Garfield Students to Walk Out Today in Protest over State Cuts
From the Occupy Your High School Facebook Group:
We are Garfield High School students, speaking on behalf of and with Seattle Public Schools students tired of the constant cuts to our education. We are the people who have been affected most by these cuts, and we are showing that we care. For too long, this state's budget has been balanced on the backs of its students. Apparently, our representatives in Olympia have forgotten that the constitution says that funding education is this state's paramount duty. This is a student voice reminding our legislature of that fact.
And also of this one: We are this country's future. We will vote. And we will hold them accountable.
We will walk out of Garfield High School on Wednesday the 30th of November at 12:30 PM to march to City Hall and tell the world that we are fed up with the lack of funding for education.
We have two primary goals we hope to accomplish:
We want to stop the constant cuts to education that have hurt our school and other schools in the state.. We want to insert a student voice into the political discourse in issues regarding education.
Following are our grievances, things that have already happened as a result of past cuts:.
Students who want full schedules have been denied them due to a lack of teachers. Many seniors were denied a science class due to a complete lack of state science funding.. Academic courses, such as math classes, have been repeatedly cut from our school.. The removal of summer school and night school has removed resources that allowed many students to graduate on time, therefore effectively increasing the amount the state must spend on those students.
Join the movement (Walk Out), spread the word, get active.
Comments
What is this about?
Once your grad requirements are fulfilled, classes go to those who haven't filled those yet. ( freshmen, sophs & jrs)
She could have taken a class she didn't want or need, but she took early dismissal & a TA period instead. ( no study halls)
My daughter who attended private school, had 7 classes every week, no occupational courses required, she was able to take 4 years of lab science, english, foreign language, history, math, art & music all through high school. ( PE credits were fulfilled by after school program/team sport)
Seattle requires only three years of English/Social studies, just two years of math/science/PE and one & half of occ ed plus one year of art/music/drama & 5.5 credits of electives to make up 20 credits.
( Lake Washington requires 22 credits, Bellevue 23.5)
It's become increasingly hard to get all the credits required for a first class college.
And they can't escape to a private school. They can't hire tutors. Or even hire good counselors or mentors to help them through the system.
(Not to mention the fact that many high school counselors actively discourage kids from many courses, ie languages, or put kids in the wrong classes, ie physics when they don't have the math requirements, simply because there is a schedule hole that needs filling. The stories are endliess.)
Class warfare anyone?
-JC.
( Wa requires 19 credits)
Cutting preschool, cutting course retrieval , it seems we are increasing disproportionality, not reducing it.
For example, the senior project requirement. Teachers and all the rest of the staff (even cafeteria workers)at my school spend one entire "professional development" day watching and grading senior projects. There is no other way of meeting this requirement.
( I also don't think other walk outs have been excused- why is this one different?)
G
signed, a parent
So in a World with greatly increased competition among skilled professionals .... does ample provision = "internationally competitive"?
So instead of school day and school year that is internationally competitive .... students are offered more Ed Reform.
The Common Core State Standards are not internationally benchmarked ... and OSPI has no real plans to improve anything....... As in plans intelligently developed from successful practices used by nations that are producing high percentages of skilled professionals.
We have a nation that is short on Nurses.... we have a health care system that needs a lot more doctors.
We are stuck with leadership that ignores the needs of the nation... and in WA State the needs of many.
Look at the MOU of 11-28-2011 .... the SEA leaders are stabbing in the dark.
SEA = Ed Reform cronies.....
WEA pushed for CCSS which diverts $33 million per year away from classrooms for more administrative BS funded through fewer teachers.
http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/occupy-the-capital-schoolteacher-jesse-hagopian-on-his-arrest-education-reform
Wise up and stand up, ye Students
Check out studentsofwashington.blogspot.com