Ask a student: What would you change?

I have been thinking a lot about our high school students this past week. In fact, after learning - while setting up to screen the film Race to Nowhere - that a local high school sophomore had taken his own life, I have not been able to think about much else. That 16-year old boy, Patrick James Turner, left behind letters that name the pressure of school as the sole reason for his tragic choice and that urge us all to make changes in our educational system.

It is my belief that our adolescents are not only under excessive pressure about their futures but that they are also vastly underestimated in the present. I want to support changes in our educational system and I want to start by hearing directly from the students themselves. Let's give them opportunities to express themselves, in emotionally safe environments that support authenticity. Let's give them time each day to get to know themselves better, to discover and pursue their own passions. Let's trust them to make real contributions to our world, not some day in the future, but right now.

Start by asking a simple question. The next time you talk to a student, ask them: What would you change? #makechanges #beyondmeasure #authenticity #purpose #endtheracetonowhere