A real Education: Walkout in EastBay

I am a High School history teacher who was incredibly impressed by what I saw today. Today students across the East Bay and across the world demonstrated on their own and shared their unique voice. There was very little involvement, or should I say control, from adults. In fact, many of the students went despite severe threats or harrassment by their school administrators. About a dozen students at our small school walked out at noon and wandered the streets of Berkeley for an hour. Though we were a small group the energy of these youth was astounding and received an enthusiastic response from cars and bystanders. There were other small to medium-sized groups of students walking around with just as much energy, sometimes linking up and sometimes just passing by. Eventually we headed downtown to Oakland City Hall for a scheduled rally. There weren't many people there initially but a large crowd came in soon, a few hundred in all. Throughout the day we encountered students from Oakland High, Oakland Tech, McClymonds High, Castlemont High, Bishop O'Dowd (all in Oakland), Berkeley High, Arrowsmith Academy, M.L.K. Jr. High, Willard Jr. High (all in Berkeley), Albany High, and El Cerrito High, as well as many others that I didn't hear about. There was a microphone set up and a young woman was inviting anyone up to speak (she was great in the way she kept things moving in that special blunt way that youth can have). Most of the speakers clearly didn't have anything prepared and it was probably their first opportunity to speak in front of a crowd. Their statements were strong and spontaneous. Many made links between the education budget and the military budget, as well as sympathy for their peers in a faraway country who were about to be under the bombs. It was highly empowering for the students to have a chance to speak out and see that they could create this event and make it happen in a big way. I continue to be impressed by the youth and am confident in the foundations they are laying.