Learning to use our voices effectively helps bring power to our lives. If we are unused to having our voice matter, we need to expand our awareness of the options we have available to us to be seen and heard.
We may, in fact, be skeptical that what we’ve experienced in the past won’t be what we’ll experience in the future. Or we may have found something that is so important to us that we need to discover ways to push past the barriers and find some way, any way, to be heard.
To foster greater awareness about the power of voice, schools must invest in the creation of structures that provide greater equity of voice and opportunity, and help all members of the community understand developmental stages to learning, and strategies for using our voice effectively. It is one thing to be born in a country based on the notion that all people have certain inalienable rights; it is quite another to make sure that everyone has the skills and understanding they need to exercise those rights responsibly.