It’s International Students Day! Today, November 17, we celebrate school, independence, and the courage of students all over the world.
If you are – or were – a student, you have probably thought at least once that school is boring and you couldn’t wait for class to end so you could go home ( e. But school is actually a powerful tool that can help everyone to be a better, more educated person and citizen. Education is not just some facts and formulas to remember for your tests: it is an act of independence and courage, but also a privilege, unfortunately.
Through education, kids, teens, and young adults learn about math, science, and history, but they could also learn about their rights, how to be a better citizen and a better person. Education can change a person’s life, for the better.
The Students of the University of Prague
On this day, let’s retrace the history of students who where denied education and were suffocated by the powers who wanted them ignorant.
International Students’ Day is celebrated on the 17th of November to commemorate the anniversary of the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of Prague, following the death of Jan Opletal. The execution of nine student leaders, with over 1200 students sent to concentration camps, leading to the closing of all Czech universities and colleges.
Students always demonstrated their courage, even during the Nazi’s tough era: they held demonstrations and protests to show their resistance to the totalitarian powers that ruled over Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. On October 28, 1939, on the anniversary of the founding of democratic Czechoslovakia, Czech students and people held a demonstration through the streets of Prague, protesting the Nazi’s occupation of their territory. German soldiers tried to end the protest by shooting at civilians, and fatally wounding Jan Opletal, a medical student.
For Opletal’s memory, a public funeral was held and a big crowd, mainly consisting of students, protested against the power that would later take everything from them. Protestors yelled “Get out, Hitler!” and “Go away, Germans!”, but the Nazi’s took over of Czechoslovakia and its universities had just started.
As an act of revenge, enraged Nazis stormed all universities’ dormitories in Prague, arresting and beating thousands of defenceless students: nine of them, the students’ leaders, were killed and executed without trials, while more than 1000 students were sent to a concentration camp near Berlin.
Their memories should never leave us: these Czech students are the representation of courage, freedom of thought, and independence. Their bravery and determination show students all over the world that together we can shake even the toughest regime, defending freedom and democratic ideals. So International Students’ Day was created, not just to remember these students, but to commemorate and celebrate their courage, hoping that this day can give hopes to scholars all over the world.
The school of the future: what should we teach to younglings?
History and math are fundamental subjects, but school needs to change and evolve with the times. Nowadays, the modern society requires schools to teach subjects like civil education and sexuality education, to raise responsible and knowledgeable citizens.
Sexuality education is something so important but so mischaracterised. It is demonised by older right-leaning individuals around the world, thinking that it’s just going to push young people to have sexual intercourse. But curricula based on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) have been shown to improve students’ health, well-being and dignity through the teaching and learning of the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. Young people, even adults, are still confused about puberty, relationships, and sexual intercourse, and many are ignorant about protection from STIs and unexpected pregnancies.
CSE can help confused folks to be familiar with concepts like gender-based violence, sexual consent, HIV testing, and pregnancy, using a learner-centred approach. This is all backed up from UNESCO’s International technical guidance on sexuality education, a 2009 study then revisited in 2018. The key findings are all in favour of CSE being introduced in school curricula:
- Does not increase risks: sexuality education does not increase sexual activity or risk-taking behaviour/STI rates.
- Increases knowledge and attitudes: it has positive effects, increasing knowledge and improving SRH-related attitudes.
- Abstinence-only is ineffective; combined approach works: abstinence-only programs are ineffective; programs combining abstinence focus with condom/contraceptive content are effective.
- Gender-focused programs are more effective: gender-focused programs are substantially more effective at reducing unintended pregnancies and STIs.
Sexuality education in schools is needed to teach love and respect when children are still young, so that they can learn to be good people since their earliest years. This is the reason why the United Nations included CSE in their 2030 Agenda. We need to take actions, so that we can have a better future and a more inclusive society, because children are the future.