The next Town Hall lecture will focus on the theme “Educating Our Children: Where We Are and Where Are We Going?” It will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Farrah Room 120.
Town Hall was the idea of Robert McCurley, retired director of the Alabama Law Institute, who wanted to give students an outlet for expressing ideas, asking questions and proposing real life solutions.
“Town Hall is basically about making a difference,” McCurley said.
Town Hall is unlike other lecture series in the sense that it tries to put into action the ideas of the students. This particular Town Hall came about because of the recent controversy over the Flexibility Act.
Town Hall coordinator, Ellie Friedman, said students expressed a concern for the future of education, and Town Hall organized a setting to have these concerns voiced.
Students not only want to be heard, but they want to see their ideas having an impact. Students are just as capable of making informed decisions as politicians, doctors or lawyers, she said.
“Town Hall is not all talk; it’s action, and that’s what students are looking for,” Friedman said.
Students will ask about the Flexibility Act, Core Curriculum, education budgeting, the state of zip code education in Alabama and the future of education for Alabama.
The moderator is Shelley Jones, a former teacher, principal and chair of the Tuscaloosa City School Board. Other speakers include J.W. Carpenter, Alabama director for “Teach for America,” and Isaac Espy, principal of Northridge High School.
Town Hall is an Honors College program run by student coordinators to discuss critical issues facing not only students but Alabamians at large.
“By hearing from the experts in the field asking them questions they can help be a part of the process of making Alabama better,” Friedman said.
Town Hall is free to students and the public, but it’s primarily for students to ask questions and be involved. For more information, email Ellie Friedman at [email protected].
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