蜜桃影视

If Rose Thomas were in my high school civics class, I鈥檇 give her an A.

Thomas is the student council president of Bexley High School in Columbus, Ohio, and a leader of a planned student walkout to protest gun violence in schools. Those who walk out of their classes at Bexley will serve an hour-long detention, the school鈥檚 standard penalty for cutting class. But they鈥檙e not upset about it. Thomas and her fellow protesters wisely acknowledge that their act of civil disobedience has no point without a punishment, and the district can鈥檛 show favoritism for one viewpoint or issue. If Bexley鈥檚 principal 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 punish the demonstrators supporting Parkland, 鈥榟e has to [allow] it for every cause,鈥� 鈥� Thomas to The Columbus Dispatch.

If every student had such a solid grasp of the tensions between rights and responsibilities, and an equally clear-eyed view of the moral authority undergirding protest and activism, I鈥檇 stop worrying about civics education and retire happily.

Student civic engagement is to be encouraged, even celebrated, but that doesn鈥檛 mean it must meet with official approval. Indeed, it is essential that it does not. If students have permission to walk out, it鈥檚 no longer student activism at all. It鈥檚 a field trip. And that鈥檚 part of the teachable moment, too. The message to students should be clear: If this issue is important to you, then it鈥檚 worth the consequence. Otherwise, you鈥檙e not protesting gun violence, you鈥檙e boycotting chemistry class. By its very nature, an act of civil disobedience means the protester refuses to comply with rule, norms, and expectations. Permission, by definition, restores the element of compliance, robbing the protest of any meaning.

In the days since the protests were first announced and organized, schools have wrestled with how to handle the anticipated 17-minute walkout, one minute for each victim killed in the Parkland shooting. Some 鈥� unwisely, in my opinion 鈥� have overtly said they who are protesting; others have announced that will be taken, which is de facto approval. From a civics education standpoint, however, the best thing schools can do to validate the walkout as authentic student activism is to make it clear that all school discipline standards will be enforced. Then let students decide whether their cause is worth the price, or just an excuse to skip class.

There is no doubt that schools are well within their legal rights to hold students accountable for walking out to protest. Students don鈥檛 lose their First Amendment rights during the school day, but courts have limits to the exercise of free speech when it 鈥渕aterially and substantially interferes鈥� with the functioning of a school. A mass walkout meets the test, as , even as it has not to punish students excessively for participating in the demonstration.

Schools that refuse to enforce standard discipline over the Parkland protest may regret it down the road. The vast majority of schools are publicly financed and government-run. If school officials grant students permission to walk out to protest gun violence (a refusal to enforce disciplinary norms is tantamount to official approval), they must also not punish those who disrupt learning to protest in favor of gun rights, or for or against abortion, police violence, or any conceivable political cause. This includes viewpoints many in a school community might deem repellent. Thus, the only sane policy on the Parkland protest is an aggressively neutral stance 鈥� with consequences.

As someone who is deeply concerned about the role of our schools in preparing young people for citizenship, I expect to be cheered by Wednesday鈥檚 display of student activism, regardless of whether I agree with its political agenda. But as a civics teacher, my message to students would be that the courage of your convictions carries a price. If your cause is just, you should pay it with honor and dignity.

Just ask Rose Thomas.

Robert Pondiscio is a senior fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. He is also a senior adviser to Democracy Prep Public Schools in Harlem, New York. He writes and speaks extensively on education and education-reform issues, with an emphasis on literacy, curriculum, teaching, and urban education.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.