What in the World is Slave-Tag?
Yesterday we convened a group of students from around the city of Philadelphia in a Student Voice Convention to launch our national tour. We didn’t choose the city by accident—Philadelphia was the birthplace of our nation. It was here, 227 years ago that another convention created an American government for the people and by the people and it is here in 2016 that students discussed how to make an education system for the students and by the students.
We began the day with Philadelphia’s superintendent, Dr. William Hite. He spoke about the importance of having your voice heard, especially in the conversations about the current problems facing the city.
The problems are many. The city is facing massive budget cuts that are threatening to shut schools down; students are acutely aware and ready to fight for their schools. And many of those schools are decrepit and falling apart. We heard from Philadelphia Councilwoman Helen Gym about an exploding school boiler which lit an employee on fire.
In conversation with students, we heard about a “game” played in an African-American History class:
Slave-tag.
In an attempt to teach slavery, one Philadelphia teacher created an activity where he designated certain students in the class as slaves and certain students as slave owners. The goal: catch the slaves.
Philadelphia’s school system may need many improvements, but one thing was made absolutely clear: the students have a passion and dedication to their schools and communities that is inspiring. It didn’t take long for students to determine that there was something more than a little bit wrong with “slave-tag,” and they spoke out.
In Philadelphia high schools, protests are a common occurrence. Students from all walks of life are aware of how policies at the state and district level affect their ability to learn.
Students are supportive. One student explained how her school had their student council taken away. The other students in the room were shocked such a thing could happen. During the rest of the summit, other students helped the girl brainstorm how to What in the World is Slave-Tag? - Student Voice:
In November, Student Voice announced plans for a nationwide tour at the White House Summit on Next Generation High Schools. The tour is first bringing Student Voice to Philadelphia, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina to connect with students. Led by UNC student and National Field Director, Andrew Brennen, the tour will shadow the 2016 presidential campaign trail. “The goal of our tour is to inspire and engage students of all ages to be more active agents in their own learning,” Brennen shares. “Students spend at least 35 hours per week in a classroom and therefore have much insight to offer on what is and is not working. We want to unleash this expertise so that everyone, most especially young people themselves, sees students as critical and creative consumers of their own education.”
Each stop of the tour will create space for students to, often for the first time, think critically about their schools. Students will vote on the Student Bill of Rights, participate in Student voice roundtable sessions, and strategize ways that they can insert themselves as stakeholders in their education.
Zak Malamed, Executive Director of Student Voice, shared, “the best way to engage students and learn from them is to meet them where they are. So, through the Student Voice Tour, that is exactly what we are going to do.”
Student Voice plans to reach at least 10,000 students from all 50 states through the Student Bill of Rights voting platform through the tour. The aim of the tour is to collect nationwide year-toyear data analysis of student perspectives on what’s most important to them in their education as well as documenting how students are driving school improvement across the country through the SBoR.
About Student Voice
Student Voice is a completely student-run, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization inspired by the lack of student voices in education. Student Voice strives to enhance the overall effectiveness of the student voice movement by bridging the gap between students and education communities around the world through its services-based approach. For more information about Student Voice, visit StuVoice.org or follow us on Twitter @Stu_Voice.