Student Voice Unleashed

We are celebrating the power of student voice!

Download this flyer for more information.

Download the Permission and Release Form here

WHAT

Student voice is absent from the most powerful conversations impacting our students’ futures– conversations and decisions that are designed to create opportunities for all students to be successful. As a result, this project is designed to make public the powerful insights gained from students across the nation and inspire educators to meaningfully seek, involve, and use the incredible knowledge that resides within the students we serve.

So, think about what you would want educators to know about what works and what doesn’t in school – we want educators to know about what helps you learn and what gets in the way. Consider, if it helps, one or more of the following questions:

Talk about what’s important to you – why do you think school is important? What purpose does school hold for you?
If you were the teacher, what would you do to help students be successful in school?
How would you describe being successful in school?
How would you describe your experience with assessments (tests, projects, quizzes, presentations…)?
When do you learn a lot?
When do you learn little or nothing?
Talk about an assessment where you learned a lot and used the information to learn more?
Talk about an assessment where you struggled and didn’t understand the purpose or what you were learning.
Describe a project/unit/lesson where you learned a lot…what was it that helped you learn?
Describe a project/unit/lesson where you learned little or nothing…what was it that got in the way?
When you don’t understand something, what helps you understand? What do you do?
What gets in the way of you being successful?
What have teachers done to help you? Other adults? Other students?
What advice would you give to younger students?
What plans do you have after high school? Who or what helped you make these plans?

Then,

write (essay, story, poem, list, song)
Or draw/paint (picture, cartoon, )
Or record a musical creation – song instrumental or vocal or your thoughts and insights…
Or produce a digital video recording of your thoughts, insights, your friends and you talking about these questions

It doesn’t have to be perfect... just real...

Polish it so it says, feels, sounds the way you want it...

Read the guidelines and then revise if you need to...

Have someone else look at it and talk about it with them...

Do some more polishing...

Submit it...

WHO

Any individual or group of student(s) in grades K-12 on their K-12 experience. We want to hear the good stuff, the hard stuff, the sad stuff, the inspiring stuff, the tragic stuff…it’s gotta be real…

OK... SO WHY DO THIS?

You get to be heard… and it’s going to help the greater good….

And...

The top submission in each age group will receive $100 directly given to the student; $100 is donated to the school or educational group of that student’s choice (or a teacher who inspired them). Age groups are as follows:

K-3
4-6
7-9
10-12

GUIDELINES

Must be original work of a K-12th grader. Only feedback from adults in your life… they can’t write or perform...
Must be how you really feel...
Eliminate all real names from your work... pseudo names only...(except yours)
Give credit to anybody else’s writing that you use in your own writing (don’t plagiarize and let us know whose work you’re quoting or using)

HOW TO SUBMIT

1. Send your entry to Nicole Vagle, 1020 Sapphire Trail, Bogart, GA 30622

NEW! - Submit your work online!

2. Sign the release form and fax or mail it.
Signing this gives Lighthouse Learning Community, Inc. the rights to utilize the creative submissions in future publications.

Student Work will be accepted through October 2009. Participants will be contacted by Late Fall 2009 for status on their submission.

If you would like more information, please contact Nicole at Lighthouse Learning Community, Inc.