“I have reason to believe that the majority of society expects public education to prepare our children to continue advancing our society; so if we believe this to be true, why do we continue to suppress creativity and prevent communication?” –Juliane

 

 

“What is Love? Why is love something that many find hard to explain or even understand? How do you know what love is if you’ve never experienced it, but how do you know if you’ve experienced it if you don’t know what it is?” –Lyss

 

In June, the kids get the podium. They get to speak. They get to share. They get to be a voice. This June, my kids have had two opportunities to speak. First, they had an opportunity to share their Passion Papers, a piece of their very own, self-selected and self-directed writing. Second, they are now sharing their Be A Voice speeches, speeches on matters/issues that give rise to their voices. And though there have been many resonant voices over the past days, two in particular caught my ear: Lyss’s and Juliane’s.

For his Be A Voice speech, Juliane made his case for why we need to change education for the sake of society AND kids. Please understand that Juliane is an exemplary student. He may in fact be my “best student” this year, but that “best” has come at a cost, as he is a living, breathing example of what he presents in his paper: a stressed out over-achiever trapped in a hyper-competitive existence that brings little purpose or joy to his life. Isn’t that funny? When I think of our need to be engaged in meaningful, fulfilling experiences as adults in things that bring us purpose and joy, in both our personal and professional lives,  I can’t help but feel that we are subjecting our kids to the very things we strive to escape as adults: the mundane, the joyless, the meaningless, the purposeless, the stressful…the list goes on. And so when Juliane spoke yesterday, it resonated with me, not only as a change chaser in education but also as a person in the world. But what could a sixteen-year-old possibly know about education? Maybe more than we think. Here are some of my favorite lines.

“I am sick. I have been infected with one of the worst diseases that has ever been inflicted upon humankind by humankind. I’m not talking about some chemical weapon; I’m not talking about the Black Plague; and I’m definitely not talking about the flu. This epidemic affects millions of teenagers every single day. Education. Public Education. As a great theoretical physicist once said, ‘The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education’ (Albert Einstein).”

“The next issue to address is that the students are both physically and mentally damaged when they attend school. We are taught that we need 8-10 hours of sleep, yet I get 5 on average. I need to have breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday, yet I skip lunch to study for exams or just because the school lunch equals that of a prisoner’s meal. I need to finish high school, yet I think about giving up.”

“Conditioned to be perfectionists, these students are backed into a corner where mistakes are the downfall of their image, but I believe our greatest mistake is making said students to stress over these mistakes instead of learning from them. From an efficient-seeking point of view, this method proves to carry out what graders desire: results. From an ethical point of view, this method contradicts the expectations of the parents by damaging the mental development of our students. In Jay Shetty’s video “Life is the Most Difficult Exam”, he proceeds to elaborate on the things that schools do to students that should be changed. He tested what would happen when typing in the phrase ‘University makes me…’ into google to see what the top searches are. As expected, most proved to be negative. Google showed that when typing in the phrase ‘High school makes me…’ its top searches were: suicidal, want to cry, feel stupid, and stressed.”

“So I say this once more: I am sick. High school public education has taken us, the students, hostage, and society is at its mercy as it spreads its yearly epidemic. I can only ask and beg and call for help on this matter, so listen closely. Our education is supposed to guide us to the people we will become, and if we continue to take the wrong steps, we fail to keep advancing effectively as a society.”

 

For her Passion Paper, Lyss explored the question, “What is love?” Inspired by an earlier Community Circle topic, “Is teenage love real?” she further examined her own ideas and feelings. But what could a sixteen-year-old possibly know about love? Maybe more than we think. Here are some of my favorite lines.

 

“Now I probably just sound like some dumb teenager who has no idea what she’s talking about but it’s ok… because I am. I don’t know what I’m talking about because the truth is I don’t know what love is.”

“Now I probably just sound like some dumb teenager who has no idea what she’s talking about but it’s ok… because I am. I don’t know what I’m talking about because the truth is I don’t know what love is. I love my mom and my dad and my sisters and my dogs but I don’t know why. That sounded bad… I know why I love them but I don’t know why I feel that specific emotion toward them. I’ve never had to think of why I love them.”

“Are there two different types of love? I don’t know. I feel like there is this in between emotion.”

“One time my friend told me that you won’t stop worrying about someone until you know that they love you and much as you love them. But I never worried about whether or not my dad loved me as much as I loved him. Maybe that just because I was lucky and I never had to worry about my parents not loving me. Maybe I’m just ignorant and love is something that you’re supposed to worry about. Maybe that’s the thing. Maybe love is different for everyone. What if we all share a common emotion that means something different to all of us but feels the same. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard to wrap our minds around the idea of what is love.”

“I got caught up in things that I didn’t and did understand, but I realize that love is something that sometimes only you can give yourself. I love myself. I love myself. Maybe that’s when we understand what love is.”

 

What could kids possibly know of such things? Maybe more than we think.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…continue speeches.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.