Hanes Magnet Middle School hosted elected officials for a visit on Friday to discuss government and education with students and teachers.
The visit was organized by the Hanes PTA, who invited members of the North Carolina General Assembly, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, and the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education. The lawmakers toured classrooms, told students about what their jobs entail, and saw firsthand what goes on in middle school classrooms. Later, they met with teachers at the school to talk about their priorities in an informal discussion panel.
Board of Education Member Susan Miller was impressed with the investment and interest the students treated their curriculum with. She found it encouraging to see teachers providing compelling lessons and students rising to meet challenges.
“Every student was engaged, and it was rigorous work,” Miller said. “It was very nice to see.”
Commissioner Dan Besse said it was important to him to communicate the purpose of government to the students. Even though they aren’t voting yet, Hanes students’ lives are affected by their lawmakers’ decisions, and they should always feel empowered to speak their minds when they see a way that their communities can be improved. Finding their voice in the public sphere begins with learning who to talk to.
“It’s important for them to know that we represent them,” Besse said. “We need them to know that when they vote, their voice will be heard, and in the meantime, they can also make their voices heard in other ways.”
Eighth Grader Jerry Tate says the visit was a valuable learning experience for the lawmakers as well. Because students come from all different backgrounds and have different learning styles and interests, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to education. It’s easy to lose track of that nuance when observing from a distance, but he says that elected officials taking more time to meet with students will help them gain perspective.
“It’s important for them to see how we operate in our school,” Tate said. “Everybody is different. You can’t teach one kid the same as another.”
PTA Advocacy Chair Catherine Tennant says that the organization recognizes the important intersection between public education and state and local lawmakers, and they saw this as the perfect opportunity to help the leaders of today and tomorrow connect. The more discourse there is between the people who learn and work in public schools and the people making decisions about how those schools are run, the better off the schools will be.
“At its heart, PTA is an advocacy organization, and today, we’re advocating for two things,” Tennant said. “We’re helping our students build a better understanding of how our government works, and we’re helping the adults in the school build relationships so that they can feel more comfortable talking to their elected representatives about public education.”