Student Voice

I surveyed my students by first discussing the concept of voice with them as a group and them giving them a survey to take home.  In the discussion, I made sure they understood that I wanted honest, thoughtful answers. I was fearful of getting either "this is what she wants to hear" responses or knee jerk complaints.  The students could respond to my questions in any way they chose: through an email to me, a written journal, or on our class blog.  Most students chose the journal and a couple emailed me. 

In my class specifically, students feel that they have a voice and that their opinions are valued.  

• We definitely have a voice in your classroom...you actually listen to our opinions.
• Some teachers are more willing to listen, but not give advice.  Some teachers will listen, and proceed to force feed their opinion down my throat.  You on the other hand actually listen and give advice that is helpful and that I can use.  
• I love your class because I can be my absolute self at all times and I feel no pressure to pretend to be something I'm not.  The classroom is such a relaxed environment. 
• When I walk into your class, it feels so much more comfortable because I know that I can be myself.  I think this shows how it can affect learning.  If you're comfortable, you aren't stressed, and if you're not stressed, you can focus and learn better.

The parts about my classroom made me happy, of course, but I was more interested in some of the other things they wrote about.  With just a couple exceptions, the students conveyed that they felt they had very little voice at the school level and with the administrators at North Marion:

• We're treated as little kids, and thus they feel we don't know anything.
• I do not feel that I can speak freely to administrators and be taken seriously.
• I feel like I can speak freely to administrators about issues in our building but I don't think they take students opinions into consideration when making decisions.
• This high school, I feel, looks at my peers and I as children, although I'm technically, and legally, an adult.  So, anything that we have a say in, I think they just brush off, or put in little effort into what I'm asking/inquiring about.
• In my respectful opinion, I feel that in school for me it is almost like being a ghost.  The most difficult thing for me to do is just to get the attention of an administrator.

Two students, though, discussed specific incidents in which they had to approach an administrator for help and had very favorable outcomes:

• Because we went to an administrator (in this situation), this won't happen next year.  That shows how much the administrators do car, and that made me want to try harder and be a better student for them.
• When having a problem with a teacher, my classmates and I felt comfortable approaching one of the administrators for advice, and he sat and listened to us and then followed up with us after he checked it out.
• I believe the students have a lot of control.  For example, during the sports seasons, if the student body wants to have a thuse to celebrate a team's achievements, we get to do that.

Students also addressed the institution of education rather than voice at the school or classroom level:

• It would be nice if our school and other institutions viewed us as adults more because some of us legally are....We are the next generation.
• I don't feel I have much voice in my own education or learning process.
• I feel like our education is very controlled and we cannot learn the things that we want and need to learn.  If we had a voice, we could change that....Yes there should be educational standards, but there is very little room to fit the credits that we actually want into our schedule.

Finally, I thought the students' perceptions of how having a voice affects their learning was interesting:

• When teachers care (by listening and allowing student voice), we care.  It shows respect....So, if you listen to us, we will listen to you.  And we'll learn more.
• I feel the learning process would improve if students had more voice.  People need to be heard, understood, and valued.  The school should treat us like we are people, not just pupils.
• I feel that student voice affects my learning capabilities a lot....last year, I felt that one of my teachers looked at us as children.  She threw work at us and didn't care what we had to say.  Although I made an A in the class, it was completely unenjoyable and I didn't learn much.