Student Opinion (The Learning Network NYT)
By NATALIE PROULX MARCH 15, 2018
In “National School Walkout: Thousands Protest Against Gun Violence Across the U.S.,” Alan Blinder and Julie Turkewitz write:
Thousands of students, emboldened by a growing protest movement over gun violence, stood up in their classrooms on Wednesday and walked out of their schools in a nationwide demonstration, one month after a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Florida.
The 17-minute protests unfolding at hundreds of schools are intended to pressure Congress to approve gun control legislation after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and come 10 days before major protests in Washington and elsewhere.
… The demonstrations unfolded in different ways from city to city and school to school. In some places, demonstrators chanted and held signs. At other schools, students stood in silence. In Atlanta, some students took a knee.
Thousands of students around New York, many backed by permission slips from their parents, walked out of their schools and converged on central locations — Columbus Circle, Battery Park, Brooklyn Borough Hall, Lincoln Center.
… In Washington, thousands left their classrooms in the city and its suburbs and marched to the Capitol steps, their high-pitched voices battling against the stiff wind: “Hey-hey, ho-ho, the N.R.A. has got to go!” One sign said: “Fix This, Before I Text My Mom from Under A Desk.”
Another article published on the same day, this one from the Well section, explains “Why Demonstrating Is Good for Kids.” In it, Lisa Damour writes:
Participating in political activism may be good for our teenagers, according to a new research report.
The study, published in January in the journal Child Development, found that late adolescents and young adults who voted, volunteered or engaged in activism ultimately went further in school and had higher incomes than those who did not mobilize for political or social change.
By tracking nearly 10,000 young people from a wide variety of ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds, researchers from Wake Forest School of Medicine, Fordham University and the University of Massachusetts measured the long-term implications of youth political and social engagement. Remarkably, they found that civic activity linked to better academic and financial outcomes regardless of early school performance and parental education levels, two factors that usually drive later success.
Of course, correlation does not prove causation, but the study makes a case for the benefits of civic engagement.
In light of the findings, Parissa Ballard, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor in the department of family and community medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, said that “having meaningful opportunities to volunteer or be involved in activism may change how young people think about themselves or their possibilities for the future.”
Students: Read both articles that are highlighted in red above and answer the following questions, sharing your opinions on this national issue that is currently plaguing or nation. I want to hear your opinions!! Be mindful of expressing yourself using good grammar!
— What is your reaction to the national school walkouts to protest gun violence? What comes to mind as you read about and see photos and videos from students protesting around the country?
— What is your opinion of the message that students were trying to send with these walkouts? Do you think this protest will be effective in addressing the issue of gun violence in the United States?
— How do you think teachers and administrators should respond to student protests, whether over this issue or any other? Do you think times like this, when large numbers of young people are reacting to an issue in the news, should be treated in school as “teachable moments”? If so, how?
— In general, how do you feel about teenagers participating in political activism? Do you agree with the article above that says it may be good for you? Why or why not?
— What have your own experiences with political activism, however you define it, been like? If you are not politically active, how do you feel about articles like these that encourage you to vote, volunteer or take other kinds of actions? Why?
By NATALIE PROULX MARCH 15, 2018
In “National School Walkout: Thousands Protest Against Gun Violence Across the U.S.,” Alan Blinder and Julie Turkewitz write:
Thousands of students, emboldened by a growing protest movement over gun violence, stood up in their classrooms on Wednesday and walked out of their schools in a nationwide demonstration, one month after a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Florida.
The 17-minute protests unfolding at hundreds of schools are intended to pressure Congress to approve gun control legislation after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and come 10 days before major protests in Washington and elsewhere.
… The demonstrations unfolded in different ways from city to city and school to school. In some places, demonstrators chanted and held signs. At other schools, students stood in silence. In Atlanta, some students took a knee.
Thousands of students around New York, many backed by permission slips from their parents, walked out of their schools and converged on central locations — Columbus Circle, Battery Park, Brooklyn Borough Hall, Lincoln Center.
… In Washington, thousands left their classrooms in the city and its suburbs and marched to the Capitol steps, their high-pitched voices battling against the stiff wind: “Hey-hey, ho-ho, the N.R.A. has got to go!” One sign said: “Fix This, Before I Text My Mom from Under A Desk.”
Another article published on the same day, this one from the Well section, explains “Why Demonstrating Is Good for Kids.” In it, Lisa Damour writes:
Participating in political activism may be good for our teenagers, according to a new research report.
The study, published in January in the journal Child Development, found that late adolescents and young adults who voted, volunteered or engaged in activism ultimately went further in school and had higher incomes than those who did not mobilize for political or social change.
By tracking nearly 10,000 young people from a wide variety of ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds, researchers from Wake Forest School of Medicine, Fordham University and the University of Massachusetts measured the long-term implications of youth political and social engagement. Remarkably, they found that civic activity linked to better academic and financial outcomes regardless of early school performance and parental education levels, two factors that usually drive later success.
Of course, correlation does not prove causation, but the study makes a case for the benefits of civic engagement.
In light of the findings, Parissa Ballard, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor in the department of family and community medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, said that “having meaningful opportunities to volunteer or be involved in activism may change how young people think about themselves or their possibilities for the future.”
Students: Read both articles that are highlighted in red above and answer the following questions, sharing your opinions on this national issue that is currently plaguing or nation. I want to hear your opinions!! Be mindful of expressing yourself using good grammar!
— What is your reaction to the national school walkouts to protest gun violence? What comes to mind as you read about and see photos and videos from students protesting around the country?
— What is your opinion of the message that students were trying to send with these walkouts? Do you think this protest will be effective in addressing the issue of gun violence in the United States?
— How do you think teachers and administrators should respond to student protests, whether over this issue or any other? Do you think times like this, when large numbers of young people are reacting to an issue in the news, should be treated in school as “teachable moments”? If so, how?
— In general, how do you feel about teenagers participating in political activism? Do you agree with the article above that says it may be good for you? Why or why not?
— What have your own experiences with political activism, however you define it, been like? If you are not politically active, how do you feel about articles like these that encourage you to vote, volunteer or take other kinds of actions? Why?