Free Space For All by Madelyn

Free Space For All by Madelyn - September 2023 Scholarship Essay

Being able to feel connected and part of your education is integral for achievement. So many students come to school, sit quietly in the back of the classroom, turn in assignments but don't truly engage in the academics or other discourse throughout their day. This can be for a variety of reasons; loss of interest, fear of rejection from peers, or even fear of retaliation from the school administration. When we emerge as graduates, we are expected to fight for change- but has our educational system even prepared us for that?
In order to combat the loss of interest, I would love to start a chain reaction program at my school where students are encouraged to study what interests them in a meaningful way, form groups and cadres to help elicit changes and then speak up for what they want to see in their school. By forming cadres, peer acceptance can be achieved.
When all students in a school feel connected, we will see a decrease in school violence and an increase in graduation rates and community engagement. To truly feel connected, school administration has to be on board with this system- students can not fear retaliation for speaking up for the changes they want to see in their school.