SLA Media

SLAMedia is a publication of the news for the Science Leadership Academy community. Writers come from the student body in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We work in unison to create a functioning paper with biweekly postings on a variety of events.

Op/Ed

How does the School District determine Snow Days?

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Chiara Nemati

Staff Writer

On Monday, January 26th, the School District of Philadelphia called for a half day due to bad weather. But as students woke up and looked out of their windows, not much snow was  falling. Many people are glad to have this half day no matter what the weather is. However, others wonder why the School District did not just wait to see how the day would go before calling for an early dismissal.

 

So, how does the School District decide when to make it a snow day?

 

There are many theories as to why and how a snow day is decided. People in charge of this decision will listen to weather reports and gain the knowledge of how much snow is to be expected. Also if the crisis goes national, schools may be forced to close.

 

Another theory is that based off of calls made last school year decides whether or not the School District will shut down school or just call for an early dismissal.

 

In previous years, the School District has had some very close calls. Some of us may remember the day where we all got stuck in the snow on our way home. January 21, 2014 the School District called for an early dismissal, thinking that no student would get stuck in the snow. However, they were wrong. By making the students go to school for the day, they ended up making many students have a long trek back home. Students had to wait some time before any transportation arrived. Because of all the hurry to get back to homes the trains, buses, and trolleys were very full. Also the weather made it hard for Septa to be on time.

 

Maybe the School District was thinking about the terrible weather last year and the mistakes they have made. Maybe they were listening to the news channels and figured what was being said was true.

 

I expect that the school district has a protocol, but they don’t share it publicly. Nelson County Schools, (located in Kentucky) has an article talking about how they decide whether or not a snow day is required. Their first priority is the safety of the students and how safe transportation will be, for example slippery roads. By contrast, all the School District of Philadelphia offers is on their website a Inclement Weather Information section that teaches the reader what to do in case they are unsure of the status of school openings.

 

The School District should include a section on how they determine if we will have a snow day. It could be very helpful for students and also gives us an understanding of why certain decisions are made. It will also allow the students to go to bed earlier instead of waiting up for the update. With a clearer understanding of what decision will be made we can be more prepared for the day.

 

The Legacy of Dr. King: Are We Living in His Dream or His Nightmare?

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By Sean Morris

Staff Writer

 

 

Many years ago, Dr. King gave an infamous speech in which the simple term “I have a dream” would become part of one of the most infamous speeches in human history. Years after King has died many fear that the dream we had hoped, and even though we had accomplished hasn’t come to life, however age old racism is still pertinent today in new and hidden, and even very public ways. This article will be used to briefly discuss a bit on how much has changed since Kings times- for good or worse- King’s modern image and where as a collective society the next point is.

 

Statistics have shown that there is still prejudice against african americans, but in a much smaller ways. For example, when considering job applicants, employers are less likely to hire someone who has a more “ethnic name” than what could be considered a “white name”. African Americans make up most of the prisoners in the united states, even though they are proportionally a minority to collective white americans. And I believe many of these cases are for more petty crimes like drug abuse, so in these subjects we can begin to see a pattern of internalized racism, which can be a harder subject and system to dismantle.

Concerning King himself he’s become nothing short of an icon, but perhaps an often misinterpreted one. Many forget that it was King’s fiery speeches and rebellious actions against his oppressors, which landed him in prison that might come into contrast with people’s notions of him being the ultimate peacemaker. And while he was a very peaceful man, even more so than many others who were fighting for the same things he was, it’s important to take these kind of notions with a grain of salt. It’s entirely possible that the fear of misinterpretation caused King’s family to controversely withhold any and all speeches of his from being used in the award winning film “Selma”, as all of King’s speeches were copyrighted by him before his death. And while I can see that perspective of not wanting such an important figure- both to them personally and to the world in general- Kings family hasn’t been known to get along- varying on ideological viewpoints and even being, as some might say “greedy” in giving out the speeches and demanding a lot of money for them (about $800,000 in one case) which makes me think theres an unfortunate underlay to the story. And while I can see that handing out those speeches to any film wouldn’t be a great idea, this one would have had more littermate backing I would think that they would have known it would be something special.

 

The topic of race in America has been particularly prevalent these past few months with the wake of the Ferguson and Eric Garner decisions, making many lose faith in the police department and criticizing them for racial profiling. Among these controversies is on how little vocal conversation has come from celebrities, who remained silent on this issue, especially when so many did things like the ice bucket challenge. It reminded me on Kings quote of impartiality; “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice…”

 

I think that the best way to continue Dr. King’s legacy in a way that celebrates who is was and what he stood for is to give voice to the issues of oppressed people. Rather than remain off to the side or impartial about the issues concerning race that rock our world we should take stand against it, loudly and vocally until we can all do our best to dismantle the problems that plague our world. And while we might be able to cure racism entirely, it is with hope we can try to leave the world a better place a bit better then when we came into it, like Dr. King himself.

Some articles on a similar topic:

Should Parents Help Their Kids With Homework?

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William Derry

Staff Writer

 

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Image Courtesy of sheknows. com

 

When we begin school at the age of 5 or 6, (sometimes later) we are given homework. At that time, we do not really understand why this happens but we know that are teachers constantly remind us to do it. Usually it starts off with the teacher putting the homework in your notebook, then proceeds into us writing down the homework from the whiteboard. The question is: what happens when we get home?

When I was in 4th or 5th grade, my mom would check my homework after I finished it. She would make comments on it, and I would have to correct it. This was fine until one day, I did want to not do my homework. I just sat at my dining room table and just stared at the homework. My mom yelled at me and told me do it. I knew that I must have been crying very hard, because after I finished the assignment I could see the tears on the spelling worksheet. Oh, I forgot to mention that my mom is a teacher and better yet, she is an elementary school teacher. Needless to say, she was never going to make life easier for me by doing the work.

When kids are first starting kindergarten and up until they reach middle school, they should be helped by their parents with their homework. This does not mean that the parents should do the homework for the student, but should encourage the student to complete that night’s assignment and try to answer any questions that the student has about the homework.

Once the kid has reached middle school, they will not need the parents to dictate when and how they do their homework because the foundation that was set when the kid was in elementary will still be intact. If those good habits are not there, that’s when kids really get lazy — and when parents might cave and help them actually do the work.

With my own mom, her attitude helped me in the long run. It gave me that fear and constant reminder that I had to do my work myself. She would follow up on me, but she never did the work for me. As a result, I make sure to do my homework every night, at 6pm on the dot.

The age of the kid and who the kid is, will dictate if you should help them with their homework and if so, how long in their educational career you should help them with their homework.

Column: Student Perspective at the 440 Die-in

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Chiara Nemati

Staff writer

I participated in the die-In at the School District Building, located at 440 N. Broad street.

This Die-In was different than the last student-organized protest, which happened at several schools on December 4th. This time, Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) organized it so that education could be tied in.

When I arrived, not many people were there, but reporters were around, along with many policemen on foot, s three police cars on the street and about 30 police officers on bikes. Students were holding up signs that read “Black lives Matter” and “It’s our duty to fight for freedom.” The head coordinators handedout slips of paper that had the main chants on the front and a song that would later be sung on the back.

As the chants began, more students joined the protest. A huge group of people walked to the 440 building together holding signs written on cardboard. There was one sign that stuck out to me. It said “No Justice, No Peace,” and underneath it had this written in Chinese. I appreciated that the sign showed how many ethnicities this problem affects.

At around 4:50, Senior Ruby Anderson began the die-in by instructing people of color to lie down and others to sit in support. Once she has “died,” everyone followed.

We sat in silence for six minutes in honor of the 6th grader, Laporshia Massey, who died last year of an asthma attack, when there was no nurse at her school that day. . Budget cuts have affected the School District of Philadelphia in a negative way, and everyday school and families have to face the consequences. We students struggle as we watch children who have their whole lives in front of them get cheated on their education. All of this is the courtesy of the School Reform Commission.

I thought that connecting police brutality and school funding was a good representation of the things that need to be fixed. The fact that so many children have died at the hands of policemen is something that must be fixed. No matter what their race is, this type of violence should not be occurring. It is a terrible thing that these mothers had to lose their sons in such a manner. Part of the reason why I went to the die-in was to show my support to those mothers.

I also wanted the School District to understand that they also play a role in this violence. It may present itself in different forms, but the violence is all the same. Education is our key into the world, our way to prosper and if that is taken away from us, then each student in the School District of Philadelphia is being held back from being someone we are fully capable of being.

After the die-in was over, many people spoke and told their views and protested about the state violence that many places in this country are experiencing. It felt meaningful that students from so many schools came out to show their support I am glad to know that so many people want their voice to be heard. I cannot wait to see what student actions will come next.

Icy times at Dilworth Park

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Dylan McKeon Staff writter

Having opened on November 14, The Rothman Institute Ice Rink in Dilworth Park is bringing an extra touch of winter to Philadelphia.

Personally, I am tremendously horrid at ice skating. My last experience was in 7th grade, therefore I was not expecting to do very well or enjoy the experience much. However, I found it quite nice, despite my extremely poor skill.

There were many families and people of all ages enjoying their time on the ice.Despite the large amount of people around, the rink was not as crowded as I expected with plenty of room to skate, hold on to the wall, and fall over.

The area is very festive with quite a bit of lights and nearby holiday attractions. The rink is very nice, it is made with real ice rather than the synthetic ice, like most of the other ice skating rinks use. It’s only eight blocks away from Science Leadership Academy and very easy to get to with public transportation. It’s quite ideal for students after school, as the park opens at 3p.m. on weekdays.

On the whole, the rink is a very nice addition to the park, giving many in the neighborhood an opportunity to take a break and experience one of the fun sides of the winter season. It also provides an easy-to-access second location for outdoor skating, since the Penn’s Landing rink is harder to get to.

The ice rink will remain in the park until February 22, when the rink will be taken down to make way for warmer activities. Until then, the ice rink is open all week for 3-4 dollars a person with an extra fee for renting skates.

The Rothman Institute has sponsored the rink for three winters, after which either a new sponsor will support it or it will close down. However, it seems unlikely it will lose support as it is already becoming a nice fixture on the west side of City Hall.