We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all individuals, no matter age, race, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation, are granted certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, democratic governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
If a democratic government is one by the people, for the people, then democratic education should be one by the students, for the students. Schools, indeed, are places of learning, undertaken by the student. When the student has no power to influence decision, then he is rendered a majority ruled by the minority. By definition, such concentration of power, and lack of self-determination thereof, renders the democratic education non-existent; instead erecting a bureaucratic oligarchy, and intrusion on the enumerated right of Canadians to have the right to a democratic form of government. In all respects, the school board and respective administrations become the microcosmic representation of government.
Students are often disregarded as equal members of society. The inherent truisms which grant inalienable rights and liberties should be applied across the board, regardless the age, race, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation of persons. We no longer live within the bounds of archaic thought, which dictates that there exists first-rate and second-rate citizens. The established precedent for Civil Rights legislation and judicial endorsement of civil liberties affirms our belief that all men, women, and children, receive equal protection under the law.
We see as inherent those rights and liberties found in the freedom of speech and press, the freedom of religion, the freedom of assembly, the right of privacy, the right of procedural due process, and all other enumerated rights of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Should the basic rights of students be infringed upon, then it is the right of the students, it is our duty, to reevaluate the institution of education, and check the powers of arbitrary despotism. It is indeed our duty to ensure that the enlightened values of democracy, upon which this great nation was built, be not engulfed by such bureaucratic and authoritarian values. Let the foundations of this nation, where the voice of the people is heard, ring loud and true.
On the one hand, the Ministry of Education wishes to help the students become productive adults; mature citizens able to make the best decisions for the best outcome of our nation. When students turn 18, we are expected to file our first tax return reports, and make wise decisions with our ballot. We are expected to demonstrate involvement and not apathy towards society.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Education refuses to treat students with the respect and trust prescribed to responsible adults. We are not given the chance to make any decisions which would make a significant impact in effecting change. Even the student government, which is supposed to emulate government, is not given any legislative powers; except the power to decorate for dances, and the power to adhere to administration.
The school is essentially a microcosm for the greater community in which we live. Like the greater community in which we live, there is the government, and there is the governed. The government consists of teachers and administration, while the students are collectively known as the governed. Let it be known that we do not wish to argue the importance of such government. Without it, the schools could never function. However, we believe that a moderation is needed; in that we the students must be allowed to take a larger and more active role in the decision-making of our education.
How can we be expected to make the right decisions for the future of our nation when we have never been taught to do so? In fact, we have been taught to bow down to administration and teachers, and to never question the decisions of such figures of authority. Many students believe that teachers are always right, which can be attributed to the suspensions and other punitive measures handed out to students who dare challenge that authority. As some students have had the misfortune to hear, the principle's decision is an “executive-order” and it is “final.”
After having suffered through the trials and tribulations of such a system, can we still be expected to uphold the democratic traditions of our country, and be believers of equality throughout? Once such ideals of obedience and conformity are ingrained into our ideologies, it is extremely hard to get rid of. Then, contrary to popular belief, the lack of voter turnout at elections may not be due to ethnic loyalties, immigrant groups, or apathy, but simply that students who have now become “adults,” are unsure of how to act. There was simply no precedent. Why should one who has spent much of his life believing that his words and actions can effect no change to one institution, exhaust the time and energy to effect change to another institution, which he sees as simply a parallel to the afore-mentioned institution?
