In my experience at dozens of schools, its hard to know what teachers criticisms about student voice ever are. But thanks to a
gutsy online bulletin board in the UK, we can get a clue. A group of teachers are discussing why you wouldn't listen to students, and giving some pretty bold insights into general compliants:
Under what circumstances would you disallow the opinions of young people to not be heard?
If they put forward inappropriate things then yes they would be diasallowed.
I am in favour of student voice... it should be heard, even if the topic is "unacceptable"
Student voice is a forum for students to dicuss issues they are concerned with within the school
Sometimes they want to discuss issues that are beyond their remit ... why shouldn't they as long as they are aware of their sphere of influence
My problem with 'Student Voice' is the tw@ttiness of the term itself. It's stupid, ungrammatical, and affected - I can imagine some SMT twonk using the phrase and me feeling sick. If it means taking account of pupils' views - something good schools have always done - then let's just say that.
These teachers offer other insights, as well. Read more here. (The same boards also discuss the roles of students hiring teachers.)
