PHS students carried placards protesting funding cuts. (Photo, DD).
Hundreds of Plainfield High School students joined thousands across the state early Tuesday afternoon to protest Gov. Chris Christie's proposed school funding cuts.
The event grew out of a Facebook page (see here) put up by Michelle Ryan Lauto, a college student who graduated from a Bergen county high school.
In an update to her page on April 24, Lauto outlined her view of what is at stake in Christie's budget cuts, posted links to a variety of background resources, and urged all to make it a meaningful -- and peaceful -- protest. At that point there were already 15,000 'fans' of the site; as of this morning it is showing over 18,000.
I ran into Courier beat report Mark Spivey covering the PHS walkout (see his story here), but had little time to chat. While it was rumored the students wanted to march from the high school to City Hall and rally there, it soon became evident they would limit the walkout to the sidewalks outside the school building. (Mark reports overhearing a cop saying students would be taken to police headquarters if they left school property.)
As WPIX (Channel 11) reported, the Facebook page was put up before the BOE election of April 20 (see here), meaning school districts and public safety agencies had over a week to prepare for the walkout.
Schools Matter, a widely read blog that 'explores issues in public education policy' discussed the impending walkout on Saturday (see here), quoting in its entirety a Record story that appeared on Friday. So, the word was out there plenty in advance.
There was more than enough time to develop a coordinated plan of action between school security personnel and the police to allow the students to exercise their First Amendment rights while keeping them safe and the walkout orderly. That it did not seem to fall out that way in Plainfield could be judged from the screaming sirens heard all over the area as police patrol vehicles raced to the high school as if on the way to a major accident scene.
While Christie spokesperson Michael Drewniak predictably tut-tutted that students should have remained in the classroom, the Ledger's Kelly Heyboer (see here) and the New York Times (see here) both saw the walkout as a giant civics lesson, driven by the instant communication of the Internet.
I would add to that the 'crowdmobbing' aspect of text messaging, which several teachers reported to me helped spread the word among PHS students Tuesday.
I'm wondering if a 'teachable moment' was missed. Actually, two.
As Spivey reported in the Courier, and the other stories cited here show, the students approached the matter as one with an important impact on their education -- from possible teacher cuts to the loss of programs and extracurricular activities.
Hundreds of PHS students protested the budge't impact on the schools. (Photo, DD).
There certainly was an opportunity for schools Superintendent Steve Gallon to turn this into a 'teachable moment' for the entire student body.
With all the advance notice, why couldn't special preparations have been made to allow concerned students to gather in the auditorium after their walkout for a session where students, teachers and public officials could engage in bringing the issues into a sharper focus and perhaps channel the energy of the students toward some ongoing activity to promote the schools' interest in the current budgetary situation.
Remember the 1960s 'teach-ins'?
The second 'teachable moment' that appears to have been lost is that once again school administrators have shown themselves to be dinosaurs in the age of the Internet. The whole business was developing in plain sight, under their very noses as it were, yet it seems the District acted as though caught by surprise.
Do these folks know how to make use of the social networking tools that kids turn to so naturally? If not, are they letting themselves -- and the taxpayers -- down?
- Facebook: "Protest NJ Education Cuts-State Wide School Walk Out"
- Courier: "Plainfield students walk out to protest Christie's school cuts"
- WPIX: "NJ students use Facebook to organize statewide protest walkout" -- With video.
- Schools Matter: "NJ students plan statewide walkout"
- Ledger: "NJ student protests show Facebook's role in mobilizing social movements"
- NYTimes: "In NJ, a civics lesson in the internet age"
-- Dan Damon [follow]
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14 comments:
What do the students know about life. It was just a chance to get out of class!!!! Keep up the pressure on the teachers. Good work GOV.
@ 8:55 AM -- What did you know about life when you were a student? More? Or less? And where did you get your knowledge from?
And was that a quince you were gnawing on for breakfast this morning? Maybe you should try something less sour....
Nasty Dan. The trouble with protests like this one under present circumstances is that despite the alluded to spontaneous reaction to a facebook posting,there is a familiar reference to the mass demonstrations that mark the various dictator states.
The question that should be asked of all students should be do they have any comprehension of the economic factors involved?
you make it seem like its something new this is everyday
Do these lazy students know how much money the State provides to Plainfield? The amount of money spent per pupil in this town far exceeds any other school district. Maybe the tax-payers should hold a protest at the school, based on the poor performance of the vast majority of the students.
Dan, to infer that these students know much is a big stretch. Look at their test scores. Have they learned the value of education? Do they know as an Abbott district how much money is provided by the State.
The grammatical felonies committed by the majority of the skeptical responders here call into question their own education levels. Study up, all of you; I would bet a lot of these students express themselves more cleanly than you do. And please -- a reference to fascism by the good doctor? Now I really have had my laugh for the day.
The governor's actions are ham-fisted and tone-deaf. But his overall point isn't a bad one. The response from teachers and districts is knee-jerk and typical. But they have valid concerns.
Young people's passions may run toward the mark where they become overheated, but that doesn't mean their sincerity -- or the kernels of truth in their statements -- should be regarded as bullshit.
Another way to say this is, "It sounds like most of you have forgotten what it's like to be young and care deeply about something."
PHS graduate here -- All the students should have been made to stay late to make up the time. Oh .. that sounds so mean !! But wait until they get into real life! [They are free to demomstrate on their own time] And instead of asking Taxpayers to pay more, how about they volunteer to cleanup the grounds to save $$ on overtime for grounds crew ? [Now you are asking too much !!]
The young lady who started the Facebook "crowdmob" has already graduated from high school. I suspect that many of the PHS students who protested are the ones who need to be in class the most. I think the teachable moment is to show these students that, instead of walking out and protesting, they should get together and focus on learning to do math and speak and write proper English. Then they can become society's leaders and do the things they say need to be done.
I agree with Doc. A) I doubt less than 10% of the "concerned" young activist have read any articles in a newspaper or online about the fiscal situation in NJ & B) Had the NJEA not been urging anyone and everyone come to that DINOSAURS assistance with their image I am sure even less students would have been there.
- Don't get me wrong, I am all for the teachers getting paid a lot and the kids having all the supplies they need...but that is not where the $ goes in the education industry in NJ. There is bloat and waste in lots if not MOST school districts in NJ. The school boards across the state could choose to get rid of excess administrative fat, but few have chosen to do that and instead hacked away at teachers and programs first. Very few of these students across NJ are aware their school boards spend the money. Christie has not fired one teacher.
And...final lesson for the students and the NJEA. I believe the state should be able to spend double the amount it already does on education .... BUT WHERE IS IT COMING FROM ? People seem to forget that "money from the state" is money that was already taken from them. It's not from some "magic" money fountain in Trenton waiting to be spent.
I do believe in the right to protest, but I also believe in consequences. Each of the participants should receive a failing grade for not having attend the classes they missed. That would have been a lesson few teenagers learn at the proper time in life...do something wrong..pay the price.
These kids have no idea what is going on or what is at stake. I find it amusing that the girl who called for the protest was from a Bergen County School. I would suggest that her potential success in having a good career is much better than the students who left PHS who have failing scores, no real potential for a successful education, and a real threat of working for minimum wage for the rest of their lives.
Good excuse to get out of school and not do any work - which is what they do in school.
Its never too early to learn about the workings of democracy.
The number of people commenting on this who assume the students had no interest in or awareness of the issues involved is really amazing. I'm specifically singling out 8:55am, 10:06am, 11:36am, 11:42am, 5:39pm, 3:33am and 5:19am.
You could be correct, for all I know -- but the blind presumption that they were in it exclusively to ditch class ... wow. Just wow. What exactly is the basis for that reasoning?
There's some serious, serious stereotyping and generalization going on here. In fact, it's enough that, were I a less eumelanin-challenged individual myself, I might be tempted to presume a more problematic reason behind the skepticism from you here in Plainfield.
Final thought: It's a good thing teachers are generally more patient than those of you referenced above. Otherwise, kids would just be pronounced terminally ignorant on sight and no one would bother trying to figure out where their innate talents lie in an effort to educate them.
To Anonymous at 11:01AM -- My...how mighty you must feel wagging your finger from above.
My statements are correct. Had those children done any research they would be protesting the Board of Education, the NJEA and Gallons office. And for you not to see the sense in that, you too are just as ignorant as you claim I and others are calling those children.
If you too feel that Governor Christie is somehow responsible for the situation the school are in you ignorance is a shinning star in the night for those protesters to have followed.
- Cut fat, Cut administrative excess and spend the money on teachers and the kids that is exactly what Governor Christie has said should happen..the local Boards of Education, Administrators and the NJEA don't think it should happen that way.
I suggest you read something other than the NJEA propaganda that the children were told to read.
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