Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 | 1 a.m.
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View more of the Sun's opinion section
About 1,000 students from high schools throughout Southern Nevada participated in the 60th annual Sun Youth Forum on Nov. 29. The students were divided into groups to discuss a variety of topics. A representative was chosen from each group to write a column about the students’ findings. This essay addresses the issues covered by the group Potpourri.
James McCarty
Transgender bathrooms, solar panels and the United States Constitution. What do all of these things have in common? They came up during our discussion.
But despite the array of topics and ideas we shared, we kept coming back to one common theme: education.
It started off with a student citing Nevada’s low ranking — 49th nationally — in education. Someone else mentioned we had moved up to 48th. Sounds like progress to me! But regardless of whether we are second or third to last, we all agreed neither is a good situation. So instead of continuing to complain, we decided to find a solution. It is very easy to criticize, but without any real idea for reform it is all for naught. Every student in the room recognized this, so we set out to make a change. We started with the obvious: Put more money into education.
The numbers speak for themselves. Nevada is 45th in the nation in funding, 48th in test scores and last in average high school class sizes: 31. We came to the consensus that we needed more schools, more teachers and higher faculty salaries. That way, we can attract better instructors as well as decrease class sizes and increase individualized learning. These are proven methods that stimulate and promote achievement in the classroom, and there is a strong correlation between these characteristics and increased test scores and grades.
But since our state is more willing to spend $750 million on a football stadium than it is to prepare its students for a better life, we had to focus on another aspect of education.
So not only did we argue in favor of a change on an economic level, but we also talked about how change could only come if students were willing to learn. Being ranked 48th in education doesn’t mean we have the 48th-worst teachers. Student accountability plays a big part in academic success. Each student in our room came from a different school. Whether it was Mojave, Chaparral or Palo Verde, it didn’t matter because we were all in the same situation. Regardless of where we live or how much money our school spends, we had taken control of our lives and decided we were going to succeed. This proves that the problem in Nevada will require more to fix than simply dumping money into our system.
Just as you can lead a horse to water but not make it drink, you can give students every opportunity to learn and they may still reject it. This is why it’s imperative that we focus on improving parental involvement outside of the classroom.
A teacher who was observing our room mentioned the correlation between parental involvement and student learning. She stated that everyone needed to have a positive role model to advise or motivate them. If they cannot find that person, teachers and counselors must step in to provide this paternal relationship.
Long story short, kids need to be motivated. Whether it be with sports or the promise of scholarships, students are yearning for a reason to succeed. Nobody said studying logarithms was fun, but if teenagers would understand the benefits of doing well in school, they would be inspired to work harder and compete for better grades.
We cannot and will not give up on public schools in Nevada, no matter how underfunded they are. Every kid deserves an opportunity to succeed, and we can give them that opportunity.
Maybe if our state leaders cared a little more about education and a bit less about the Raiders, we wouldn’t be so far behind everyone else.
Let’s make Nevada education great again.
James McCarty is a junior at Silverado High School.
