Elections for homeroom president are held, but nobody in Kevin's class wants to run. Kevin ends up getting the most votes (Aside from one for Mr. Ed and four for Ringo Starr). Kevin goes to a homeroom presidents meeting, where he finds Paul has also been elected. Various homeroom presidents pitch ideas for what they should do, with one student suggesting they have a walk-out to protest the Vietnam war. Nobody is really for it until he tells them that they'll get to walk out of class. While some students are skeptical, one teacher, Mr. Tyler, tells them that what they do as homeroom president is up to them. When everybody decides to find a group to be part of, Kevin and Paul choose to be part of the walk-out group, based entirely on the fact that Mr. Tyler is involved. During a meeting, Mr. Tyler and the students play games and have fun, until they get down to business. At first, they come with exciting ways to get attention, and attract the media, so the walk-out can have an actual effect on the war. Mr. Diperna, however, interrupts their meeting, and informs them a walk-out is a violation of school policy, and participation will result in suspension and a mark on their permanent record.
Mr. Tyler then questions the students on why they wish to engage in a walk-out. The one student who initially suggested the walk-out exclaims the War is an imperialist act, which Mr. Tyler rejects as a buzzword answer. He asks for a simpler, more heartfelt answer. The students, including Kevin, initially don't know why they wish to protest, (as nobody at the school had really cared about the news regarding the Vietnam war). Mr. Tyler points out that going along with the crowd without knowing why is not a worthwhile cause, and bluntly saying it's because all wars are bad is saying that nothing is worth fighting for. So, again he asks, why do the students wish to protest THIS war? As the students begin to think, they then do engage in a heartfelt discussion about the trouble the war is causing, and why engaging in a walk-out to protest is justified. Kevin reflects that while they may not have known Ho Chi Minh from Captain Kangaroo, they did know the war didn't seem to be accomplishing anything worthwhile.
Mr. Tyler encourages the students to go through with the walk-out anyway, and get Mr. Diperna to take them seriously. The students start a petition, and after turning in the signatures to Mr. Diperna, he still won't approve of it, insisting school policy is the law, and reminds them of the consequences he mentioned earlier. The students feel defeated, and consider giving up. Mr. Tyler, maintaining a neutral position, points out that maybe it's good that there's opposition, at that's how life is. It's easy to stand up for one's convictions when there's nothing to lose, but when there's something at stake, that's when some have to decide if carrying through with one's cause, is worth the cost. He leaves the decision whether or not to go through with the walkout up to the students.
The students ultimately decide to go through with it. The next morning, they set out to tell Mr. Tyler that they will go through with it, but see that Mr. Tyler is absent (future Kevin thinks he wasn't really sick). During homeroom, Kevin tries to decide whether he should go through with it or not, but ends up leaving class to go to the restroom. However, he finds that he had inadvertently started the walk-out, as the entire school walks out to the football field and sings "Give Peace a Chance". Future Kevin admits that they did probably didn't have any real effect on the war, and the outcome would've been the same if they had stayed in homeroom. However, if they hadn't done it, there wouldn't be the lasting memory of all the students singing on the football field ("and it wouldn't have gone on our permanent records").
Includes examples of
- Armor-Piercing Question: After Mr. Diperna initially threatens to suspend students who engage in a walk-out, Mr. Tyler questions why middle school students want to protest a war. His purpose wasn't to discourage the walk-out, but to make it be for the right reasons, as most of them were merely going along with it for the sake of getting out of class.
- Bittersweet Ending: The students end up doing the walk-out, even though they get suspended, and it goes on their permanent records.
- Brick Joke: "Some are born with greatness, others have greatness thrust upon them... In the bathroom."
- Cool Teacher: Mr. Tyler.
- The Permanent Record: Mr. Diperna warns the students that anyone participating in a walk out will get that information on their permanent record. Kevin has an Imagine Spot of him growing up to be an astronaut, only to be kicked off the space mission once this info suddenly comes to light.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The students ultimately defy school policy, in going through with the walk-out, as they feel it's the right and moral thing to do.
- Shout-Out: Kevin is the only student who gets votes for homeroom president, with the only others to get votes being Mister Ed and Ringo Starr.
