Last week, many of us were moved to tears watching high school girls, faces and heads covered, sobbing outside their schools. The Taliban promised girls could attend school again in March, and yet last Wednesday those promises died when the Taliban reneged and sent the girls home. The stark contrast between the roiling American education “walk-outs'' and women being barred from schools in Afghanistan is disheartening.

In one culture, girls will do nearly anything to learn, including wearing a hijab, covering themselves completely except for their eyes. But in America, citizens have the privilege to argue over policies like whether students should wear face masks or not. And although these discussions can be taxing and heated, Afghanistan is a reminder of what a lack of representation and freedom looks like. Education innovation will never happen without the voices of average citizens who are willing to stand up for what they believe in.

Right now, public education conversations are swirling around what should and should not be allowed or required in the curriculum. Thankfully, this conversation is not about who should and should not be allowed in the classroom. Instead, there are big questions about what is taught in school. Since it seems to be impossible to make the one-size-fits-all education system acceptable to everyone, this is a moment we should capitalize on.

Rather than stirring up fear and anxiety around our classrooms and who holds the power in them, let’s create places and spaces that fit our students’ unique needs. Now is the time to fund students rather than systems. Massive drops in enrollment and record numbers of homeschool families, these changes are evidence that families need more options like these: CLICK HERE