collective punishment

These kids could have used a student council.

Now, almost everyone’s started school again after summer vacation. We are celebrating this year of 365 with its own theme week - seven things you can do at your school.

The teachers at my old secondary school hated me very much. There were two reasons:

1. I talked all the time and questioned everything.

2. I knew my rights as a student.

Just because we live in Sweden and have food, shelter and most of our human rights met does not mean the absence of social struggle altogether. Gather your friends at school and start a student council. Piece of cake. Moreover, it can make your situation at the school much better. It can affect the school food, the way the school looks, the length of classes, the amount of homework and tests, and the way teachers hand out punishment in class. Did you know that it is illegal to punish a whole class just because there is a suspicion that a person has done something? It's called collective punishment.

1. Gather a bunch of friends. It is enough if you are a handful at first. Write down what you want to change the school and how to make the situation better.

2. Send an email to Svea - Sweden's student council and tell them that you want to start a student council.

3. Visit the headmaster and tell him or her that you want to start a student council. He or she has nothing they can do about it. It is your right to do so. And you should.