Your Voice Matters: Injustices Being Unsilenced from an Educators Perspective

May is approaching, and most teachers in urban education are probably drained by this point. Not to fear, there is something that is more draining than going through an entire year after the pandemic, and that is the PSSA's. If you are not aware of what the PSSA's are, it is simply a standardized test that public schools in the state of Pennsylvania have to take typically in 3rd-8th grade. You may be thinking, "Well, that can't be so bad", but in reality it is, and for many reasons than one. In this blog, I will be giving you reasons as to why the PSSA's should be banned, and then you can ultimately decide if you agree or do not agree. Deal?                                                                       The PSSA's are Accountability Gone Wrong In 2002, Pennsylvania developed the Pennsylvania Accountability Plan in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act, so that they could measure school improvement, student achievement, and hold schools accoun

       It has been a while since I last blogged, because life gets busy when you are an adult, but when you have a topic that has been on your mind for a while, you know that it is time to start blogging again. If you have read any of my other blogs, you will be able to piece together fairly quickly, that I am a Black educator who is very passionate about the lives of urban children. There are so many elements outside of just education that becomes a barrier for urban children. These children are facing poverty, lack of resources, and trying to escape the jail cells that society has already put their names on. The school to prison pipeline and the zero tolerance policies is just a few examples of how urban children find themselves first in juvenile detention center, and then in prison not to long after. Even though these topics are very important as well, I want to spend today's blog speaking on behalf of the breakfast programs in Philadelphia that is not supplying urban children f