We don’t often have the chance to live out the lessons residing in textbooks, to make the decisions people before us made without the benefit of hindsight.But today, at 10 a.m., on the 19th anniversary of Columbine, students in Upper Arlington, and in cities throughout our nation, had the opportunity to examine their beliefs regarding school safety and gun violence in schools, determine how strongly they felt about those beliefs, and for those whose beliefs aligned with the national movement known as A Day of Action Against Gun Violence in Schools, they also had the chance to decide whether or not they were willing to accept a consequence for standing up and walking out with their peers.
Following the broadcast of UAHS’s live news show, Kickin’ It Live, students who chose to be engaged in the movement, stood up and walked out to Marv Moorhead Stadium. They carried signs, wore orange ribbons and once they were in the stadium, walked around the track for 13 minutes, commemorating the 13 students who died in 1999 at Columbine High School.
Following their walk, student leaders read each Columbine victim’s name, arranged students into a peace sign on the 50 yard line, and then brought students back to the bleachers where they explained the action they wanted to take. They posted the phone number of representatives and senators, and for those who were 18 and registered to vote, they shared a petition, and explained the process of writing letters.
One student, a talented artist, hand sketched the faces of every single Columbine victim and her sketches were placed along the cement wall lining the home side of the stadium.
“As I was drawing them,” she said, “my room slowly filled with their faces and it got heavy sitting there with those faces staring back at me.”
Another student explained that he had been up all night texting and talking with aides from both parties. He said letters do not require action, but through his research, he learned that if he drafts a petition and gets 100 signatures endorsing it, the Ohio General Assembly is required to act within 4 months. He hopes they accept part of it and send the modifications out to the public for a vote. He wants voters to have a chance to participate in the process, to have a voice in initiating action.
When I asked him what he learned, he told me, “I love that I’m taking government right now. But it’s funny, from the textbook I learn this organized system. In reality, I have been going back and forth with aides making sure the language I am using will ring bells with both sides, because I want to avoid extremes. I want something to actually happen.”
In the days leading up to this event, several teachers contextualized this particular walkout by discussing civil disobedience throughout history. They provided students with documents and facts, pushed them to consider multiple perspectives and offered them space to express their views, wrestle with their concerns, and confront their questions.
Two such teachers were Bruce Campbell and Dorothy Sutton who teach Sophomore Literature &? Composition. Campbell and Sutton challenged their students with the prompt: “Do you plan to participate in the walkout this Friday? If yes, explain what you hope to accomplish. If not, explain why you are choosing not to participate.”
Despite asking the same question, both approached the discussion in slightly different ways.
After providing the prompt, time to journal about their answer, and setting up rules whereby everyone had to speak once before anyone was allowed to speak again, Campbell passed out political cartoons, a letter written by Sullivan Ballou prior to his death at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861 and a poem by Dudley Randall, entitled “Ballad of Birmingham,” which was written in 1963, following the bombing of a Birmingham church.
These documents spoke directly to some of the issues raised by students. In particular, why someone would stand up and speak out, as well as the risk associated with avoiding or running away from an issue you believe in. He ended the period by saying, “as we move into this last unit, maybe this issue/?walkout is not for you, but I hope you will be passionate about something.”
Sutton provided her students will all of the documents up front. She read them the poem and the letter, she directed their attention to Principal Theado’s correspondences, she gave them background information about the event, and she shared a two page document with four different political cartoons.
And before her discussion commenced, in addition to the question Campbell shared, Sutton asked her students to reflect on another one: “What are the general rules for democratic, respectful discourse?”
Students jotted down their thoughts for about five minutes before she gave them the chance to share collective “rules” with the class. She said most periods arrived at similar rules, but in the period I attended, this is what they established:
People can have different opinions, but we need to be respectful and open-minded. We need to LISTEN.
Try to understand the other side. If you can restate what they say or summarize it, then you understand it.
No interruptions and that includes side chatter.
It’s okay to be shy, but don’t be afraid to talk. Indicate you want to engage and ask others to engage.
Don’t get emotional or angry. In other words, don’t take comments personally. Different opinions do not make someone a bad person.
Avoid logical fallacies.
Communications teacher Amanda Fountain led her Kickin’ It students in a discussion about the walkout because she needed to guide them as they figured out where the story was. Students needed space to wrap their heads around what was happening, what they had questions about, and who they needed to talk to in order to provide students with accurate information.
Each of the three different discussions were different, but there were consistent themes threading through them all.
Some students in all three classes expressed concern that the walkout would be inconsequential. One student admitted, “it is an important issue,” but he went on to say, “I don’t think it will make a difference. I’ll just vote for congressmen who don’t support the NRA.” Another student said, “I don’t feel like my voice matters. There are more productive ways to get stuff done. This won’t do enough.”
A third student expressed concern that not only is the walk inconsequential, but the act of writing new gun laws is as well. She said, “there are already laws but they aren’t enforced and I don’t see how more laws will fix this….people want their 15 minutes of fame and [conducting a shooting] might be the only way to get it.”
A fourth student focused on the impact of increased safety measures.
“I’m worried all of the regulations will make schools like prison. Someone will find a way around whatever we come up with.”
“Life is about risk management and making choices,” another jumped in. “There are easy ways to abuse rules, but most people don’t do it. Your odds of being hurt or killed is pretty low. It is safer here than most other places.”
In both classes, even though most students said they felt safe, there were students who pointed out that the purpose of the walkout was bigger than just school shootings. One mentioned friends of hers who live in the Hilltop and don’t feel safe in their homes or at school. “Maybe the problem is we don’t empathize with other people’s situation,” she said. “It isn’t just about our experience.”
Another student shared something similar. “It’s important to remember this is not just about school violence but also about urban violence and domestic violence. Their voices are not being heard.”
There were others who said they weren’t walking out because they were put off by the consequence. One said he has pledged loyalty to his teammates and if he is not in class, then he won’t be able to compete. He said, “I don’t care about Saturday School. I agree with the protest. Since none of our leaders will be present though, I don’t think it will be effective. In my opinion, this is a fault of our leaders because they are not connecting with us.”
Later in the discussion, he learned that the walkout would not affect eligibility for sports. You have to be present periods 6-8 to compete and the walkout takes place periods 3-5.
Some students lauded the walkout. One said, “in history we learn about [protests] and I want to be able to tell my kids I was apart of it.” Another said she was attending because “it is more important to change legislation for future years than to come back for Saturday school.” A third student said, the walkout was “true American Patriotism, that you have to fight for a cause, that you need to care about things even when it isn’t convenient.” And a fourth student said, “School is a place to learn. There are laws that force you to go to school or you’ll be punished, so it should be safe here.”
As journalists, students in Fountain’s class were interested in discussing the discrepancy between the lack of punishment administered for the March 14th walkout that lasted for 17 minutes and this walkout which is slated for three whole periods. At the time of their discussion, the punishment was still Saturday School, but this was changed to a lunch detention in order to fall in line with the typical disciplinary measure given to students who skip class.
Some students said they believed the stiffer punishment validated the action. In other words, if someone was willing to accept a Saturday School for their beliefs it solidified how important those beliefs were. Additionally, the time in Saturday school would allow students to conduct their letter writing campaign, so many of the student participants were actually okay with the punishment; it carved out time for them to advance their cause.
Other students supported the punishment because they said if it wasn’t stiff, then students could start skipping or walking out for anything.
As the discussion progressed, they dove into the nuances of why students were skipping, debating whether or not students should have a stiffer punishment for certain behaviors and lesser punishments for standing up for political reasons.
One student, taking issue with the school’s place to judge reasons why a student might skip, said, “Why wouldn’t one reason be equal to another? It’s a skip. School shouldn’t have politics.”
Regardless of which beliefs a student held, in all three discussions, voices from both sides, and a dozen of nuanced places in the middle, had the chance to wrestle with something real.
They had the chance to synthesize stories of our past and the way those narratives led them to this moment today.
And through those chances, they had the opportunity to figure out the boundaries of what they believed.
Fortunately, in all three cases, this happened without anyone attacking anyone else, or without anyone cutting another person off.
And this civility not only occurred in classrooms, it continued through the walkout this morning.
And hopefully, for the sake of all of us, it will continue to endure as these students, full of beliefs and passions along a wide-ranging continuum, grow into adults.
