Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARCH 21-27, 2018 UCW 5 Students on the edge of the abyss by MARGARET DICKSON OPINION MARGARET DICKSON, Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Watching teenagers on television peacefully protesting gun violence in schools and demanding school safety across our nation struck me as espe- cially poignant and tremendously sad. In nearly two decades of formal education, I worried about teachers, grades, bullies, peer pressure and probably other issues I no longer remember. Not once in all those years did I ever worry about someone com- ing into my school or classroom to shoot my fellow students, my teachers or me. at hideous possibility simply never occurred to me nor did anyone else suggest such a thing since Americans had not heard of or experienced such horror. It is profoundly shocking that today's stu- dents fear for their physical safety in their schools. ey have not only heard of such violence, thou- sands have experienced it and are taking to the streets and airwaves to express those fears and concerns. e students are rightfully afraid for themselves and their friends, and teachers and are trying to effect social and political change, as is the right of every American. We do not know if or how their activism may affect American life and law nor how their newly found activism may affect them. Re- search shows benefits to being active in support of one's beliefs. Lisa Damour, a psychologist who has researched and written about girls, says civic engagement is good for young people. Damour recently discussed findings of contemporary research with CBS News, asserting that young people who participate in activism achieve higher levels of both education and income than those who do not. is is true no mat- ter what their early grades may have been or their parents' education levels, two markers that are often predictors of student achievement and earnings as adults. Activist students also have lower rates of depression than other students. Damour stresses that research has not found exactly why students engaged in activism are higher achievers than less engaged students, but it may be because activism helps them develop social skills to carry them forward and plugs them into social networks they would not have encountered without their activist work. Such activities may also help young people see their own capabilities, helping them gain self-confidence and trust in their own opinions and strengths. Activism at any age allows us to see future pos- sibilities and to believe that we may have a hand in shaping a better world for ourselves and others. It confirms for us that the world is bigger than just our own small spheres and lets us know that we can af- fect the greater social good. Adolescence and young adulthood, at least in America, are notorious self- centered periods of life – times when we concentrate on ourselves, our friends, our concerns, our cell phones. Social and political activism connects us to people we might never know in any other con- text and broadens our understanding of the world around us. Oddly, at least to me, student activism is also associated with risk-taking behavior, including sedentary lifestyles, smoking and drinking. Again, research has yet to reveal why, but social and po- litical change is a long, slow and deeply frustrating journey as people of all ages and all causes have found throughout history. Students demanding safer schools may or may not see progress, which can come only through adult policy makers. ey are, however, learning about themselves and about the ways of the world both fair and unfair, both of which will strengthen them as they move into adulthood and maturity. Social and political change is a long, slow and deeply frustrating journey. Photo credit: Fibonacci Blue from Min- nesota via Wikimedia Commons. one year special $ 15 for UP & CoMING WEEKLY rEadErs oNLY you save 89% off Tv GuIDe MaGaZINe Get A GreAt DeAL from tV GuiDe mAGAzine start Your subscription online, By Mail or Call online: tvguidemagazine.com/newsoffer mail: complete order form below call: 1-800-365-1940 WHeN CaLLING use PRoMo: K6fNsWPZZ Every issue delivers inside scoop on your favorite shows Breaking news keeps you in the know Highlights help guide you to what's worth watching Your favorite stars take you behind the scenes 28 Pages of easy-to-use primetime listings GrEaT rEasoNs To sTarT YoUr sUBsCrIPTIoN