This book has brought an awareness to me about the frequency of high schools in American history. In our country's past and present, high school campuses and their respective students have acted as and inspired agents of change through both triumphs and tragedies. As we have read, whether they want to be included in the history books of America and how they will be represented is not necessarily presented as an option.
Members of the Little Rock Nine being escorted to school (1957).
What is it about the setting of a high school that draws this energy and attention? High school scenes of violence, trauma, discrimination, bullying, harassment and subsequent awareness, protests, and debates have made it into the nightly news throughout my entire life. Just today there was a school shooting in Ohio that has left at least one person dead. When I read the news article I thought immediately of the Columbine shooting that happened over a decade ago and the changes in our society that resulted. It also served as an unfortunate reminder of how much has remained the same.
Time Magazine's report of the Columbine Massacre in Littleton, Colorado (1999).
Public high schools are a place that bring together people from different classes, races, religions and sexual orientations. Meanwhile, teenagers are developing their identities and beliefs as they creep towards adulthood with each passing day. The typical American public high school serves as a microcosm towards our society at large, with societal issues coming to a front with full force each and every day. Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (Tatum) touches on this idea in the very title of the book.
Protests after the arrests of 6 Black Students in Jena, L.A. (2006)
What is it about high school's that garner our attention versus any other setting? People are killed, discriminated against and bullied outside of this setting everyday. When injustice and violence reach our youth in a safe place dedicated to growing and learning, our society begins to listen. Often times, as with today's school shooting, it is too late. Has our society become deaf? Have we grown accustomed to these tragedies and injustices so that we no longer even see them?
Watch as Morgan Freeman drops some knowledge on Charleston High School students as he explains why they should have a desegregated prom. (2008)
I feel that high schools have come to serve as a popular magnifying
glass of sorts on the issues of America. A peek into what is 'right' and
'wrong' with our society. Individual stories that serve as a
representation of an entire communities struggles or triumphs that often fit nicely into the evening news or make an interesting documentary film. How much is being presented to us? Which sides are we hearing?
Constance McMillen sued her Mississippi school district for not being
allowed to wear a tuxedo and bring her girlfriend to prom, (2010).
Little Rock Central High School now serves as a symbol of the Civil Rights
Movement and is a prominent part of America's history books. Does
that mean discrimination no longer exists in it's hallways,
administration and community? Does that mean discrimination is no longer
a part of America's educational system? Today's high school communities are continuing to answer these questions.
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