Gregory Wickham

Gregory Wickham was a student at Stuyvesant High School. He runs NYC School Tech, a site where people can donate spare laptops and tablets to students in need. He was a quarter-finalist in the 2014 Young Rewired State Festival of Code.
Can This Software Development Process Be the Key to Raising Standards at All Schools?
achievement gap · Blog

Can This Software Development Process Be the Key to Raising Standards at All Schools?

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In software development, there is a system called test-driven development or TDD. It’s a five-step process that gets repeated until a finished product is obtained. Its core mechanic consists of writing tests to check if your software works before you write the software, and when you write the software, you write it just to pass… Continue reading Can This Software Development Process Be the Key to Raising Standards at All Schools?

How the College Board Siphons Public Funds and Profits off Student Failure with AP Courses
Accountability · Advanced Placement

How the College Board Siphons Public Funds and Profits off Student Failure with AP Courses

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The New York City Department of Education’s AP for All initiative “aims to ensure that by fall 2021, students at all high schools will have access to at least five AP classes.” AP for All is part of the DOE’s Equity and Excellence for All agenda, run by the Office of Equity and Access, whose… Continue reading How the College Board Siphons Public Funds and Profits off Student Failure with AP Courses

4 Things High School Students MUST Know Before Signing Up For AP Classes
Blog · New York City

4 Things High School Students MUST Know Before Signing Up For AP Classes

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If you are currently in high school in NYC, your school probably offers AP courses. You may know that they are “advanced” classes, with a final comprehensive test at the end, and you were probably told that you can earn college credit for taking them. If you’re a good student who wants to save some… Continue reading 4 Things High School Students MUST Know Before Signing Up For AP Classes

What Is Computer Science? The DOE Doesn’t Know: CS4All (Part 2)
Blog · Computer Science · New York City · STEM Education

What Is Computer Science? The DOE Doesn’t Know: CS4All (Part 2)

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As covered in Part #1, two weeks ago was the New York City Department of Education’s CSEdWeek, which is an extension of their CS4All initiative that they claim “will ensure all NYC public school students learn computer science” and help students develop “computational thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and critical-thinking skills.“ There are a few issues with… Continue reading What Is Computer Science? The DOE Doesn’t Know: CS4All (Part 2)

“Teaching computer science so people can work with computers is akin to teaching students about locksmithery so they can unlock their doors.” – How the NYC Department of Education Doesn’t Understand Their Own CS4All Initiative! (Part #1)
Blog · New York City · Teaching in NYC

“Teaching computer science so people can work with computers is akin to teaching students about locksmithery so they can unlock their doors.” – How the NYC Department of Education Doesn’t Understand Their Own CS4All Initiative! (Part #1)

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The NYC DOE has a program called CS4All which they say “will ensure all NYC public school students learn computer science” and that this will make students “better prepared to utilize computer science during their K-12 experience and after graduation.” Two weeks ago was their CSEdWeek, which encouraged many schools to bring “computer science to… Continue reading “Teaching computer science so people can work with computers is akin to teaching students about locksmithery so they can unlock their doors.” – How the NYC Department of Education Doesn’t Understand Their Own CS4All Initiative! (Part #1)

Teacher/Subject Conflation
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Teacher/Subject Conflation

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Once, a fifth-grader informed me that she hated science. According to her, it was a stupid, boring subject. Not class, subject. I tried to convince her otherwise but to no avail. The following year, the topic of science came up again, and I assumed that her opinion had not changed, but lo and behold: it… Continue reading Teacher/Subject Conflation

Don’t stop them now! Students can learn more than you think
New York City

Don’t stop them now! Students can learn more than you think

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Computers are fast and stupid, people are slow and clever. This is an axiom that anybody who works with computers must accept in order that computers and people may cooperate effectively. Yet, schools seem to ask students to do tasks to which computers are much better suited, and then let them graduate without ever having… Continue reading Don’t stop them now! Students can learn more than you think

NYC High Schools Need a Better Admissions Method: Why Not Try This?
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NYC High Schools Need a Better Admissions Method: Why Not Try This?

Gregory Wickham1 Comment

New York City public high schools are constantly changing their admission procedures. For instance, Beacon High School, which used to have an interview, doesn’t anymore. Frank McCourt High School got rid of their group activity that they used to sort students. School of the Future stopped asking for portfolios this year. These schools are putting… Continue reading NYC High Schools Need a Better Admissions Method: Why Not Try This?

If You Want Kids To Learn, Get The Teachers Out of the Way, Says This NYC High School Student.
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If You Want Kids To Learn, Get The Teachers Out of the Way, Says This NYC High School Student.

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Teachers! What are they good for? Very little. In the beginning, schooling served a purpose. The British Empire needed to produce people who could keep the empire functioning by being cogs in its bureaucratic machine. Nowadays we keep the same system but without the purpose. What I propose is based on the work and research… Continue reading If You Want Kids To Learn, Get The Teachers Out of the Way, Says This NYC High School Student.

This High School Freshman Says Students Should Be Allowed To Retake All Tests.
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This High School Freshman Says Students Should Be Allowed To Retake All Tests.

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This is a guest post by Gregory Wickham, a student at Stuyvesant High School. Gregory is a 2013 2nd place winner of the Michael Perelstein Memorial Scholarship Discover Your Passion Competition, and a quarter-finalist in the 2014 Young Rewired State Festival of Code. You can find his website at  gregorywickham.com.   On April 25, 2019, Education Post published Allowing Test… Continue reading This High School Freshman Says Students Should Be Allowed To Retake All Tests.