They do not speak for us all.

COMPLETELY agreed.

Mr. Luna's *Bills.

Typo.

"They have a right to protest" I have to disagree with what ever teacher made that statement. Those that attend school might have the privledge to protest but not the RIGHT. Rights like this are earned by the parents that make huge sacrifices for their children to have a better life than they did. I do applaud you and the others that stayed in school and actually earned a portion of their education. I also agree that this protest would have been better received if it was better organized and done outside of school hours. Many times the younger generation wants to to be treated like adults. Well if adults walked out of work guess what would more than likely happen to them? One word "FIRED". Yes you do deserve to speak your mind but not in the manner that was selected today. I agree that these bills have many flaws that need addressed but the mthod chosen today did not help in that battle.

Old guy- I completely agree with you. There were far better protest options that did not include walking out of class, which completely negated the "save our education" point.

I must suffer on in this unfair stereotype of a non-voter non-taxpayer (I haven't got enough hours to file taxes) for the next year. I envy you Melodie. But you're right. They don't speak for us all. I wish people would recognize that. It's like the unfair stereotypes put on Christians or women. They're not all protestors at military funerals or bad drivers, but they're perceived that way because of the ignorance of a few people within that group.

I, as an older one, have tried not to stereotype anyone younger than me. I do have an issue when those younger than me want to be treated like adults but only when it suits them. If you want to play adult 24/7/365 then pay the piper errr taxman like the rest of us. I am retired military and guess what happened to me this past check? Yep, my taxes went up and my take home pay went down tremendously. All I ask for is that my taxes are well spent and those that reap the benefits of my service do so in a manner of respect. From what I have seen and heard of today's events, there was no respect paid to me or the others that have made the commitment to serve our great country.

That guy in the pic is hilarious! Please stop "murding" education. I agree with melmo, Sunshine, and laura. The protest took place at the wrong place and wrong time to be effective. I like the fact that melmo, Sunshine, and laura made it clear that those few students involved with the protest do not represent the whole of MHHS.

General public:

Recognize that this is only about 4% of the student body you saw being disrespectful of the adults in the community. Misinformation and naive behaviors are expected to be mildly wide spread. As for wanting to be treated like an adult only when it suits oneself, I would love to have a job where I make enough money to pay taxes, but because I go to school, I do not get enough hours to do so. Many adults have told me my first priority should be school and that hinders me from portraying other adult behaviors. It does not, however, hinder me from thinking like a mature individual, and, unfortunately, some kids use their youthfulness as an excuse to rebel against authority.

I think that because of this ill-formed protest, we are seen negatively. The protest leader, who I spoke to, showed an attitude that he just wanted to "look cool" and didn't actually care about the cause. If he did, he would have found a more respectful, or at least more effective, way to do it. That group of students, had it had the right leadership, may have grown in numbers and made a more positive statement for education. The kids that actually stuck around for the protest probably meant well, but did not think their meathod through.

Melodie,

Congratulations for taking advantage of your education, I enjoy reading your blog. My understanding of what you are saying is: the followers in the high school participated and leaders stayed behind, is this a correct assumption? It seems that those who needed to be in class were the ones who were on the street, acting out.

I have a huge problem with the fairness in punishments, or lack of punishments. If some are marked truant and some are not, that is just plain wrong. All involved should be marked truant; it is the only fair solution.

You will take several online classes in college. It is a fact of life, I understand that they are dull and hard to get through, but you will take them and learn from them. You have experienced students that are not motivated, don't do the work that is assigned, and cheat on tests. These students seem to pass and be in your classes the next year and you wonder how or why. These students get the same diploma as you, the student that worked and did what was expected. Online classes eliminate this issue. Computers do not have feelings; they will not allow a student to pass if the work is not satisfactorily completed.

As a taxpayer, I feel like I am not getting my monies worth from the school district. My taxes continue to increase as my take home pay decreases. I see high school students who can't spell, students who have no clue what collective bargaining is but think their teacher needs it and students who care that are made to sit in classrooms that leak when it rains. This is the source of my frustration. The school districts cannot continue on this path. Change must happen and throwing more money in the hole is not the answer.

I do not know why it is not showing up your blog in the rotation. That is a technical issue beyond me. Our web master is out this week so I do not know if I can get it remedied right away but it was not intentional.

I happen to be in town yesterday and drive past the students several times. I admit, the immaturity of most of those students was clear. As someone who had no involvement/knowledge of the situation, it appeared as a passer-by that the students were no different than the several students in the Boise School District, except for the fact that they did not go to Boise to stand at the Capitol building. To me, if a few dozen high schoolers want to skip school for a day to stand at a corner in the freezing cold all day holding up signs... fine. It seemed quite harmless to me.

For those wondering- all students were to be marked absent: situation unknown if they were not in class. This was an unexcused abscence.

Becca- my only issues with the protest were that they skipped school for it (I have that issue with the whole state) and the immature/innapropriate behavior of the MHHS students.

Great Blog.

I know I have been contentious with you before on the levy issue, but your post is well thought out and very articulate.

Conservative-

Hey, we all agree and disagree- if not, we'd be robots and what fun would that be?

I appreciate your kind words.

Wow, my English was terrible in that post. I promise I am more literate than that. (: Miss you Melodie