On Civil Disobedience

When reading Civil Disobedience, I am reminded very much of the Conserve School.

If I haven't already told you about it, my high school has had an interesting history, despite only being about ten years old.

On January 30, 2009, halfway through my sophomore year, the headmaster and two trustees of the Conserve School announced that after the completion of that year, the four year program would be eliminated, and would be replaced by a semester program.
Essentially, once that year was done, the school would become a semester away program, a get-away retreat, summer camp in the winter, for one semester of students in their junior year.
They told the staff about 15 minutes before the student body, telling them only that over half of them would lose their jobs... but they left them to fret over who. The seniors would finish that year as planned. The juniors were invited to participate in their "transition" year, along with a few sophomores (myself included) depending on space. The freshman were told, "Sorry, but there's nothing left for you here."

Needless to say, we were not pleased.

At least I was one of the lucky ones. I came back for the "transition" year (it was hellish). I got to complete my entire high school career (though a year short) at The Conserve School.

The Conserve School, to all of us, was more than just a school - it was a home. It was a place where each individual belonged to a very special family. Even at our largest enrollment of 150, we were still an extremely small, tight-knit community - students and staff.
But I'll try not to get all sentimental. I tend to do that when talking about this.

After this was announced, the entire campus became involved in acts of civil disobedience. We wrote letters to the trustees, begging for answers (we received few), a little more on their part (such as letting those students already attending to finish up their four years... no such luck), and understanding.
Our parents bonded together and formed a lawsuit against the Conserve School Corporation, trying to pry control from the trustees that already had conflicted interest in their business decisions. (Conveniently enough, they were also the Board of Directors for Central Steel and Wire, of which The Conserve School Corporation holds more than half the stock)
We wore shirts that said "Preserve Conserve", with the five values of the school listed on the back. They are as follows: Honesty, Justice, Respect, Responsibility, and Compassion. No matter how angry or upset we became, we literally wore these values on our backs as we tried to resist this decision.

I am reminded of my physics teacher's speech at graduation that year. He was one of my favorite teachers, despite the fact that physics game me so much difficulty. He was one of the founding members of The Conserve School. He was also one of the many that were let go with this decision.
The following is an excerpt from his speech:

"If you walk around the LAB and look in the classrooms you will see some familiar portraits on the walls. Gandhi, Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela. We teach about these guys, but in addition, we venerate them. Interestingly, they were all criminals- that is, they all broke the law and they all went to jail for their crimes. Each of these men decided there was an ethical problem with the law, and they decided that when ethics and law conflict, it is imperative that one be guided by the principles of ethics rather than by law. Thoreau thought it unjust that his taxes supported war, Mandela fought government mandated apartheid in South Africa, Gandhi fought against both unjust taxation and discrimination, and King fought an Apartheid-like system supported by federal and state law right here in the US. These four men all decided that it is ethically justifiable and honorable to break the law in order to uphold ethical principles."

*If you want to read the whole speech, comment. I'll post it if you want.