Op/Ed

Op-Ed: Projects From Both Teacher’s and Student’s Point of View

November 9, 2017 by Kwan Hopkins Leave a Comment

Autumn Lor

Staff Writer

SLA Student, Amelia Benamara works on a group project.

Science Leadership Academy is known for their projects, but how much do you really know what goes on behind the scenes? Every student at SLA has been in a group project but has different stories with every project. Over time things can become easier but there are still challenges from time to time.

Teachers create the projects based on the subject in class what they think the students would like but the truth is, not everyone likes the project. Some teachers have more experience than others so they know what they should do. History Teacher Jason Todd creates multiple projects that keep the students busy but also presents the project in a fun way.

“Competition in projects is a perfect motivation to some students to get them to jump into the project,” Todd said with a passionate voice.

During my sophomore year, I’d have about 9 different projects in one class and none of them were the same to anyone else’s in my class. The reason for that is because teachers make their projects to be opened-ended and that allows projects to have different outcomes.

“Not only are projects opened-ended, they’re created to help students in the future,” Math Teacher Victor Hernandez reported.

Group projects aren’t always because of teachers, sometimes it’s about the partners. There are four types of students when it comes to group projects. The person who wants to control the group, the one who doesn’t do anything, the one who waits until the very last minute to do, and the one who gets everything done the first day.

In my experience, projects show a side of people that we may not like. Group projects had ripped apart some of my friendships because of two reasons; the need to be right and timing of the projects. For a group project to be great, everything has to have a layout and organized with ALL group members.

I’ve had projects where all my group members did was write their names, and I’ve been in projects where I felt like that too, it’s different because of how you group members cooperate with each other.

As for the stress — there are times where multiple teachers give projects the same day, but that doesn’t mean that they’re due the same day. I like how projects can be done with different due dates because then it’s less stressful to focus on all the projects at once. That’s something that not everyone realizes but it’s a good thing think about when doing projects. Another thing that everyone should do it not do it that last minute.

On the whole, I would prefer individual projects over group project. When you have individual projects, you can’t blame anyone but yourself, everything is done in your own way, and you don’t have to fight with everyone about how things should work. Group projects can be a good way to change up from time to time and students more creative ideas, but during my freshman year, I would have disagreed with this because I was lazy. I realize now that it’s better to be independent and learn to do things on your own.

Column: Benchmarks Through The Years

November 3, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Rasa Watson

Staff Writer

Freshman year was a big adjustment for me and as soon as I got settled in, benchmark season was upon us. I had no idea what to expect. This first project that I got at SLA was the “Me Magazine” assigned by English Teacher Amal Giknis. The “Me Magazine” was basically a magazine that we had to write about ourselves. One of our passions, a person, and a place that are important to us. This project wasn’t a benchmark, and for me it was fun.

The first real benchmark I received was an English benchmark. It was based around the book Kindred, written by Octavia E. Butler. We had to create what happened to Kevin, the main character’s husband who had been stuck in the past for 5 years, during those 5 years.

I think the most difficult thing for me was time management. I have never had an assignment that was organized so specifically. I struggled with turning everything in on time. I remember crying the night the project was due because I turned it in 10 minutes late. We were reminded repeatedly not to turn it in late.

One thing that was still new to me, but helpful, was the rubric.

Rubric by Amal Giknis

I wasn’t used to having a rubric to help guide me on what I needed to get done so I struggled a lot. I was used to just being given a project, doing what I thought was right, then getting graded and seeing the rubric after. Even though benchmarks were still new and I was getting so many at once, I managed to get a good grade on my first benchmark at SLA.

Sophomore year is a whole different ball game. Everything seems easier now. Projects aren’t as stressful to me anymore. I have had so many people tell me that school is either going to get easier, or it’s going to get harder. I personally think that sophomore year is both. Harded and eiser. It’s harder because the material we are learning is harder. But at the same time it is getting easier because we are used to the amount of work and adapt to the difficulty.

My first benchmark this year was a geometry project, that was focused around reasoning and logic. The project consisted of a lot. It was a lot of thought, reasoning and proving the puzzles and problems we created were correct. We also had to solve the puzzles and problems that our classmates created. After solving we had to justify our knowledge and answers. My end product was a 22 slide long slide show. I was proud because it was the first benchmark that I turned in early, and it was visually pleasing.

(Cover of my Geometry project.)

There is a major change from freshman year to sophomore year in terms of benchmark. They continue to get difficult, but you can work your way through them because now you have experience with benchmarks.

Op-Ed: A Comparison Between Philadelphia’s DA Candidates

November 3, 2017 by Kwan Hopkins Leave a Comment

Krasner’s Primary Victory Speech, Courtesy of NBC Philadelphia

Sarah Berg

Staff Writer

The race to replace ousted District Attorney Seth Williams is upon Philadelphia. While civil rights attorney and Democratic nominee for DA, Larry Krasner, is expected to win by a large margin, people were surprised when The Philadelphia Inquirer published their endorsement for Republican candidate Beth Grossman. Their reasoning for this endorsement: Krasner’s apparent lack of experience when compared to his GOP counterpart.

Grossman spent eight years running the Public Nuisance Task Force, which caused “people not even accused of a crime lost their houses and cars because of alleged actions by family members,” admitted the Inquirer.

The article quickly brushes over this, stating that Grossman was “following the rules at that time and that now she would not take property unless the owner was convicted of a crime.” Grossman appears to do what most people of the time did rather than formulate new strategies or alternate punishments.

That’s where the line between her and Krasner becomes most apparent. Grossman’s job as a prosecutor clearly contrasts with Krasner’s career as a criminal defense lawyer (experiences some may consider unconventional for someone running for DA). And although Grossman says electing a Republican is likely to bring change to the city, the policies presented by both her party and the Democrats indicate something different.

Grossman’s positions focus on victims’ rights, protecting juveniles, the opioid crisis, and decreasing the amount of violent crime. Krasner’s positions focus on ending the death penalty, halting mass incarceration, bring an end to stop-and-frisk, protecting the environment, and resisting the negative policies of the Trump administration.

Interestingly enough, both have mentioned President Trump in interviews with Democracy Now! “I am running this race to be the district attorney of Philadelphia. So what my views are of the president are irrelevant to this race,” said Grossman. Krasner, on the other hand, sarcastically called Trump “the gift that just keeps on giving. So much wisdom.” Krasner also went farther into his views on the president in a campaign video: “You have a wannabe dictator as president… You have a guy who hates free speech because he can’t control it,” he said.

The two candidates also have very different views on the death penalty. Grossman says it doesn’t make sense economically, but would make exceptions in extreme cases, such as “if we have an example of terrorism and a first responder is killed, or the case like the individual went in and shot 9 people in the church down south.” Krasner, on the other hand, is 100% against it. When asked if he would “ever pursue the death penalty in a case,” he responded with a simple “No,” before being prompted to explain why, citing morals as well as the economic consequences that are “destroying our public schools.”

If you haven’t figured out by now, I believe Larry Krasner is the better candidate. Although I’m not old enough to vote, knowing who can impact your life and the lives of those around you is important. I value knowing what is going on in the world, or in this case, the city. My opinion matters because, hopefully, someone who reads votes for the candidate I believe will change Philadelphia’s legal system for the better. And in the end, developing opinions about candidates such as Grossman and Krasner allows me to practice forming my own morals and beliefs.

Column: On Memes and Your First Amendment Rights

June 9, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

An example of a meme that both relates to this story and is non-offensive, therefore appropriate to post on the school server that hosts this website.

Aidan Williams

Staff Writer

This past spring, in a small private group message connected to the larger ‘Harvard Class of 2021’ Facebook page, a group of incoming freshmen to the esteemed university were getting to know one another. Perhaps a little too well.

News surfaced in the past couple weeks that ten of of these new Harvard freshmen had their acceptances rescinded following the discovery of their private group chat, in which a series of memes were uncovered, all horribly offensive in nature. The meme’s themes ranged from racism and anti-semitism to child abuse and sexual abuse, with seemingly everything in between. Unsurprisingly, Harvard University was not impressed with the content, and rescinded their offers of acceptance to the school.

This has created yet a new divide in the political climate between those who see the memes as clearly hate-speech, crossing the line of freedom of expression into dangerous and threatening territory, and those who believe that their first amendment rights know no bounds.

This is nothing new, however. Debates like this have been very common recently, especially with the modern spread of information through the World-Wide Web. A debate of free vs. hate speech has been in and out of the spotlight for much of the past few years, and we don’t seem to be any closer to solving it.

However, one thing that many forget is that, while the first amendment is a basic human right, it protects American citizens from censorship exclusively from the government and public groups and foundations. Often in cases like this happening at Harvard, many are quick to add their two cents on how this is censorship and infringing on their right to freedom of expression. However, perhaps they are forgetting that Harvard, a private institution, has every right to deny applicants, or rescind acceptances, based on what they determine to be overstepping a boundary. A patron at a restaurant cannot be arrested for saying something offensive, but it is perfectly within the restaurant’s owner’s right to remove them from the premises.

So, perhaps Harvard didn’t want these ideas floating around in their school, and that is up to their admissions board, but a question of First Amendment Rights? It certainly is not.

Interestingly enough, however, the line becomes somewhat blurry for public schools. While a public school, being a public institution, should uphold the rights granted by the Constitution, public institutions of learning have, first and foremost, a duty to ensure the best possible education for its students. Therefore, while it is encouraged that different opinions are shared and understood, it is encouraged that the sharing is done in a respectful manner that does not negatively impact anyone’s learning. For example, students cannot demand credit for a wrong answer on a test in the name of freedom of belief and expression.

Ultimately, it is not the goal of schools and teachers to silence their students, but to provide a safe a respectful learning atmosphere. So, as long as we, as students, are respectful towards one another and don’t share deliberately offensive content on school-run forums, our First Amendment Rights should not be an issue.

Column: Our Thoughts on The Vote

May 30, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Tamir Harper

Staff Writer

At 1PM last Thursday, an email hit student inboxes that changed the life of the SLA Family. The email that made everyone’s heartbeat, palms sweat and want to jump into action. Founding Principal Chris Lehmann — or, as some students like to call him, Poppa Lehmann — sent a surprise update about the new vote for our building. Originally, the SRC was going to vote on a two year lease extension but last minute they changed the game and decided on one year instead.

At 4PM last Thursday, students, facility, parents and even alumni gathered inside the brightly-lit but still-depressing auditorium of the School District of Philadelphia headquarters while members of the School Reform Commission took their comfortable seats with water on hand. Some in the SLA community starved, both literally and figuratively. With the short notice SLA representatives were not able to grab a snack for the three hour dragged out meeting that determined the fate of our current home.

But we still showed up with signs and speeches and our voices really to be heard. We stood outside of the district building with our signs ready to enter and be heard and seen. The meeting started and some could definitely tell that it was going to be a long night. Faces disgusted and stomachs screaming. Our first speaker was called, “Luke Risher” we all made noise and stood behind him but right before we were able to get in our spots, School District Police decided to block us from getting close. That didn’t stop us. We stood and set until no more SLA students spoke about our home. After our second speaker, Superintendent Hite told District Police to stand down because he understood that we were standing behind our family members who were fighting for out home.

At 7PM last Thursday, the moment that we had been waiting for finally came. After sitting for three hours hearing from people that agreed with the renewal of SLA lease to people that disagree, it was time for the vote. But before the vote SRC member Bill Green rattled off statistics that many stated was irrelevant information before the vote of our school. Our objective was to have them postpone the vote, but the votes came in and every member of the Commission voted for a one year lease extension. After the SRC vote many were still confused.

But with all of that, we the SLA family live to fight another day. Another day where we get to hold our heads up high because we fought with all our hearts. We fought for what we believed in and what is right. Some may say we didn’t get our desired outcome, but in reality we did. Now EVERY School Reform Commissioner knows that one, we fight as a family and that we fight strong. Two, they know can never say that they did not know the request of the SLA Family.

Family, with the victory I ask that we don’t stop fighting. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” So, continue to stand for what you believe in, continue to fight for change and continue to stay strong.