Are High School Student Walkouts a Good Thing?

Word that high school students in Allentown plan on ditching classes next week unless certain demands are met has me asking one question - do high school students have the maturity to make these decisions? Is this really an educational experience or an excuse to goof off?

I question whether the teacher (Michael Frassetto) leading this movement himself has the emotional maturity to make this decision. On his Facebook page, he claims, "It's all love." What's so loving about trying to get a school superintendent fired? If "It's all love," why did he post a video containing the repeating lyrics "I don't give a fuck?"

A fellow named "Josh" posted this comment on Lehigh Valley Live:

The current budget for ASD for the 2015-16 school year is $269 million dollars. School enrollment is roughly 17,500 students, give or take. They also hired 30 more teachers for the school year. ASD is the fourth largest school district in PA.

Mr. Frassetto went to Parkland. Parkland has 9,176 students in it's school district. It's operating budget for 2015-16 is $152.2 million dollars.

http://www.parklandsd.org/about/district-profile/

http://www.allentownsd.org/content/about-allentown-school-district

If you took the entire allowed budget for both districts and applied it per student you would find roughly a $2,000 dollar difference between the two. Parkland spending $2,000 more per student than ASD. Mr. Frassetto went to Parkland, and should know the answer to this: does $2,000 of a difference make up for the gigantic performance gap between the two districts? Does the superintendent foster all the blame for the poor performance? Why would having a student on council make a difference?

The difference doesn't lie with money, it doesn't lie with the budget. Allentown the city has real, tangible problems they need to improve before these students stand a chance. Poverty. Broken homes. Single mothers. Absent dads. Crime. Drugs and the society that breeds. All of that, is embracing these kids, whenever they leave the safety of the school zone; yet nothing is being said about it. No marches. No walk outs. No protests.

If Mr. Frassetto truly wants to "help the students", and he seems sincere, then "help" them at the family and community level. The schools aren't broken; everything else is.

What do you think? Does this empower and educate high school students? Or is it just another holiday in a school district that already has a 40% droop out rate?