The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
Avah Fetzer, Entertainment Editor
When I was first told that I would be creating a website of some kind for my Honors English 10 class, I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of website I wanted to create. Out of the different things I like, I couldn’t seem to find something that I liked so much that I was willing to make a website about, unlike many of my peers. Most of my peers chose something they do that they’re very passionate about, and this is when it struck me that my website could be so much more than what I was thinking of.
I decided to create a website that stood out amongst many of the other websites I heard other students saying they were coming up with, by creating one that was based off of student input. I wanted students to be able to voice their experiences and feel like their voice is being heard. My website being unique worried me at first. It concerned me that I would potentially have to take the extra mile and work a little differently, and sometimes even harder on it than some of the people around me. I was hesitant about being able to pull this off, but I knew that the outcome would be worth it. This is when I decided I would stick with this idea for sure, as I even chose a catchy title, “Sincerely, Students”. My website can be found using this link: https://avahfetzer.wixsite.com/sincerelystudents .
First, I figured out how I wanted my website to run. Because I know that school can become pretty hard sometimes, I wanted to make my website revolve around that idea. I also wanted to find a way to turn these negative experiences into something that’ll make a positive difference. I know that my experiences can’t speak for everyone, so I created a google form to anonymously collect some students’ stories about what they’ve gone through at school that they wish their teachers knew about and then I posted them on my website.
I decided I would find a way to communicate these student stories to teachers and have them give a response to these students as well. I found this to be the most tricky part of my website. Originally I was going up to teachers and asking them to email me their response, which I would then post on my website as well. I came to a conclusion that this wasn’t working very well, as it was difficult to keep anonymity this way and kind of complicated for the teachers to locate everything. I came up with the idea of creating a google form for the teacher responses along with the google form for students to share their stories. I have yet to use this, but I’m sure that when I do, it will be easier and motivate teachers to be even more vulnerable with their responses.
In general, the creation of my website was very eye-opening. Reading other students’ experiences and hearing about issues that may not be visible all the time really made me realize that everyone has something they go through. Throughout this journey so far, I’ve realized that you never truly know what a person might be experiencing. I have heard the phrase, “you never know what a person is going through, so be kind”, for as long as I can remember, but this really came to action when I heard what some of my peers go through. The creation of my website pushed me to become a leader and overall bettered me as a person.
Below, I will include a sample teacher story and a sample student story. I encourage you to check out my website and even submit a story of your own!
Dear School,
"I don’t have a specific story, but I do know that I personally (along with many other hcsd students) struggle a lot with mental illness. Not only from diagnosed illnesses, but for keeping up with mental health in general. This year has been particularly hard because of the obvious, but I wish more staff would understand that some people have been suffering from this even before the pandemic. An inconsistent school schedule where we have to learn a lot on our own just is not helping it. It would be wonderful if the teachers would at least take some time to really check in on us, because sometimes school is the only place we see anyone other than our family".
Sincerely,
Student #3
Another Hilliard City School District teacher addressed student #3's story. This teacher understands this student, as she has also dealt with mental health issues, even before the pandemic. She said, "I have had more lows than I would like to admit during this last year". She can relate and sympathize with students because she has an understanding of what dealing with these issues are like. She understands the importance of opening up about your struggles, but she also vocalized that its not always practical to voice everything about yourself. She said, "While I understand the importance of checking in with people, I know it is hard to open up and admit that you are struggling". This teacher has come across situations in the classroom where students are open about their struggles. she said, "When I try to connect with them, I'm met with silence". This teacher considers herself to be a good listener, rather than someone who is able to help. She is very passionate about helping students, but is never quite sure how she can help when it comes to situations like the one that student #3 is in.