High School Students: The Canaries In The Coal Mine Of American Disaster

“It was no surprise to anyone who knew him to hear that he was the shooter.” ― Emma Gonzalez, Senior, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Over the past three weeks, the impassioned voices and steadfast demands of the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have resounded across social media and through the halls of the large suburban high school where I teach visual arts. A group of senior girls, spurred to action by the horrors of the Parkland massacre and emboldened by watching videos of its protesting students, organized a walkout of their own.  Though it was an uncharacteristically cold, snowy day in our part of Oregon, hundreds of students marched out of school, engaging in what was certainly, for many of them, their first act of civil disobedience.  I positioned myself near the back of the crowd, listening as they shouted their demands for safer schools and an end to fear in the classroom.  Standing on that icy sidewalk, I was overcome by waves of conflicting emotions.  Though deeply proud of them for raising their voices and insisting on being heard, I was also forced to confront a stark and brutal reality: neither my students nor I feel safe in our school.


Source : huffingtonpost