student voices

Testing Center Makes Up Rules to Prevent Black Teen From Earning High School Equivalency Diploma (Part #1)
Accountability · Educational Equity · homeschooling · student voices

Testing Center Makes Up Rules to Prevent Black Teen From Earning High School Equivalency Diploma (Part #1)

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

The TASC is the high school equivalency exam used by New York State. It replaced the GED in 2014. As I have been homeschooling myself, I decided that it was time to take the TASC. Unfortunately, registering to take it was more complicated than registering for any other exam I’ve ever taken, including the Advanced… Continue reading Testing Center Makes Up Rules to Prevent Black Teen From Earning High School Equivalency Diploma (Part #1)

NYC Student On Importance of Having the Right Guide on the Road to College
achievement gap · Educational Equity · student voices

NYC Student On Importance of Having the Right Guide on the Road to College

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(This is a guest post by Rova Raveloson, who was a student at Townsend Harris High School. He is now a sophomore at Vassar College where he is exploring the intersection of Economics and Chinese in International Economics. At Vassar, Raveloson is spearheading a potential video game design start-up with his friends, focusing on gamifying… Continue reading NYC Student On Importance of Having the Right Guide on the Road to College

Educational Reparations: Black Children Deserve the Same Chance to Succeed as Their White Peers (Part #2)
Accountability · achievement gap · Educational Equity · student voices

Educational Reparations: Black Children Deserve the Same Chance to Succeed as Their White Peers (Part #2)

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

Last month, I wrote about a few of my recommendations regarding educational reparations for Black Americans. The potential reparations commissions that could be created by H.R. 40 in Congress and Assembly Bill A2619A in the New York State Legislature, if passed, should make sure to keep in mind that reparations need to be comprehensive in… Continue reading Educational Reparations: Black Children Deserve the Same Chance to Succeed as Their White Peers (Part #2)

Educational Reparations: Black Children Deserve the Same Chance to Succeed as Their White Peers (Part #1)
Blog · Educational Equity · student voices

Educational Reparations: Black Children Deserve the Same Chance to Succeed as Their White Peers (Part #1)

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

H.R. 40 in Congress and Assembly Bill A2619A in the New York State Legislature, if passed, would establish commissions to investigate and develop a program of reparations to remedy the lasting effects of the enslavement and oppression of Black people in America and New York, respectively. Although neither of these bills have been passed yet… Continue reading Educational Reparations: Black Children Deserve the Same Chance to Succeed as Their White Peers (Part #1)

Why Getting Rid Of the SAT Won’t Bring Equity To College Admissions: Here Is the Only Thing That Will
Accountability · achievement gap · admissions · student voices

Why Getting Rid Of the SAT Won’t Bring Equity To College Admissions: Here Is the Only Thing That Will

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

Advocates for requiring SAT or ACT for college applications revere these tests as an admissions factor which only strongly favors wealthier students instead of overwhelmingly favoring wealthy students.  They don’t seem to realize that it’s college admissions officers who intentionally and systematically do the favoring. These admissions officers are the people who decide what characteristics… Continue reading Why Getting Rid Of the SAT Won’t Bring Equity To College Admissions: Here Is the Only Thing That Will

One Size CAN Fit All! A Student’s Take On School Choice
admissions · Educational Equity · School Choice · student voices · transferring schools

One Size CAN Fit All! A Student’s Take On School Choice

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

School choice advocates see that a student may be faced with a situation where if a school is a bad fit, they’re stuck there anyway. They want to help students by making it so that if they don’t like it where they are, they can leave and take their government funding with them to any… Continue reading One Size CAN Fit All! A Student’s Take On School Choice

Why Every School Should Be a Community School
Accountability · achievement gap · NYC Schools · student voices

Why Every School Should Be a Community School

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

Every school in New York City should become a community school, because it is the right thing to do, and because it’s better for students. Community Schools, which I’ve described in depth here, are essentially schools which offer services beyond those of a typical school in order to meet a wider range of students’ needs.… Continue reading Why Every School Should Be a Community School

Understanding NYC’s Community School, Renewal, Rise Programs
Accountability · achievement gap · Educational Equity · NYC Schools · student voices

Understanding NYC’s Community School, Renewal, Rise Programs

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

Community Schools are a small step in the right direction for New York City and for education as a whole. They have the potential to empower communities to support their own children using their own resources in their own ways. To understand why this is, though, requires understanding what Community Schools are right now, which… Continue reading Understanding NYC’s Community School, Renewal, Rise Programs

Teachers Have a Union… Why Don’t Students: How They Can Help Each Other When the DOE Fails (Part 2)
DOE Fails · NYC Schools · student voices · UFT

Teachers Have a Union… Why Don’t Students: How They Can Help Each Other When the DOE Fails (Part 2)

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

Students, organize! That’s all I ask, and all we need. Teachers and all other school staff have figured it out. The United Federation of Teachers has and enforces rules regarding how much time teachers can be asked to spend working, both in the classroom and outside of it. Imagine if students organized to support each… Continue reading Teachers Have a Union… Why Don’t Students: How They Can Help Each Other When the DOE Fails (Part 2)

Teachers Have a Union… Why Don’t Students: How They Can Help Each Other When the DOE Fails
DOE Fails · NYC Schools · student voices · UFT

Teachers Have a Union… Why Don’t Students: How They Can Help Each Other When the DOE Fails

Gregory WickhamLeave a comment

Every adult in a school building gets a union. Most are members of the United Federation of Teachers, and together they are incredibly powerful and effective. They negotiate all the rules. They can influence hiring and firing procedures, and everything about teaching. They have negotiated an incredible list of policies and rights for their members,… Continue reading Teachers Have a Union… Why Don’t Students: How They Can Help Each Other When the DOE Fails