Advisory Board: The Power of student voices
by david holmquist
We hear them in classrooms, in the lunchroom, in the halls. We hear them in the stands and on the stage and on the field.
On March 14, we heard them in the street.
Student voices.
On that day, 481 Craig students joined students across Rock County and students all over the nation to use their voices--silent voices, crying voices, passionate voices--to express both their empathy for the 17 victims of the Feb. 14 school shooting in Florida and their indignation for the continued gun violence in our society.
The adults in their lives--parents, teachers, coaches, store managers, school board representatives, politicians--need to hear them and not to dismiss them, as some on social media have done.
Our young people have opinions that we adults should heed.
Indeed, the past few weeks have seen an uptick in student voices.
The show choir concluded another successful season on the same day as the walkout. They lifted their voices through song and dance, showing joy and skill.
The walkout voiced a message that our students care about their world, and the talented show choir demonstrated through their voices that music can bring joy and unity and meaning to our world.
On Mar. 15, student voices were heard again, this time at the Drama Guild’s performance of two plays, written by members Deborah Tearman (11) and Madalyn Thompson (11).
These playwrights also directed and staged their creations, one a touching story of love between elderly residents of a nursing home, and the other a suspenseful historical drama about the murderous H.H. Holmes.
The performers delivered their lines with meaning, and the stage and lighting crews provided the atmosphere.
In lifting their voices, these students demonstrated their creativity and genius. Their work contributes to our understanding of the world by showing us that love can still thrive even in old age and that acts of evil are nothing new.
The choirs, band, and orchestra lifted their voices in song at their recent concerts, performing with precision.
Our students demonstrate their voices in other ways, from showing their prowess on the wrestling mat to their puck-handling skills on the rink.
They use their voice to create colorful and meaningful works of art that express their identities and their worldviews.
They raise their voices as members of student council or National Honor Society or Circles of Support or FFA.
Their voices are heard in the whirr of table saws, the clang of hammers, the hum of arc welders.
They literally demonstrate their voices by performing pieces as members of the forensics team.
Craig’s students lift their voices every day.
They demonstrate their talents, their skills, their passions, their ideas, their creativity.
But most of all, their voices prove that they are young adults whose ideas are worth listening to and whose opinions matter.
As the song line says, “The children are our future.”
This is no cliche. It is a fact.
The student walkout was the latest demonstration of that power and influence, and our young people are shining a bright light on the future.
These students, the future leaders of our nation, expressed a message that we adults and our elected representatives need to hear. It is a message that urges us to have empathy for slaughtered innocents, yes, but more importantly, that we make the hard decisions to do what is right to prevent horrible crimes like the one Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School from happening.
On March 14, we heard them in the street.
Student voices.
On that day, 481 Craig students joined students across Rock County and students all over the nation to use their voices--silent voices, crying voices, passionate voices--to express both their empathy for the 17 victims of the Feb. 14 school shooting in Florida and their indignation for the continued gun violence in our society.
The adults in their lives--parents, teachers, coaches, store managers, school board representatives, politicians--need to hear them and not to dismiss them, as some on social media have done.
Our young people have opinions that we adults should heed.
Indeed, the past few weeks have seen an uptick in student voices.
The show choir concluded another successful season on the same day as the walkout. They lifted their voices through song and dance, showing joy and skill.
The walkout voiced a message that our students care about their world, and the talented show choir demonstrated through their voices that music can bring joy and unity and meaning to our world.
On Mar. 15, student voices were heard again, this time at the Drama Guild’s performance of two plays, written by members Deborah Tearman (11) and Madalyn Thompson (11).
These playwrights also directed and staged their creations, one a touching story of love between elderly residents of a nursing home, and the other a suspenseful historical drama about the murderous H.H. Holmes.
The performers delivered their lines with meaning, and the stage and lighting crews provided the atmosphere.
In lifting their voices, these students demonstrated their creativity and genius. Their work contributes to our understanding of the world by showing us that love can still thrive even in old age and that acts of evil are nothing new.
The choirs, band, and orchestra lifted their voices in song at their recent concerts, performing with precision.
Our students demonstrate their voices in other ways, from showing their prowess on the wrestling mat to their puck-handling skills on the rink.
They use their voice to create colorful and meaningful works of art that express their identities and their worldviews.
They raise their voices as members of student council or National Honor Society or Circles of Support or FFA.
Their voices are heard in the whirr of table saws, the clang of hammers, the hum of arc welders.
They literally demonstrate their voices by performing pieces as members of the forensics team.
Craig’s students lift their voices every day.
They demonstrate their talents, their skills, their passions, their ideas, their creativity.
But most of all, their voices prove that they are young adults whose ideas are worth listening to and whose opinions matter.
As the song line says, “The children are our future.”
This is no cliche. It is a fact.
The student walkout was the latest demonstration of that power and influence, and our young people are shining a bright light on the future.
These students, the future leaders of our nation, expressed a message that we adults and our elected representatives need to hear. It is a message that urges us to have empathy for slaughtered innocents, yes, but more importantly, that we make the hard decisions to do what is right to prevent horrible crimes like the one Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School from happening.