My experience in school has been hard because I have been told that I would never amount to anything. I’m organizing with the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) to prove to those people who have counted me out that I am somebody and my opinion matters. I come from University City High School, which is an Empowerment School. Empowerment Schools are the district’s “lowest performing” schools on standardized tests. So the message that I get is that I am a troublemaker, that I am low class, or that by the time I get to 12th grade I will drop out.
When I first started high school, I didn’t have any school pride. After I joined Philadelphia Student Union (PSU), I started standing up for my school. I want to make Sayre the best it can be and a place where every student wants to come to high school.
A new model of teacher development is emerging that could help 'hard to staff' neighborhood schools build and retain a base of effective teachers by recruiting young adults in the neighborhood to choose a career in teaching. This model is called 'Grow Your Own' and it is happening in Chicago, thanks to the organizing work of students and communities. Dan Jones interviewed Rod Wilson of Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) in Chicago, about how 'Grow Your Own' is changing the way teachers and communities interact.
We, the students at Overbrook High School (OHS), have been working to improve our school for the last two years. This is because we love our school, and we feel like students have to take responsibility for making it better. We have been organizing students to come to school on time and attend their classes, meeting with district officials, elected officials, and community members who are all as committed as we are in transforming our school to educate each and every one of us for our future. But the road has not been easy.
Student leaders speak about how Philadelphia Student Union has affected their lives and their futures, in this youth-produced radio piece. Zakia Royster, Lawrence Jones Mahoney & Khalif Dobson talk about how they became part of this youth-led organization and how their identity as organizers and their sense of purpose has been shaped through their work with PSU.
On this show we hear a feature about how Philadelphia Student Union has affected the lives of members. We also hear a piece that asks whether Advanced Placement classes are dividing students and distributing schools' resources inequitably. Then we look at the ways music shapes people, with a Song Breakdown of 'One More Drink' and a story about conscious hip hop. Plus, there's music and other news from Philly's schools.
Note from the Author: I encourage everyone to listen to this album that the PSU produced and then to donate $5 to get this album out to 2 students in Philly (or donate more to help the PSU continue its amazing work)! To listen and donate click here.
Last week Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich came to our city as part of their “Listening and Learning Tour” regarding a national agenda for public education reform. Students, parents, teachers, and community organizations were left wondering who the group was really listening to, since none of us were included in the tour’s agenda. We were only able to speak with them through a locked and guarded wrought-iron fence.
This summer, students from the Philadelphia Student Union visited the town of Matewan, West Virginia; a town with a rich history of coal miner organizing. There, a man named Wes Harris explained the conditions faced by coal miners in the early 20th century, and that some miners are still experiencing today. This visit was part of a larger immersion into Appalachia, to better understand poverty in this country and how to build a multi-racial movement to end it.
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