I Believe in Student Voice

Students have an idealism that I believe in. I in fact believe that retaining that youthful idealism is one of my most impactful qualities. So I see a big part of my job as encouraging student voice and action. Last week demonstrated that fact loud and clear in a way that has not been quite so front-and-center in the news in my lifetime. Here is an excerpt from an email I sent to my students:
"Here is an article about the original successful protest at Mizzou: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tim-wolfe-university-missouri-president-says-hes-resigning-amid-racial-n459941

Here is an article on the solidarity being exhibited for Mizzou because of the aftermath of the successful protest: http://mic.com/articles/128316/pray-for-mizzou-starts-trending-as-school-increases-security-amid-campus-threats#.BjXsMF1cg

And here is an article on the protests happening at college campuses across the country: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/us/racial-discrimination-protests-ignite-at-colleges-across-the-us.html" 

These are important stories for students to hear: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/intersection-culture-and-race-in-education/2015/11/teach-your-students-about-mizzou-teach-them-to-speak-up.html. If we want a better future, we can't let the pain of our past get in the way. We need to lift up the positive examples and keep hope alive.