In Philadelphia, there are over 200 school district schools that serve  over 140,000 students. Within each student lies an opinion. Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in the United States, while holding a population total over 1,500,000. I know throwing these statistics at you is unorthodox, but to make a point, it needed to be done. At Science Leadership Academy (SLA) we take in a lot of information each day. The atmosphere becomes intoxicating to always hear and feel the same position constantly. SLA students live in a double edged sword environment. The liberal bubble that students have is wonderful and it keeps debates and conflicts to minimum. You and I know that this is not the real world. Students at SLA have their own opinions to share and their own attitude.

This editorial was created to simply state what SLA’s students concerns and issues that pertain to all Philadelphia students.

Education

The towering issue is education. It is not a quick overnight fix. It also didn’t happen overnight. Funding for all parts of education is and will be an issue for an extensive period of time. Students at SLA concerned with education are drawn from the lack of funding the school district provides for  Philadelphia students. It becomes embarrassing to attend a school in which you know they can’t even afford a full staff. These are just a few issues SLA students have with education funding. The list is endless.

Police Brutality

There is nothing people don’t already know about this advancing issue. The streets of Philly are emerging into a battlefield. Philadelphia students are trapped in the middle of this raging battle of unnecessary violence. The biggest concern that SLA students have for Philadelphia students are our city’s stop and frisk laws.

Teen Violence

Teen violence is an issue that the SLA student body does not take lightly. Teen violence in Philadelphia has been taking a major leap in the last 20 years. For students enrolled in inner city schools it is a massive wave of trauma. Flash mobs and the infamous “knock -out-challenges” were issues that needed to be changed immediately. SLA students still want to address this issue and let it be known to the officials of the city.

Solutions to our issues are very complicated but the SLA community has come up with ideas that help us manage miscommunication that students have about how the school district and state work together. We all need to take a stand on what we think is the right movement. In order for us to be more educated about the political issues in Philly is to immerse yourself in information.If the government doesn’t defend the interests of children, who will?