiar with this Amendment, you may recognize it as the freedom of speech. However, it expands well beyond that. Specifically, (and for the purposes of this article) the document also states that the government, “shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech… or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” That government includes school districts, and thus we arrive at my dilemma.

I don’t know if any of you have tried to access “It’s Our Education” (IOE) from any of the Westerly Public Schools computers. What I do know is that no one has successfully done so. How do I know this? This blog is filtered – along with all other “blogs and messageboards” – by the district’s new security software system for its server. (Regardless of whether or not the blocks can be overridden by someone with the correct knowledge, it is the principle that is of importance here.)

In discovering this, I was understandably appalled. Surprisingly though, my grounds for indignation were by no means exclusively self-centered. As you may or may not be aware, some teachers at Westerly, mostly English teachers but possibly some others, actually use blogs - in some cases even this exact site - for school assignments, or at least they have in the past. This is an illogical connection. Somehow, a viable teaching instrument such as a blog is being electronically withheld from students within the walls of their learning facility. This utterly confounds me.

As for my rights (if you were concerned), they are in fact being violated, as the school is technically and extension of the government. Furthermore, I am actively pursuing an immediate solution, just as we are collectively here. Assuming that I am successful, you should be able to access the blog at school in the near future. However, this is but a small challenge, and many more will follow.

The struggle will undoubtedly trudge on indefinitely.

Remember, you have the right to remain silent. Whether or not you exercise that right is up to you.

Mission Statement

It’s our education; it’s our future!

Education is one of the cornerstones of American society. The very future of the country is built upon it. Competition in the global marketplace starts in the classroom. America’s political, economic, and social leaders of tomorrow are its students of today.

Lawmakers understand this significance, as reform in education has been a priority on the minds of politicians for centuries, but change is not always necessary. In fact, it can sometimes be negative, and this is the dilemma we, as students, face today.

Written in 2001, President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) intended to improve primary and secondary schools in America by increasing federal involvement. At its core, it claims to be based on “accountability for results, more choices for parents, greater local control and flexibility, and an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research.” The plan sounded encouraging to anyone with a stake in the educational system.

However, appearances can be deceiving, because more than anything else, NCLB bred criticism and opposition from numerous directions. Poorly implemented programs have plagued the plan for years, either targeting the wrong problems or not targeting problems whatsoever.

These problems are not the fault of state or local institutions, however. With so much of the legislation left to the discretion of the states themselves, one may be quick to place the blame there. In reality though, this strictly top-down mandate is flawed due to its source: the federal government. It is no wonder school systems around the country are encountering so many problems trying to live up to the requirements of NCLB. After all, the document is so vague and adulterated by its over-emphasis on compromise and bipartisanism that it barely outlines any significant or substantive goals.

NCLB stresses accountability within the educational system, and we as students and citizens must stress accountability within the government and other administrative bodies. Positive change can rarely come solely from the top down, as NCLB has demonstrated over the past several years. Genuine, effective, and progressive change comes from the bottom, the people, and in this case, the students.

It is our education, and this is our outlet to organize on a large scale. If you are unhappy with changes brought down on your education by your government, this is the time and the place to speak out and act out. I urge you to voice your opinion, be heard, and make a difference, and that is exactly what this blog and this movement is all about.