My Voice Matters- First Place 2024 Youth Speech Contest

-

 My Voice Matters

By Aryan Mukherjee


They say that children are the keys to doors that we can’t see- doors above us and around us and beyond us but rarely ever right there within reach. In a society, young people are often more creative, less likely to overthink, and more inclined to express strong opinions on matters without their every breath dampened by a hush of hesitation at being wrong. They can even help take more unconventional or surprising routes to come up with a solution that could actually work, but that the average adult could never even think to think of.


Especially here in Orange County, our students come from strong educational backgrounds, are exposed to so many youth-shaping activities from a young age, and form a cultural melting pot of diverse opinions that all come together to form a well-rounded community. So with so many benefits, why isn’t it normalized for K-12 students to be more involved in the decision-making process?


One way, specifically, that we could cultivate young voices in our society is through writing. Governments, schools, and communities can include more writing or submission contests with incentives to encourage students to express their views on new policies, after which the organization could take them into consideration and congratulate individual students on their efforts and insights.


Councils can also hold special occasions where K-12 students of all ages can discuss and contend their case for new legislation- these discussions can be as simple as promoting an idea, concept, or even sentiment that they wish they felt more of, and as nuanced as actually suggesting legislation to consider. Council members and fellow students can pitch in, and this can not only help actually give institutions ideas for their new policies, but help students learn more about how much goes into the decision making processes to create the best community possible. This is not only beneficial to those who want to go into politics, but to students of all interest types, as it can teach them valuable skills such as public speaking, collaboration, and kindness.


Additionally, free speech is a civil right under the first amendment that doesn’t discriminate based on age- engaging in peaceful group sessions or expressing one’s views by talking to adults in a council can help ease tensions and aid children in understanding how they can exercise their right without judgment.


Of course, these ideas do not have to be restrictive only to councils, and such discussion environments or open expression writing and art contests can and should be hosted by schools, churches, youth groups, and other smaller communities that are involved in shaping children’s lives. In this way, such involvement of K-12 students in the decision-making process can happen more often and in more intimate or directly relevant places to specific students’ lives, thus encouraging more active participation and fostering a greater sense of eagerness to contribute.


So what are we waiting for? Let age not be a barrier but a gift, as we help our students get their voices heard.


Link to Winning Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73or1U-Ieyg.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eulogy of my Grandfather

-
  What’s Popping my Dearest Dadu, Oh, where can I even begin? All of the things I wanted to tell you, all of the feelings I wanted to feel, all of the memories I waited to etch into that log that ultimately drifted with the currents before I could even extend my arm out for it. I knew one day that this time would come, but how could I expect that day to be so soon? So incredibly, tragically soon. When you passed away, it would be imprecise to say that the emotions came in waves. More so, they came in two parts: the sudden shock and onslaught of sadness at the instantaneous realization of what the word “dead” meant, and the slower, deeper and more excruciating depression that clung onto my soul and still hasn’t let go. And if you weren’t such a good grandfather, such a pure human being, and such a fun and lovable person who in every moment where the alchemist within me brewed up split feelings would without hesitation suck out the poison and put my life before his, that second part ...
Read it to believe it.

Psst… Have You Heard The Gossip?

-
  Psst… Have You Heard The Gossip? Gossip. You hear it all the time. Or maybe you don’t- all those little tidbits floating around in the air like the stench of stale cheese from hallway to auditorium to friends to colleagues all the way right outside your front door. And you might not even know about it. Did I just make you paranoid? Well, don’t worry, because the topic for this article is one that you may not have foreseen- the brilliant benefits of gossip unbeknownst to much of mankind. Yes, you heard me right. Researchers in the Plotkin Research Group in Mathematical Biology in the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts & Sciences recently assembled a mechanistic math model showcasing the relationship between gossip and cooperation. The authors- Mari Kawakatsu,  Joshua B. Plotkin, and Taylor A. Kessinger- state that gossip can actually help facilitate discussions that hold people accountable for their actions. After all, sources like social media, news, and jou...
Read it to believe it.

Their Voices Must Be Heard

-
  Currently Informed embraces Black History Month By: Aryan Mukherjee February is Black History Month. Great , you say, feigning a smile and then going back to texting your friends racist jokes in your group chat. Now imagine what you’ve done in a more flushed out sense. Millions of African Americans were ransacked, beat, lynched, raped, and had their wills extracted out and burnt to a crisp under excruciating amounts of pain and sacrifice, their struggles so real and so incredibly dark that Black History Month was created to honor their suffering in our history. And you have just slandered that all because times have changed and you refuse to look back. You see, this is not just a special month where you would greet your African American friends with a little more cordiality than would typically be beckoned. Rather, it is a testament to something that many could never even imagine living through- something to be remembered. To briefly sum up, Black History month originated as ...
Read it to believe it.