Many people who support standardized testing have good intentions: they would like an objective way to evaluate how well schools are serving their students. They would also like to use the results to help figure out which schools need help. They have an admirable central goal - to ensure that all students are learning.
On, Tuesday April 20th around 2pm, Philadelphia Student Union conducted a 3-minute action. In only 180 seconds, we showed the power and leadership that young people have when we are organized for non-violence.
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.
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.
The stories in this show include a report about the community victory to keep William Penn High School from being closed. There is also a piece about how we are taught in school versus how we learn best. And we also hear PSU students who went to the B'more Fair in Baltimore, a march for the rights of workers in the Inner Harbor, organized by the United Workers Association. Finally, there is a segment about the struggle to stop our schools from being privatized, including Khalif Dobson's testimony from a School Reform Commission meeting. Plus, you'll hear music and other local news stories from the perspectives of youth organizers.
Months ago, when the school district first announced that it would be closing William Penn HS, almost no one doubted that that would be the case. However, thanks to the quick and effective organizing of the community around William Penn, the school is going to remain open and there is a new plan to turn it into a cutting edge career and technical school.
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