#StuVoice Archive
"In May 2012, students around the world formed Student Voice with the creation of the #StuVoice Twitter chats. Soon, presidential candidates, the Secretary of Education, Fortune 100 companies, education corporations, reporters, teachers, parents and community members joined the conversation to discuss ways to make the the education system beneficial for all involved." --www.stuvoice.org/
Monday August 8, 2016
Get those typing fingers ready! 30 minutes to go until we kick off our Twitter chat with at 8:30 PM EST.
Welcome to the first Twitter chat of the 2016-2017 school year! We are excited to begin a new year of programming with you.
Remember to use any time you engage with us!
So, let's get started...we are excited to be joined by tonight!
We're huge fans of student voice AND . Let's chat about student rights, just in time for the new school year.
Introduce yourself and let us know what you have been up to this summer!
This summer has been about realizing that someone has decided to give me an undergrad degree.
Mike Ziegler, Novi MI high school english. Good evening!
Max R. in San Diego here -- I spent the summer working, traveling, eating, and beaching (aka living the so cal life)
SPLC was founded so students would have an advocate devoted to defending their rights. For free help: https://t.co/IorA5ccGd7
Eileen, UVa'19, and interning at a refugee resettlement agency this summer! And working on stuff as well 😊
Q1: Has there ever been a moment in your schooling when you felt you couldn’t share your voice?
Mike Ziegler novi Michigan high school english.
Zak here! First Twitter chat as a graduate. A colleague and a comrade in this work now!
Welcome Mike! We are glad you joined us this evening.
new SV team member & my summer doesn't end this year 🎉
Andrew here. Been spending the summer traveling the country meeting with students in every corner of America.
The Supreme Court has recognized meaningful (though limited) free-speech protections in public schools. https://t.co/ctQ7T4NTFT
I feel like that was mostly an experience of my early years. Existing culture is hard 2 disrupt when ur new guy.
Yes, when my student government advisor wouldn't let me follow thru on my agenda of action items without her permission.
Tara here, coming at you live from JFK, post team retreat, and kinda ready for school to start
A1: Unfortunately, yes. In middle school, the school govt was very exclusive and the only effective method of
Students should have full free-speech rights off-campus on personal time. But the law is in flux. https://t.co/N3xZxidHRk
Q2: Does your school inform you of the rights that you have as a student? If so, how? If not, why do you think that is?
Journalists on campus face extra adversity, due to bad court precedent and school image consciousness. https://t.co/flmjhx4tfU
A1: in large lectures or in meetings. Presence was allowed but participation wasn't always encouraged
maybe in our student handbook? But that's hardly reviewed and "rights" are more so responsibilities.
A1: if you consider the majority of school career I spent unaware I had a voice
A2: Yes, in college I have been required to take an "iCourse" that informs stus about the school policies & regulations
in my opinion my school has silenced by stigmatizing my leaning difference
Interesting! Any ideas to help better inform the students in your school?
well said, Zak. I think most schools think in terms of what students SHOULD be doing.
Despite what some schools insist, a district policy can't override the 1st Amendment. Constitution > handbook.
A2: not in a way students use/fully understand
Thats great! Have they done anything to change the dress code in your school?
Never sat through a formal presentation of my rights, but I’ve always known that I had legal counselors if I needed.
A growing number of states have statutes protecting student free-press rights. Check yours here: https://t.co/eeQSvGqkdc
They investigated it for a project and interviewed admin--learned there's actually some good thought behind policy
Q3: Are there spaces in your school for you to effectively share your voice (i.e. Newspaper, student council, etc)?
make it a conversation had in every advisory to start the school year.
A2: in some cases, but you have to be looking. We do have a student advocacy office dedicated to helping protect .
Also an opportunity for students to make commitments to uphold those rights.
This is a powerful example of how can make a positive change in the school environment! https://t.co/PbHM1wBdBL
They investigated it for a project and interviewed admin--learned there's actually some good thought behind policy
Students have taken the lead in improving the law to protect social and political speech in schools. https://t.co/05VLERwqqn
A3: our schl paper is a fantastic source for student thought/opinion. supported fully even when it ?s policy. rare!
agree! lucky to have admins who believe in respecting student voices even when they ? existing practices!
Three states (IL, MD, ND) have passed laws since 2015 protecting student journalists. Get involved at https://t.co/Q66JZREkVV .
We're starting a project this year that will hopefully open the door for in the future! https://t.co/5cremaMJe4
Q3: Are there spaces in your school for you to effectively share your voice (i.e. Newspaper, student council, etc)?
A3: Yes, the student-run news organizations at my university have been great sources of information
Visited a school today in Boston where students are using poetry to process the claiming of black lives by the police.
"I wrote this slam piece because I think it's wrong that little black boys are shot by the police" one student said. He was 12.
has a pretty great StuCo and will be great under the leadership of this year 🎉
Q4: What does the right to Due Process mean to you?
School censorship disproportionately impacts female students, who are also more prone to self-censor. https://t.co/NvkRrp03iP
"I meet my brother every day by the bus stop after school so he don't get harassed by the police" said one young lady. She was 16
A4: to me, due process is the fair (and reasonable) treatment to any problem that may arise in a school building
A4 I think how your school handles it is one of biggest factors in creating/destroying schl culture
Students in Boston use their bodies as speech. They are fully prepared to leave school for city hall at a moments notice.
Q5: What kind of impact do you think the school-to-prison pipeline has on classrooms today?
Courts say students must receive due process in discipline, varying with the severity of punishment. https://t.co/5WU9q4qeQj
For many young students of color, our voices and intellect can go unnoticed but our bodies never do.
Students have 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable school searches, but not the same protection as a citizen on the street.
A5: The school-to-prison pipeline is unfortunately affecting the overall performance of minority students... (?)
A school can justify a search based on reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. But searches can go too far. https://t.co/E0P8f9sPwN
We train students to use their voices in ways the system deems "appropriate". What happens when the system is the problem?
...because you asked, school dress codes are difficult to challenge legally. But not impossible. https://t.co/l1ivZJIwlq
I met a young lady today who uses poetry to process pain she feels watching vids of police killing kids that look like her brother
We have to recognize the way students communicate that are unexpected. What does it mean when a student falls asleep in class?
students enter school wondering if they will graduate or go to prison. They should only have to worry about graduating.
yes--I think this is a tough line to walk. "school safety" v student rights makes for some hard decisions on the spot.
