We want justice. If we don’t get it, shut it down!” a group of about
200 students shouted on Boston Common yesterday.
Here’s my advice to them: Grow up and get back to class.
Boston Public School students who ditched class to protest
President-elect Trump should face harsh disciplinary action from
administrators.
Maybe school officials should have done a better job shutting down
this rally in its tracks.
Parents received a robo call from school officials saying, “BPS
believes in the importance of student voice and advocacy. However, we
strongly discourage students from missing classroom time. Students who
miss classroom time will be marked absent for missed classes.”
Superintendent Tommy Chang needs to send a stronger message to the
students that protesting should not take place during school hours, or
there will be serious consequences.
Maybe these social justice warriors should be given 20 hours of
community service that they have to complete over the next three
Saturdays as punishment for walking out of school.
As a mom and taxpayer in Boston, I find it worrisome to see youngsters
sacrificing their education to protest someone who hasn’t even taken
office yet.
These kids are demanding that state and local officials stand up to
Trump. Maybe their parents could get them a subscription to the Boston
Herald because then they might realize that our Republican governor
didn’t even vote for Trump.
What’s more, a majority of elected officials in Massachusetts have
promised to take on Trump. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has made it her
full-time job.
I can appreciate families fearful of what a Trump presidency might
look like but parents need to empower their children to use their
voices in a more effective way. Walking out of class is not only a
colossal waste of tax dollars as teachers sit in vacant classrooms,
but it accomplishes nothing, except maybe to make the kids feel good.
Mayor Marty Walsh asked the kids to stay in school and instead
encouraged a more productive approach that he would gladly take part
in. They should have taken him up on that.
Teachers have a responsibility here as well. Why haven’t they taught
these kids the difference between an effective protest — such for
civil rights and against the Vietnam War — and a meaningless one like
this.
Until Donald Trump becomes our president, teenagers should focus on
what they can control — their grades and attendance.
Jaclyn Cashman cohosts “Morning Meeting” from 9am to noon on Boston
Herald Radio. Follow her on twitter at @JaclynCashman.
Copyright © 2024 Jaclyn Cashman.
