By David Bolling
Madeleine Edwards, Sonoma Valley High School Correspondent and Designated Sun Intern (SVHSCDSI) has an unusual, if not unique, student characteristic. She loves to study. Even on her days off.
“Hey, You have to go to school, so why not get into it.”
Madeleine, a 16-year-old Junior with a passion for theater, psychology, reading and writing, is also editor of the Sonoma Valley High School student news site, the Dragon’s Tale. She fell into journalism when, as a freshman, she was in a theatrical production with the Dragon’s Tail editor who invited her to join the paper.
“I kind of just fell in love with it. I have always liked writing. Usually more creative writing, but it’s kind of cool to uncover a story that nobody else has really been talking about. And I wanted to write for the Sun because, while the school focus (of the Dragon ‘s Tale) is great, I also wanted to look at things through a more community-centered lens. I like looking at District-wide issues, like the consolidation of schools, but also things that don’t have to do with school, like local politics and art. I want to explore more than just my high school.”
Of course, social media is an inescapable part of Madeleine’s life, but she views it as, “a double-edged sword. You can totally waste a lot of time with it, it’s so easy to waste away hours, just scrolling. You can use it in the wrong ways and mess up your digital footprint, but you can also use it as a platform to create your own, like business, or your social media presence and make a life for yourself.”
Madeleine says she limits her online time primarily to Instagram, doesn’t watch TV, and thinks the new SVHS policy banning use of cellphones in school is a good idea carried too far.
“I personally don‘t agree with the no phones during the school day. I think it’s a bit counterintuitive. I know the whole purpose of the current policy was to have students socialize more with each other, but I think that not being allowed to even take your phone out during breaks kind of prevents students from meeting up, or coordinating with their friends. I totally agree with the no phones in class rule, but I think it’s a little extreme to not let us have them at all on campus.”
Asked if she thinks she’s getting a good education in a school district that regularly performs poorly on standardized tests for reading and math proficiency, she says the answer is yes. “I definitely think so. I think that in this district, if you strive to have a good education, if you put yourself into classes, if you take initiative, you can get a good education. But I also don’t think that’s really pushed enough.”
Asked why she thinks a good education is important, she responds emphatically. “I think it’s really important because a lot of people in power aren’t the most educated on the topics they speak about, and I think it’s important to be educated as much as you can be to understand what’s true and what is not true, and examine issues critically instead of just believing everything that you hear.”
And, she adds, “There’s a lot of pressure on a lot of students to know what they want to do with their lives, to get into good colleges and get good jobs.”
For the same reasons, she thinks it’s important for youth to get involved with politics. “I think it’s definitely important, and a lot of us are already registered to vote, we’re going to vote in the next presidential election. But I think a lot of youth fall into sort of extremes. One way or the other. It’s hard for everyone to fact check all the information and get their own thoughts together about something. I think youth need to do their own research. I see more political discussions among people at school as a whole, people trying to form their own opinions, that are different from what they are raised around. I know people who have completely different political views then their families.”
Is she one of them? “Oh yeah,” she says with a laugh. “We have very different political perspectives. My parents talk a lot about politics, and I always examine what they say with a critical lens, because I’m not always sure if what they are saying is coming from just one source. We have a lot of very polarized news sources playing in my house. So from a young age, I always sought out information on my own, from various different news sources, to form a more fact-based opinion.”
What news sources does she trust?
“I like the Associated Press, because they’re a very fact-based news source. I look at some of the bigger news sources occasionally, but I take everything with a grain of salt. And I don’t really watch a lot of television news, or television generally.”
Besides news, what are Madeleine’s personal passions? “I love theater. I’ve been in a lot of theater productions. (Most recently in Shakespeare’s “Midsummer’s Night Dream.”) I’m passionate about psychology; I’m taking Junior College psychology courses. I’ll probably pursue it in college. I’m also passionate about social justice, and I’m president of our School GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance) club. That’s really important.”
Since her freshman year, Madeleine has had a part-time job staffing the concession stand at the Sebastiani Theatre. Her favorite food is strawberries, she prefers apples to oranges, if she could listen to only one song for the rest of her life it would probably be “Paranoia” by The Marias. Her current favorite book is Stephen King’s “The Shining,” she’s traveled a lot, most recently to Iceland, and she’s not sure what happens after we die – “We could become dirt, or there could be an afterlife. I don’t know.”
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