Tomorrow, one month after the latest mass shooting in Florida, students and educators across America will participate in walkouts at 10 a.m. local time to honor the 17 victims of gun violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. If you have children in middle or high school, your kids may want to participate. That’s a good thing.
Every school district has its own take on the event. Many, according to my informal clicking around the internet, support it in some way. Others, however, do not. They may have threatened students with suspensions, permanent record rhetoric and other strong-arm shades of disconnect should they join the walkouts. Fortunately, several major universities have officially stated they will not hold student participation in democracy against anyone. That’s downright American of them.
For an example of walkout activities, our district sent the following email:
We are planning to commemorate the day by holding a massive VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE. No matter how you feel about these issues, exercising your right to vote is the most effective way to make a difference. At the high school level, we will be providing the opportunity to register students aged 16+. California now has a process to pre-register voters starting at age 16. VOTER REGISTRATION tables will be set up at every school where people can register starting at drop-off time and ending after pick-up.
The elementary schools are not planning any related events or activities that involve the children. We are respectful of parents who may have decided not share what happened in Florida with their young children. This is up to each family to decide. The only event at the elementary schools will be the voter registration drive.
The Middle School and High School have adjusted their schedules slightly to allow the regular Nutrition period to include the 17 minutes in honor of the 17 students and faculty killed at Stoneman Douglas H.S. in Florida, 10:00 AM-10:17 AM. The administration has been working with the student governments at these schools to plan appropriate activities on campus that will involve student speakers.
They are hoping to register 1000 new voters.
Perhaps you are wondering what you, the parent, can do to help support your child, many of whom are experiencing activism for the first time. The walkouts are a way to honor the victims, but that does not mean they will be quiet events. Tomorrow is a collection of voices, rising up for what they believe is right. We can help by adding our voices to them. Consider the words of Dr. John Crescitelli, whose daughter survived the shootings at Stoneman Douglas:
“Politicians have been known to ignore articulate, passionate high school students and they do this at their peril. However, they can’t ignore balding, slightly overweight, middle-aged men, because we vote in large numbers.”
That’s his voice. Will you add yours?
For more information on the walkouts, please take a look at the following resources:
- CNN has a helpful guide to the walkouts, from the who, what and why, to the potential consequences of, plus ways for people to participate away from campus.
- PBS News Hours takes a deeper look at the conversations that schools and parents are having about the walkouts.
- The New York Times provides advice for parents looking for age-appropriate protests.
- Wonkette has some fantastic, profanity-laden advice for students who have been told not to protest.
In addition to the above, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and National Coalition Against Censorship have provided students a free comic (below) by cartoonist Kai Texel that outlines best practices to help kids assert their rights to speech, protest, assembly and petition, plus warns about risks and provides resources to get more help as they assert their First Amendment rights. All they ask is that people share it freely and broadly (done)!
Have you talked to your kids about participating in the March 14 walkouts?
Whit Honea is the co-founder of Dads 4 Change and the Social Media Director of Dad 2.0 Summit. Deemed “the activist dad” by UpWorthy (and one of the “funniest dads on Twitter” by Mashable), he is a regular contributor to The Washington Post, The Modern Dads Podcast and author of The Parents’ Phrase Book—a practical guide to social and emotional learning. Whit was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He is the 2015 winner of the Iris Award for Best Writing.
