This is about our education; this is about our future. Every day, lawmakers are discussing the well-being of our education but are not inviting us to the conversation. Having us at the table is not only a moral imperative, but also a necessity that is often overlooked by decision-makers.
Moments of great debate serve as catalysts for future progress. However, it is very common for the needs and concerns of students to be neglected in conversations about educational reform. Yet who better to speak to the merits — or demerits — of the educational system than the ones who are representations of the system's success or failure?
Students know best what tools they require to learn effectively. It is the students who can best address the hardships that many of them face due to the growing necessity for higher education and the huge price tag that comes along with it; it is the students who can best address how the shutting down and reopening of so-called "turnaround" schools affects their lives; and it is the students who can best address what motivates them to remain in school or end to their education by dropping out.
Why is student input not regularly sought out? Educators and lawmakers generally lack trust in students' maturity and ability to understand exactly what is best for them when it comes to their own education. Our knowledge of topics related to education policy is also often questioned. However, there is still no excuse for discussion regarding change in any system of education to not include input directly from students. In addition, there are many examples of successful student involvement.
In several school districts, there are now non-voting spots for students on their boards of education. At community colleges, students serve on the boards of trustees. Thanks to our predecessors in the Student Assembly of the State University of New York in the 1970s, students have a voting member of the State University board of trustees, the only voting member not appointed by the governor.
Strides have certainly been made, but there is still far more to be done. The recent establishment of New York's Education Reform Commission without a student member is a prime example of how policymakers are going about evaluating ways to improve our education system without engaging the central stakeholders. While progress has been made to allow students to speak with members of the commission, this is a second-rate alternative to allowing students a seat at the table.
What educators and lawmakers often fail to recognize is that students do have a lot to share, however, we hardly ever have the luxury of expressing our opinions the way that policy makers do. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently said, "Students know what's working and not working in schools before anyone else." It is great that he understands that, but it he would better if he and other policymakers would act upon this understanding.
Students are the primary stakeholders in education — something too often forgotten today — and we must emphasize the significance of getting their voices heard. Diane Ravitch, an education historian, says it best: "When the student voice awakens, the national conversation will change." Students will have a major impact on their education if only given the opportunity to do so.
Kevin Rea is president of the SUNY Student Assembly and a graduate student at Maritime College. Zak Malamed will be attending the University of Maryland, College Park, and is organizer of the #StuVoice Twitter chats and StuVoice.org, which focus on uniting student voices.