The "Studies" Buddy

occupyedu:

(via Occupy High: A Protest of Education Funding Cuts (Guest Post by Kalila Bohsali) « Cooperative Catalyst)

Everyone has heard about the Occupy Wall St. movement and its spread to involve most major cities and small towns of the U.S. All of this talk about revolution and corporate take down has stirred the hearts of activists internationally, sparking the hearts of thousands of people, but what does it have to do with education? What has the Occupy movement said about our education besides asking for college to be free? It is time that education joins the occupy movement and for these institutions we call “school” to  be radically changed.

There is one question we can all ask ourselves; How important is education to you?

It’s something we all experience during our lives, and your schooling, whether you liked it or not, is something that has shaped the person you are today. It’s a tool of change and it has turned into a challenge of endurance. Knowing that you have to wake up every day and drag yourself to a fluorescent-lighted building to sit awake through the same monotonous schedule day after day. Go home and force yourself to do the allotted homework, go to sleep and awake to do the whole thing over again, five days a week is a mental climb of perseverance.

School should be a place of self-realization and learning, not a place of struggle. It should be self motivated and specifically tailored to fit the students’ needs. It shouldn’t be boring or impossible to keep up with, it should be stimulating. It should have classes that you have to push to keep up with and others that are enjoyable and fun.

With the continual budget cuts imposed by governors and politicians nationwide, schools are going to have to continue to cut the programs that really matter to us students: the classes and electives we enjoy and that help produce our intellectual, artistic growth; the classes that actually prepare us for our lives.

It’s time that we show the people who make laws about our education that we take it more seriously. That’s why we, as high school students, are fed up with the current educational regime. We’ve decided to take a stand and show that we truly care about our education and where it takes us.

Occupy High is a movement we have created to illustrate this. It’s a voluntary Saturday school/ study hall to show the people in charge of our future, to take our needs and our voices into consideration. It involves classes taught by experts ranging from photographer to poets to chefs, that are open to all ages. as well as a class every week taught by a fellow student of Vista Grande. It will be place to catch up on school-work. A place where the student can become the teacher and community can come together to learn from each other every Saturday.

We are standing up for what we believe is important in our lives and we encourage schools nation-wide to follow suit. Like our page on Facebook and tell us what you feel about our movement. All suggestions are welcome and all support helps, no matter how small.