High Schoolers Protesting

[javero]

Students from the high school near my home walked out earlier today and took to the streets in protest of the election outcome.  I remember that a few of you are educators.  Do secondary schools typically allow students to make up exams when they bolt in this way?  Many of these students are still minors and considered wards of the state during hours of instruction as I understand it.  If I'm misguided, please enlighten me.

Large group of Md. high school students walk out to protest Trump’s election

NOTE: I apologize in advance if you hit the pay wall.  I'm not certain whether I'm permitted to cut and paste the content under the fair use doctrine since I'm a paid digital subscriber.

[dramamama611]

Each school has their own rules governing these things.   There is no one answer.    Wards of the state?   We're responsible for them, but if they walk out, they walk out.

 

I have no idea what my school would do, to be honest.   The immediate reaction would be: its a school/class cut.....that usually gets an office detention or Saturday school.   They would likely not be allowed to make up any work they missed that particular day.   (would that stick?   couldn't tell you.)

[javero]

I'm concerned for the safety of those youngsters.  There's a lot of rage out there right now.  Yesterday, those kids took to one of the busiest streets in Maryland and blocked traffic several times.  It only takes one irate driver in a 2 ton vehicle to smash a few of them like pumpkins.  I'm told that one kid was trampled by a bunch of fleeing students after a driver brandished a shiny object that many mistook for a pistol.

[ErikJ972]

It's better for the school to organize and put things in place to kelp keep the kids safe. If the entire school wants to walk out there's not much they can do about it anyway. You can't keep thousands of students locked in a school safely who all want to get out at the same time.

My school lets them march. We notify the police who then control traffic etc.

It teaches kids how to responsibly exercise thier 1st ammendment right to peaceful assembly. They learn to cooperate with school administration.

If the school just said no that would make the kids want to walk out even more and could create chaos.

[javero]

Just two more questions about this, I promise.

(1) does your school require the kids to obtain parental permission first, ErikJ972, as most are minors who are still wards of their parents/guardians?

(2) if the parental permission is not on file and a protesting student accompanied by a school official is injured or worse, will your school/district/municipality be held liable?

I ask because one DC high school teacher accompanied his students on a 4 mile trek from the school to the Trump Hotel, then to the Capitol Building.  Times have changed a lot since I was their age and parents especially dads ruled with an iron fist.  As rebellious as I was back then, I don't think I would ditched school to march.  Even as late as high school, my dad would have likely kicked my ass afterwards.

[ErikJ972]

No there is no parental permission because it's not a school sponsered event. Students are marked absent and willl be graded on any work they miss whle they are out of class. It is not an excused abscense. The administration makes the students aware of this. They also enoccurage them to stay on school grounds.A robo call usually goes out to parents that the students are planning a walk out that day, and that it is not sanctioned by the school, it will be an unexcused abscense etc. The school notifies the police of when the walked is planned and they provide safety measures.

It's the best way. It would be impossible to keep all the students in school if they all decided to walk out at the same time. And trying to keep them in wiould create all sorts of hazards. 

[javero]

yeah, strikes me as the most effective approach.  Glad that it's working.

[South Florida]

A glimmer of hope in a sad week.  I get my news from you guys now.

 

[Wilmingtom]

Teens who are politically engaged enough to want to peacefully assemble strikes me as a good thing.  They are the voters of tomorrow and obviously not complacent.  Couldn't the school, in cooperation with the parents, help organize the event so it would take place after school hours or on the weekend?  These kids care and their concerns should be respected.

[acekatherineplumber2]

Javero, how interesting! I also live near the MD high schools that had the walk-out.

[madbrian]

In this otherwise low point in our history, there can be nothing more encouraging than the engagement of our youth in politics.

[dramamama611]

Except, often, students plan without any sort of heads up from administrators/teachers/adults -- and I applaud them!   As I've already said, schools are in a tough spot: perhaps personally supporting them, yet needing to uphold the code of discipline.