Why I Told My Daughter She Could Not Participate in a Student Walk-Out

Before you make any judgments about me blindly supporting the Jefferson County School Board, hear me out.  I am quite disappointed in their inability to communicate effectively, at times making statements that seem to be uninformed about specific issues.  My goal here is not to make a statement about whether the board or the teachers is right.  These reasons are non-political.

• She is the kid and I am the parent.  I believe that one of my jobs as a parent is to make sure my daughter gets the education I thin she needs, not the education the government, the teachers, the bureaucracy, or any other group of people thinks she needs.  As a result, it is my job to be concerned about the curriculum, not hers.  If it gets to the point where I am concerned about a curriculum move by the district or her school, I will fight that fight.  That doesn't mean that she would not have a role in that, but it does mean that I believe it is my job to minimize her role.  
• Missing school does more harm than good.  Some might argue that participating in civil disobedience is learning, but in most cases, I firmly disagree.  Missing Chemistry, Spanish, and whatever else puts her behind in those classes.  While there may be some instances where I would change my tune, the recent non-decision by the school board certainly does not rise to that level.  Since they have taken no action, walk outs are a huge over-reaction.
• Most of the time you can get more done by working in the system.  Walking out of school is rebelling against the system.  Sometimes this is the right thing to do, but not before the system has been given a chance to work.  Here are a few things that could be done to work within the system:  pass around a petition and then attend a school board meeting and give it to the school board, write letters to the school board members, work harder to get them voted out when election time comes, etc.  Civil disobedience is a last resort second only to revolution.
• She hasn't done the research, and quite frankly she doesn't have time to do it.  I would argue that most parents and even teachers haven't taken the time to read the resolution that was presented, the press release given by Julie Williams, or read the College Board framework.  My daughter certainly hasn't, she only knows what I have told her.  If she is going to protest, she has to do the research first.
• She is not a pawn and I will not allow her to be used as one if I can help it.  Kids are walking out because adults have inappropriately stirred the pot.  I am not suggesting they don't think or aren't capable of being concerned about such things.  I am suggesting that if some parents and some teachers were not planting the seed, the vast majority of them would be more concerned about getting an iPhone 6, the latest video game, or the upcoming dance than they are about what happens at a school board meeting.  Adults should not be using kids as pawns to fight this fight.
• Peer pressure.  At the moment, many students are walking out and many of them are doing it because their friends are doing it and they don't want to be the only kid left in class.  Walking out when your friends are doing it is easy, it is going with the flow.  I don't EVER want her to do something because it is the path of least resistance.  I want her to do things because they are the right thing to do.  Given the above reasons and more that are not listed here, the right thing for he to do is stay in class and learn.

Fortunately, the walk out has not reached her school in any significant way (although there have been some students who wanted to participate).