So kids in my district are organizing a walkout tomorrow. The district, however, are being Huge Assholes about it, and threatening all kinds of punishments if they go through with it. And as faculty, we've been told that we cannot say anything to the students on the topic aside from: "Our focus is on teaching and learning, if you have questions, talk to an admin."
Anyway. Several kids wanted to talk to me about the walkout yesterday afternoon. Didn't say anything. Just gave them the I Can't Say Anything And You Know Why look. One of them was like, "Don't worry, Ms. S. We got you."
And then today? They came back. WITH FUCKING PAPERWORK. Those beautiful darlings went to the city clerk's office and got a protest permit for the park down the road and they're organizing a protest after school, they've coordinated with a local immigrant rights group, they have police permission, and they've notified the school district that all the paperwork is filed, legal, and in order. District said: no walkout, or we'll suspend you, take your parking, kick you off of sports teams. Kids said: sure, fine. Be that way, jerks. Let's make this a whole-ass community thing and go loud.
I'm so impressed. And one of them was like, "We were talking about it, wanted to organize a protest, and we remembered how you said in class that most substantive democratic states there are still requirements to register large protests, so we looked up how to file for a permit. We're not giving them a reason to say we didn't do it right," and I wanted to fucking cry.
I don't teach US Government. I teach a Comparative Government class. I said that stuff about permits and protests about the UK back in, like, September. But they remembered and connected it to the world around them and they USED it, and I'm just so fucking proud of them.