announcer: welcome back to the education nation student town hall. once again is melissa harris-perry. last year at the student town hall, we introduced you to a remarkable high school graduate who overcame every obstacle in her path and received a full ride to columbia university. ebony boykin spent much of her childhood in and out of homeless shelters, but was never swayed from her goal of attending an ivy league school. she s now completed her first year at columbia and is off to a running start on her second. we wanted to bring you an update. literally, every day i ask myself, like, what am i doing here? it s just so amazing to think, just how i grew up and now i m here and it never really ceases to amaze me, like, where i am. and it never really sinks in. growing up, i had a really hard
appreciate you reminding me, sometimes the best panel you ask on a panel is the most direct, the shortest, and the most straight forward. thank you for being here and facing a room that is undoubtedly a tough room. because there is controversy and i think we learned a little something today, but also that students don t feel like they re silenced around common core, that it is the thing that you ought to absolutely be questioning, be taking up, and either be supporting or not based on what you think is right for your education. up next, google executive chairman, eric schmidt joins us. and we re going to take you inside the high school that s gone completely high-tech. this is education nation, student town hall. oh, sorry. i didn t see you there. you want to be like me? all it takes is hard work, determination, and practice. my asthma s under control. i don t miss out. you sat out most of our game yesterday!
announcer: welcome back to the education nation: student town hall. here again is melissa harris-perry. welcome back, everyone. we turn now to a somber topic. this is the first education nation: student town hall since a school shooting at sandy hook elementary in newtown, connecticut, took the live of 21 students plus 6 teachers and administrators. we re following breaking news right now. the shooting at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. tragedy at sandy hook elementary. an unthinkable attack on young children. i was in the gym and i heard a loud well, i heard like seven loud booms. there were parents everyone, obviously, just trying to get to their children, make sure they were okay. investigators say the gunman was a 20-year-old who lived in the area, adam lanza. inside the school, police found the shooter dead. the weapons used in the shooting were all legally purchased and were registered to the gunman s mother. an emotional president
is failing. the school system is horrible. there s no good education. and if our future is going to survive and thrive, i have to be able to make sure he s going to survive in this society, just based off of education alone. and to being willing to do that for your son and to be a voice for so many, we greatly appreciate it. thank you to jahzaire and angela sutton and joel burg. and coming up next, the new reality of what it means to be safe in school in a post-newtown world. plus, a look at how other countries stack up to u.s. schools. we ll talk to some students who found out firsthand. our education nation: student town hall continues at the top of the hour. [ male announcer ] pepcid® presents: the burns family bbq.
universal cool breakfast, so this room is filled with student activists from around the country. you can demand that your school have these breakfasts and they should be provided to all students, paid for entirely by the federal government. hold for me. we re going to stay on this topic. i know there are more students in the audience who want to jump in on this. we ve been talking ipads, but we also want to talk breakfast. stay with us. we ll take a quick break and come right back with education nation: student town hall. for success, it takes drive, patience, and confidence. drive because there will always be times where you don t think you can pull through and everything s overwhelming. patience because time waits for no man, but you have to work hard day by day. confidence, stick to the goals you have set. all their own. that s why nearly every state has chosen to adopt a set of consistent, game-changing standards that