We don’t get a say. 

We don’t have a voice. 

As a student, I feel overlooked and left out of the decisions that directly affect me. Don’t you?

This year, I’ll be tackling the issues, policies and decisions that directly affect us as students, yet left us out of the process.

It feels like more and more of our freedoms to express ourselves are being taken away. 

Learning to have a voice is vital at our age, so we can know how to stand up for ourselves in the future. I used to be super shy, but now I am shouting for a change. Knowing that I am allowed to discuss decisions being made that involve me is so valuable. 

I keep hearing administrators say Oh, we want the students to have a say. Well, why don’t we have one, then?

The Wi-Fi being turned off is a perfect example. I found out it was going to be shut off from another student the week prior. The fact that we weren’t going to be formally told upset me more than the Wi-Fi being turned off. 

We use the Wi-Fi the most, so why didn’t we get any notice or input in that decision. 

We are teens growing up in a new decade where we are constantly hearing and seeing information in front of us and online. We have to learn how to navigate this new online platform. 

Instead of taking away the Wi-Fi, teach us how to navigate it the right way so we make the right choices.  

We have this idea pressed upon us that we are students, so we aren’t allowed to have a say, but we deserve a voice. 

The decisions the school officials make affect us. They involve us. 

We are the ones learning, so we should be allowed to give our opinion about decisions affecting our education. The idea of allowing student input and voice is met with so much positivity from education groups like Education Reimagined.

It teaches us to stand up for what we believe is right or wrong.

Including our voice can create a much happier and healthier environment where we are able to work together. Instead, we are finding our own ways to challenge the decisions we don’t agree with. 

How are we supposed to grow and express ourselves if we aren’t allowed to try. How are we supposed to learn to speak up when we get left out of decisions. Giving us a voice allows us to change our mindset and fight for our beliefs.  

Not allowing us a voice teaches us that we are helpless in deciding what goes on around us.

Taking guest Wi-Fi away stopped us for not even 24 hours. We found the Staff Wi-Fi password by the next morning. We are finding ways to work around this problem. 

We are smart, let us shout for a say.

Got an issue you want me to explore? Contact me at [email protected]. I’ll be your voice.