Students’ voices carry weight
In an era of unparalleled hyperpartisan politics and political disenchantment, young people feel more disengaged from government than ever. And between a student debt crisis and a standardized testing craze, our education system has been demotivating students from kindergarten to college. There is a solution — but let me first demonstrate the problem.
The statistics speak for themselves. In one 2015 poll, a majority of millennials said they almost never trust an authority figure to do the right thing. Which authority figures? The Harvard University study found consistent distrust across the board: from the U.S. president, Congress and Supreme Court to federal, state and local governments. Voter turnout numbers are even more striking. Fewer than 50 percent of millennials ages 18-24 have voted in any presidential election since 1972, including last year’s.
Here in Texas, it’s no surprise young people are detached when they feel marginalized as public school students. While students are shuttled from class to class on fixed bell times for nearly 16,000 hours of their lives before graduating, they are never asked for feedback. While school districts are required to solicit input and hear public comment from teachers, parents and community members, students are forgotten, even as they are the primary consumers of the education “product” the state is delivering. Students are left disenfranchised, disenchanted and civically disengaged from the very system that shapes their futures. When these young people grow up, they may be less inclined to participate in civic life, and the prospect of such apathetic Texans should concern all of us.
The status quo needs to change, and legislation is under consideration to help move Texas toward better engagement of public school students. The solution is actually pretty straightforward and deserves support. To ameliorate youth disengagement, we have to engage youth in government that affects their daily lives. The easiest place to start is in the schools that nurture children for nearly two decades before they enter the “real world.” Proposals to require school districts to engage their students before any major curriculum initiative have been sponsored by state Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, and state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston. The bills, HB 1585 and SB 508, are nonpartisan, virtually cost-free and best of all, common-sense.
If passed, the 1,200-plus school districts of Texas would be required to develop their own student advisory programs, flexible to local community needs. Some districts could convene student council presidents from each high school monthly for feedback sessions. Other districts could send staff to each school to make presentations during pep rallies or other student gatherings, and later collect feedback from a subsequent survey. Houston ISD officials could attend HISD Student Congress meetings and brainstorm curriculum changes alongside their student membership.
Passage of the bills means more than changing district curriculum processes. It signifies a call to our leaders to regularly invite young people to the table and seriously consider their ideas. By authentically engaging those who feel shoved to the margins, we reincorporate the disenchanted — and their perspectives — into the social fabric. By including youth in the decision-making that affects them the most, we use their passion productively in the form of civic participation.
When asked sincerely about youth issues, young people will passionately share their perspectives. Last summer, I watched as 10 high school students picked randomly from an audience sat before a crowd of adults and shared surprising stories of the impact that school underfunding had on their education. One school not only lacked teachers, but also toilet paper. I guarantee that young people have stories and insight that will astonish adults, if they make the effort to listen. Adults, yes, even educators, might be surprised by how much they learn.
Tameez is the founding speaker of the HISD Student Congress and a lead co-author of an amicus brief written by Texas students submitted to the Texas Supreme Court. He helped lawmakers develop HB 1585 and SB 508, which are the subject of this commentary.