The Undeniable Importance of a Student Council
I want to ask you all a question today; should schools really care about what we, the students, think? There are many different opinions when it comes to this question. However, don’t you think it’s necessary for the administration and students to be on the same page when making important decisions, especially when these decisions will directly influence students’ routine life?
People protest against the idea of having student councils, and for understandable reasons. They argue that kids are too wild, too inexperienced, as compared to qualified administrators, to be allowed to have any substantial authority to change rules. How exactly will students understand responsibility if nobody lets them do anything of significance? This ideology is simply indicative of a lack of trust in the student on the teacher’s behalf. We need to understand that students need a voice to shed light on their concerns and ideas on matters of prevailing concern.
Additionally, why are teachers deemed more capable of making decisions for students, rather than students themselves? Pupils’ opinions and participation matter equally – if not more – as the administrative staff’s.
Another argument is that schools are exclusively for “education”. I think we can all agree that this isn’t, and shouldn’t, be true. School’s main purpose isn’t just to educate but is also to teach kids resilience in the real world after they graduate. This includes social and moral evolution, as well as mindset and character building. A student council allows kids to learn responsibility for not only themselves but others too. This increases a student’s self-confidence while sharpening their communication and negotiation skills. Plus, we all know that membership of any authoritative student body looks great on college applications.
Many are under the false impression that student councils waste time. On the contrary, research shows that councils have increased academic standards, attendance, student participation and have decreased “drop-out” rates.
Nevertheless, a student council can be rendered useless if students aren’t committed or enabled enough to affect actual decisions. They need to be given an opportunity to engage in helping to solve problems, no matter how trivial.
Lastly, I’m not saying student participation, like that in a council, is the “magic bullet” needed to solve all issues in a school environment. But, this also doesn’t mean that all of its many benefits should be completely disregarded. Students’ association in the schools’ operation can guarantee a substantially more successful educational environment.
IGCSE I
FWS Lahore