High school students planning to protest cuts, teacher layoffs

Taking a cue from their peers in New Jersey, New York City high school students are planning to boycott school next Wednesday in protest of budget cuts and looming teacher layoffs.

Plans to stage a walkout (read a history of student walkouts) began with a high school sophomore who realized that her school’s newest teachers — and in her opinion, the most effective — could be laid off. Add that to classes packed with 35 students, not enough textbooks, and no air conditioning, and you have the catalyst for a Facebook group: New York City Public High School Walk Out!

Almost 3,000 students have said they plan to walk out of their high schools at 10 a.m. and stage a protest in Union Square. The boycott’s organizer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of angering her school’s administration, said some teachers had advised her to cancel the protest.

“It’s mainly the teachers with seniority that will stay in the schools,” she said. “The younger ones are all like, ‘Do it, do it.'”

Check out the group’s comments section, where you’ll see every possible reaction a student could have to the suggestion that he or she skip a few hours of school. I have finals, says one student, “and this will most likely do nothing.”

“Guys seriously we have to let ourselves be heard,” counters another student. “It might not seem worth it but dont complain later on about the conditions if your not willing to do anything about it.”

Other comments taken from Facebook: