When was the last time you heard, or were a part of a conversation about the current generation of youth? Were there exclamations of concern for the future? Accusations that students nowadays simply do not care as much as they used to or that they do not wish to make a positive impact on our world? Concerns that there is more callousness, cruelty, and apathy among children and teens than ever before? How do you feel about such powerful statements and concerns and have you ever found yourself thinking them?
To be honest, this topic is something that I have been concerned about before. I am guilty of worrying about the children and in particular, the teens, of today. Meeting the youth at Ferguson Corner Coffee House, however, and articles such as Elisa Crouch’s give me hope. In her piece, Crouch details a rally held by over 150 Normandy students on March 13, 2014. They came together holding signs such as “#NormandyStrong” or “Stand Up.”
The gathering took place during what would have normally been lunch hour for the students and involved an approximately mile-long march. The purpose? To raise awareness to their school district and the challenges it will face in the future. Due to a school transfer law, close to 2,200 students have been relocated to other school districts, ones that are believed to be higher performers. The Normandy school district had to pay for both tuition and transportation costs. Now, with a task force designed to decide its fate and a significant loss of funds, the Normandy school district’s future seems uncertain.
When I first sat down to write my news article blog, I had originally picked a different article. I had already completed a paragraph of my reflection on it when I decided to switch to this one. So why did this article in particular captivate me to the point of discarding my former work? For starters, the students were inspired by past civil rights campaigns and the power children and teens can have in sparking change. They showed a level of bravery, involvement, and dedication I did not have as a 7th grader. Furthermore, the events of this article take place within our own backyard. The students marched down Natural Bridge Road, a road that has great meaning and personal significance to me as it is one I have now driven on quite a few times.
One of the discussions I have heard held within our Community Practice and Social Change class is how it feels as though we are outsiders within some of the communities we have been exploring. In the case of Normandy, however, that is our academic community, our house so to speak. The Normandy school district is right nearby the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) and yet, when I spoke to a close friend in another department she mentioned she was surprised there had not been more projects in place linking the two. She has been volunteering for UMSL events for a while now but said she could not recall any programs where UMSL students tutored or mentored Normandy students and felt that was an oversight on the part of certain UMSL groups.
Why do you think we do not have more association with the Normandy school district? Would you be interested in getting involved if there were a project in place that linked Normandy students with UMSL students? Do you feel that as older students in the same area, we ought to lend our voices to the Normandy student’s cause or do you feel that would be intrusive or meddlesome? What sort of power do students have in inciting social change and how should it be used (or should it be used at all)?
I also read the article, by Elisa Crouch on the seventh grade protestors. I was positively impressed with those young seventh students who joined in the march in support of their school district, while according to the article three thousand other students reported “there’s no good reason to keep the district alive.” Before the march the students prepared themselves in history class by studying social activism and the role children played in the civil rights movement, just as we the students of Community Practice and Social Change are learning today a service based approach for social work practice tomorrow. This community based intervention gave the students a chance to express their desire to continue their education in their school district and in their neighborhood. It may attract others to get involved. These students also experienced first-hand, the power of organization and nonviolent demonstration. It reminded me of the “Little Rock Nine” who integrated an all white school in Alabama. Normandy students also skipped their lunch in order to march for what they believed in, just like students who skipped school to sit-in at the lunch counter in segregated restaurants during the civil rights era.
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