{"id":7035,"date":"2018-12-11T08:47:59","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T13:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=7035"},"modified":"2018-12-04T14:22:54","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T19:22:54","slug":"december-16-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/december-16-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"December 16, 2018–Standing By and Standing Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Baglyos, Baltimore, MD<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

When does standing by require standing up?<\/p>\n

Standing By and Standing Up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Montgomery County, Maryland is considering a revamped proposal to allow public high school students to take as many as three excused absences a year to participate in political protests and other forms of \u201ccivic engagement\u201d during the school day.\u00a0 This would allow students to take part in marches, protests, lobbying, and other acts of political action.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Students feel that many current issues affect them and that students shouldn\u2019t be punished with an unexcused absence for taking part in demonstrations so directly connected to issues affecting their lives.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re taught about how important it is to be engaged in our world and community, and to be aware of what\u2019s going on and to be a responsible participant in the democratic process,\u201d said Ananya Tadikonda, 17, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School and the student representative on the Montgomery County Board of Education. \u201cThis proposal gives students an opportunity to exercise civic responsibility without being penalized for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it was introduced in September, the proposal required parental consent, the approval of the school principal and permission from the organization sponsoring the political activity or protest.\u00a0 Excused absences would not be approved for spontaneous walkouts or protests. Students who leave campus without receiving approval would not receive an excused absence.\u00a0 The final version of the proposal is still being drafted.<\/p>\n

Public reaction to the proposal has been mixed.\u00a0 Critics agree that students should have an opportunity to express their concerns, lest students feel their voices do not matter.\u00a0 But they \u00a0express concern that students would be missing out on valuable school time and disrupting the school day.\u00a0 \u201cYou are sending a message to the MCPS community that student protesting is more important than them being at school engaged in learning,\u201d one commentator wrote.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n