Going through hig hschool remains a difficult experience with college applications to be sent and AP classes to do. High school can become much more difficult, however, when students feel that they can't trust their own administration to step in. So students made their voices heard in another way.
An Instagram page titled Dear AFHS, created in July of 2020 has become a place where students feel free to air their hardships and experiences at the school. Many of the issues had been brought to the administration already, only to fall on deaf ears. The page deals with rather heavy subjects sometimes, including racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and depression. Every story on the page appears anonymously with the photo following it suggesting to the administration how they could have handled the situation better.
One student wrote, "I've had multiple guys continuously ask what's in my pants....I've also had experiences with two other guys who just said the f slur over and over to each other. I repeatedly told them to stop and they didn't. I had to get the teacher who just moved them to opposite sides of the room." The student wished to remain anonymous. Stories like this continue to be widespread at AFHS, especially from marginalized groups such as students of color and those belonging to the LGBT+ community.
When asked if they would like to be interviewed, Dear AFHS remained more than happy to accept the invitation, answering questions to the best of their ability. They wished to remain anonymous so as not to add bias to the stories they post. When asked what shocked them the most about running a page based around such sensitive stories, the response regarded the lack of sensitivity from other students. They said, " I've been shocked by the amount of submissions completely missing the point of the account or mocking the stories being submitted. The ignorance is even more impactful when you have to read other genuine stories right after."
When asked what they hoped to achieve by running this page, they had this to say, "The ultimate goal is to make a safe/nurturing environment for everyone at AFHS, but in reality that's going to take years of work involving more than this account. It serves as a platform for students to share their truth without fear and then demand change. Through that we hope that admins recognize what they're failing to do." From the time of writing, Dear AFHS has not been contacted by school officials in any way, though a teacher has plans to inform the Equity and Diversity team. The students behind the page find it essential that administrators see this page and understand how their students feel about not only the school but those in charge of running it.
Many of the stories have to do with teacher reactions, or what teachers themselves have said or done that made students feel uncomfortable. In the past, AFHS ran a Student Equity board, which I,as an LGBT+ student, had the privilege of being on, but it didn't change much. On the student equity board we made teachers and students more aware of the struggles and oppression different groups of students faced. If teachers or administrators wanted to let our words be ignored, they had that opportunity in that forum. Having a page like Dear AFHS continues to be different than a student board. Dear AFHS at the time of writing has 56 posts relating to student stories and experiences, and that number will probably increase through the school years. Having all of these loaded stories in one place for administrators to read should be a good way of making them aware of how the students feel, and creates a place for student voices to be heard.
As a student at AFHS, I feel the importance for students to make their voices heard should be emphasized-I have experiences that have not been positive with the administrators here as well. Now a place exists for our voices as students to be heard. Anyone with a story can post it to tinyurl.com/dearafhs or message them directly off their instagram @dearafhs. Those working on the page had one last message they wanted to share with readers. "Teachers, you're the ones educating these students. These individuals are coming into highschool one person and then leaving another. You're in control of your classroom and the environment you create. Within your career you're going to have thousands of teenagers at your attention, listening to what you say and watching what you do. The students in your class will grow up to be leaders, influencers, teachers, artists, fathers, mothers.
You don't have to instill every life lesson and belief into each student. We all remember small moments where teachers have impacted us. That could be a few moments where they open up and show genuine care, or they could be moments where they overlook a cry for help. If every teacher showed empathy and tried guiding students on the right path, we wouldn't have so many tear stained experiences.
There's no excuse as to why you can't educate yourself on what students are going through and how you can change. If it's 1 or 2,500 students it's worth having that uncomfortable talk, it's worth putting up those posters in your classrooms, it's worth adding an extra segment to your lesson.
There have been too many silent moments to have one of the few cries to be swept under and ignored.
Teachers, what you say and do could speak happier lifetimes into existence, saying nothing allows the destructive to be heard; know the worth of your words."
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