Back when I was a freshman in my high school, everything was new. Having just been in a middle school environment where every adult assured me that “things like this won’t fly in high school,” I was naturally terrified of my teachers. They seemed like these untouchable, mysterious figures who were there to grant us all divine knowledge, whom we didn’t dare ask questions of or come to outside of school- because of course that’s not what you’re supposed to do, it’s high school after all, right? At the time I was taking geometry from the most mysterious teacher of them all, and his class was by far my hardest that year. My friends and I constantly had trouble dealing with the class’s workload as well as with the difficult tests and quizzes, but we also just knew that if we ever dared talk to him, we would all spontaneously burst into flames. For the most part, we struggled through the class in silence. One day, some time into the year, we were slated to have a quiz on triangle proofs, and nobody was prepared. We were terrified and needed more practice in a million different areas, but there was nothing we could do about it, so we all put our heads down and just took the quiz. Of course, a majority of us bombed it. The class average was abysmal and we all knew it. The next day our teacher handed them back to us and stood up in front of the class. We prepared to be chewed out, spit at, crucified on the spot. Instead, he said something that changed my entire outlook on school from that moment on. “If you needed more time,” he said, “you could have just asked. I would have moved the quiz back.” “What did he just say?” “You can do that?” “Like, actually talk to your teacher?” We were all dumbstruck. It was at that moment that I realized teachers were also people. Even the high school ones. Yes, things were a little different now but as it turned out, teachers weren’t just there to teach you, they were also there to help you. All you had to do was ask for it. The theme this month at Oakwood is communication, and unfortunately communication is a difficult skill to foster. Communicating with people is scary to say the least, and knowing what to say when you open communication can be even harder. I’ve personally been so petrified to make a phone call before that I went about two months longer than normal without a haircut, because I couldn’t make myself call the salon. And that’s just talking to a person I’m going to see once every month or so- forget talking to people like teachers or administrators who I’ll see five days a week! However, as I learned the hard way from my freshman geometry teacher, communication is necessary. If I had just talked to him before the day of the quiz, I wouldn’t have had to bomb the assessment. I could have gotten help. I suffered from my lack of open communication. From then on, I had to work on myself and hone my own communication skills to a point where I could do something as simple as ask for help. But you know what? It was worth it. The truth is that even though it sounds cheesy, communication is key. Getting over some of my social anxiety and learning to communicate with my teachers in school has worked wonders for me and my school career. Then, in turn, learning to honestly talk to my teachers has helped me talk to strangers- it inadvertently helped me make that phone call to the salon. I truly believe that communication is a skill, and it’s one that can be improved and built on, to better your own life as a whole. Getting through both school, and life in general, requires open channels of communication for things like academic, logistical, and emotional assistance when you need it. I’m not going to lie to you and say that communication is easy. It can be hard to open yourself up to people- even to friends and family, but doing so allows you to become a self-advocate. It makes things possible that wouldn’t otherwise be possible alone, and it helps you to work with others in all different types of settings- from the classroom to the house to the workplace. This month, I encourage you to engage in intentional communication with friends, family, teachers, coworkers, or any other people that you happen to be in contact with. Start at your comfort level and work up, exercising your communication muscles to better convey your ideas and feelings to others as they arise. I promise that your skills can and will grow the more you intentionally communicate, and that they will come in handy in very many different ways, making you a better communicator and allowing other people to get to know you better (and help you better) in the process.

Happy summer and happy Pride Month! Ever since the modern pride movement’s deep roots formed in June of 1969, this month has been host to events celebrating the LGBTQIA community, including festivals, shows, parades, and so much more. In 1999, Bill Clinton became the first president to federally declare the month of June as LGBT Pride Month, followed by Barack Obama, who did so every year during his entire term in office. While the official recognition of this time is fairly new, the people it celebrates are not. Gay, lesbian, queer, and transgender people have long been important members in our communities, serving in roles as educators, civil servants, business owners, and so much more. This month is dedicated to recognizing their contributions to the world, as well as pushing for widespread recognition, education, and acceptance. The reason that pride month is set in June is in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots, a series of public riots that took place over about a week of time in New York during June of 1969. Their name comes from the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, which was raided in the early hours of June 28, 1969 by police. The resulting unrest was a wake-up call to the public as well as a major turning point in the gay pride movement, defining much of its progress into modern times. Even today, we remember the legacy of the people who stood up for gay rights in that moment, carrying on their fight for equality and acceptance. The story goes that the Stonewall Inn, as well as most other gay bars in New York at the time, was owned and run by the Mafia, since by state and federal law it was effectively illegal to be gay. However, seeing as there was money to be made, the Mafia stepped in and opened many gay bars across the city, illegally selling alcohol to patrons and bribing police officers to warn them of planned raids. The raid on Stonewall Inn was different, however, because the owners and patrons of Stonewall Inn had not been warned beforehand that police were coming. When law enforcement arrived early in the morning on June 28, there was still alcohol on the premises. Immediately, police began arresting patrons and employees for bootlegging and wearing non “gender appropriate” clothing, which was prohibited by state law. However, instead of dispersing like usual, the crowds began to grow around the bar. As people became more and more upset, yelling things at the police, the police officers began to push back, restraining and arresting members of the crowd. As one woman was notably resisting arrest, the upset crowd watched and began throwing whatever they could get a hold of at the police officers. Things soon escalated into a full-blown riot, in which the police were backed into the bar with the crowd outside, drawing even more people to the scene. This arrangement didn’t last for long, and further police presence cleared out the demonstrators quickly afterwards. Following the events of the first night, demonstrations cooled down and remained peaceful, but for the next five days activists flocked to Christopher Street, the street where Stonewall Inn was located, marching and protesting for gay rights. In direct response to these events, organizations such as the Gay Liberation Front, Human Rights Campaign, and GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) all formed, furthering the centralized fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The following year, 1970, a gay pride march remembering Stonewall was led in New York, which became a yearly tradition, continuing into today. The increased organization around the month of June continued to grow, and people started celebrating June as gay pride month, using the time to raise awareness for and educate people about the LGBTQIA community, carrying on the fight for acceptance and equality. This Pride Month, we must all take the time to individually engage with, celebrate, and support the LGBTQ+ community, whether that is as a member or an ally. I myself am a cisgender heterosexual man, and I intend to take this month to educate myself on how to be a better ally, while intentionally listening to the people who are speaking out on how I can better support the movement. I am aware that I, as a straight man, am not in any place to speak on behalf of the LGBTQIA community, and that it would be ridiculous for me to try and tell you how to celebrate this month. So, for that reason, and for the purposes of this article, I decided to reach out to some of my friends who identify as part of the community and ask them what Pride Month meant to them. These were their responses: “Pride Month to me means celebrating what my queer ancestors fought for. As a Hispanic, bisexual woman, I am able to proudly date or marry another woman because previous queer folks that share the same background as me decided that my right to love was roth fighting for. It’s a month to say thank you to the people who were attacked and discriminated against all for wanting queer love to prevail. It’s a month to celebrate and make sure that this queer love stays prevailing.” “Pride Month, to me, means being your absolute authentic self with no regrets. It means allowing yourself to let go of the fears of the past, where we were shelled, hidden in a box and only displaying the side of us that people want to see. Pride is exemplary of being free of any constraints on your personality and letting your colors shine brighter than anything, and nothing can stop you… Let go of what you’re feeling and live in the moment. Just be you! Happy Pride <3” “I can’t come out to my family. My mom would probably be ok with it (but not understand), my dad semi-regularly uses the word “f----t” or “f--” if he’s in a better mood, and [my brother] uses gay as an insult... My extended family would [hate me] for being bisexual. I feel like growing up in Texas has been a massive roadblock for me because even in the cities there’s still a ‘hide it don’t show it’ mentality for people in the community, and to me, Pride Month is about trying to change that. The best thing that can be done with pride month is to inform people: no, homosexuality is not the eighth deadly sin, it is not a disease that you can catch, and regardless of someone’s sexual orientation or gender they are still a human being and deserve the same rights as you.” All of these responses mean a lot to me, and I just want to sincerely thank those who reached out to me for their honesty and vulnerability. These beautifully highlight that this month can be a month of education, activism, and celebrating Pride in yourself and your community. I appreciate the time and thought that went into these, and encourage others who want to share their experiences with or opinions on Pride Month to do so! Here's where all of this ties into our purpose of education at Oakwood. This month is a great month to engage in, or continue engaging in self-education. Learning is not something that is exclusive to classrooms, and education isn’t some currency that only school teachers can hand out. You have the ability and responsibility to find and utilize resources to learn things on your own! No school necessary. Self-education is a beautiful tool that you can use to better yourself and your community by taking it upon yourself to learn about an important topic. The fact is that in schools, many things are not taught, or are taught unequally, and social justice is one of those topics. For this reason, this is a good month to engage in research and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community. In my experience, with every topic, there is always more to learn, so whether you’re a member or an ally, Pride Month is the time to engage in learning how to be a better advocate for gay peoples’ rights. You can start with learning about political developments, social movements or even just Pride in general. In fact, you’ve already started by making it this far into the article and reading about Stonewall and the origins of the modern Pride movement! I encourage you to keep that momentum going this month and into the future, and make the conscious choice to learn about things that are important. It will make you a better person, and your community a better place.  Sources: Grinberg, Emanuella. “How the Stonewall Riots Inspired Today's Pride Celebrations.” CNN, 28 June 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/06/28/us/1969-stonewall-riots-history/index.html . History.com Editors. “Stonewall Riots.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 31 May 2017, www.history.com/topics/gay-rights/the-stonewall-riots. “About : Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month : Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress , The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/.

In the education community and working world, leadership is by far one of the most regularly discussed topics. There are a million different courses aimed at teaching you how to be a more effective leader, and similarly, every student has had to do a project on or sit through a lecture on how to be a leader at some point in their school careers. The reason that people continue to talk about leadership is because it really is that important. Without effective leaders, society wouldn’t function, and many institutions would simply fall apart. On a large scale, people like superintendents and government officials are integral community leaders, and on a small scale, people like teachers and parents are invaluable leaders in an individual’s life. The problem is that one of the biggest and scariest questions about leadership is when to be a leader. It can feel awkward or difficult to step up and lead, especially if it’s dealing with friends or peers, or even people older than you. It can even be hard to tell if stepping in as a leader is necessary. Knowing when to be a leader is half the battle, so I want to propose a few common situations where stepping up and flexing your leadership muscles is the answer, maybe even in some ways that you hadn’t thought of before. Unfortunately, in schools, teachers are not all built equally. Some teachers are well-suited for your learning style and some are not, and some might not be prepared or willing to carry the task of educating you and your peers. This is not to say that you shouldn’t trust your teachers, but it’s that sometimes, as a student, you should step up and help take your education into your own hands. For example, if a teacher is not open for tutoring times, you should take it upon yourself to lead a study group for your classmates. Even if you’re not strong in that class, take it upon yourself to find somebody who is, and bring them into the study group. Some classes might need physical study groups, and some might just need a group chat to compare work in. Either way, this is a good time to step up as a leader, because you’re meeting a need that is not otherwise being met, and taking the initiative to do so. Outside of school, it’s important to be a leader in everyday life and take it upon yourself to help those around you, especially within your friend group. Part of being a good friend is stepping up when your other friends need help, which is in itself a form of leadership. If somebody you know posts about a flat tire, and you can help, that’s a time when being the leader and asking them if they need a ride is always the answer. They will appreciate it, and the fact that you took initiative to help is the part where leadership skills come in handy. Even if it’s something as simple as somebody needing a quiet place to do homework or a place to work with other people, helping provide that is a leader-like thing to do, even if they don’t ask. Probably most important of all is looking out for your friends’ emotional needs. If you know a friend has a lot of things going on in their life, it’s important to check in with them, especially if nobody else is. Leaders lookout for the needs of those around them, and when you’re dealing with friends, part of the job is just being a good friend. Looking beyond your friend group, it’s important to see when your community has unmet needs, and being a leader means helping to meet those needs. For example, just last night in San Antonio there was a large storm that rolled through, and there is lots of residential and public damage that needs fixing. People all over the city have already taken on leadership roles and helped neighbors and friends alike clean up what has been damaged. This is an example of a time when it’s important to exercise your leadership skills and help the community. Especially in the past year, there have been many unmet community needs such as food and housing insecurity, leaving many areas where you can provide help. If nothing else, take this last year as your call to be a leader. Get a group of friends together and go volunteer at a food bank or donate to an organization that provides community relief. These are times when you should be a leader for the sake of your community. We constantly picture “leaders” as a specific subset of people with some special talent that others don’t possess, but in reality, this just isn’t true. Every person has the tools to step up and lead in several different situations. Maybe you’re a strong leader among your peers, or in a single subject in school, or even among your coworkers and friends. Whatever situation you are gifted in leading, you should use those gifts to better others. Part of this means seeking out areas where help is needed rather than waiting for a situation to arise, and another part means taking the initiative to organize things that could benefit those around you. We all have what it takes to be effective leaders, so I encourage you to keep your eye out for opportunities to use your unique leadership skills and make the world a better place, even if it’s something as simple as helping a friend change a tire.

It is currently May of 2021, and President Joe Biden has been in office for almost four whole months, in which time he has made many significant executive decisions for the nation. During his campaign, he promised to bring swift and powerful action once put into office, and so far he’s held up to that agreement. Signing seventeen executive orders on his first day in office, followed by eleven more the next day, President Biden has brought a quick end to many policies from the previous administration, as well as instilled new policies and protections of his own. In addition to these executive orders, he has restaffed many influential federal positions—primarily his cabinet —and almost entirely shifted the platform of the federal government as a whole. In the midst of all of this change, education has undergone its own policy shift, which is what I want to explore today. So far, Joe Biden’s work in education reform includes signing two executive orders for education, appointing public school superintendent Miguel Cardona as his Secretary of Education, and passing the 2021 Covid-19 relief bill to provide funding to schools. All of these actions independently aim to help schools during this difficult time and to make them better and more equitable institutions moving forward. The first of the two executive orders signed by Biden was meant to provide federal guidance on the safe continuation of education during the Covid-19 pandemic. This order mainly provides a series of action steps for the secretaries of Education and Health and Human Services to ensure the safety of students in both public and higher education, with an emphasis on science-based safety guidelines. One of these steps is to create a set of specific federal guidelines for schools to safely reopen in accordance with current research and understanding of coronavirus, and a directive to provide technical assistance to schools that lack the facilities to adequately host online classes. Also, the order specifically addresses “educational disparities and inequities that the pandemic has created and exacerbated,” showing that Biden is at least aware of the severe educational inequity in the public school system, and the serious threat it poses to students in the face of the coronavirus. These measures are some of the most specific actions taken to aid education since the start of the pandemic and might prove to be a major factor in providing a safe education for students all across the United States. The other executive order isn’t specifically targeted at education, but mentions students directly, and aims to prohibit any discrimination against students based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. This is an extremely important stance for the president’s office to take on sexual discrimination, since this is an issue that is often overlooked and is rarely fully understood, especially in schools. The document hits the nail on the head when describing the issue, saying that “children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.” The simple fact is that students live under enough pressure as it is, and any other fears regarding access to school resources and activities only add to their anxiety. Schools must support all of their students, especially those who face difficulties as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and hopefully, this executive order is a step towards the shared goal of acceptance and support. In addition to direct presidential action, Biden brought about a major development in education by appointing Miguel Cardona as his Secretary of Education. The office was previously held by Betsy DeVoss, a person who received major criticism for not being a public educator. For this reason, Biden chose to appoint a member of the public school system to the position. In the end, he decided to appoint Miguel Cardona, a school superintendent from Connecticut, to the position. Cardona, the son of two Puerto Rican immigrants, was a fourth-grade teacher who then became an elementary school principal, and eventually superintendent of his school district. Cardona often uses his personal experience as a bilingual Puerto-Rican American student to reduce educational inequity throughout the entire school system. The fact that he does not deny or undersell educational inequity is a major win in and of itself, but it also remains to be seen what he will make of his new position. Some people are hesitant because of his young age (45 years old), but many of his former coworkers are optimistic and excited for what he will be able to bring to the position, saying that he has a fantastic work ethic and genuinely cares for students. The other major development that Joe Biden has brought about is the Covid-19 2021 relief package, providing emergency funding to public schools. It’s all too clear that schools have been struggling throughout the past year to balance safety and educational quality, and one of the biggest barriers has been a financial one. Many schools have struggled to afford the necessary personal protective equipment and sanitation materials to safely hold school in person, and have also been unable to adequately fund their virtual classes. This relief bill sets aside $125 billion for public school use, and might just act as the crutch that helps many schools adapt to these difficult times. The hope is that with this money, schools will be able to reduce class size and facilitate in-person classes safely for all of their students. Even though there are many more challenges ahead, this money is a much-needed development for education and is a win thus far for the Biden presidency. In the short time since he has taken office, Biden has proven himself to be an advocate for public education, implementing some early action items towards education reform. From Covid response to public school leadership, he’s proven that he understands the issues of educational inequity in the United States, and has expressed a genuine desire to make a difference in the problems that schools now face. By appointing a new staff that has experience in the public school system, the federal government has gained new and promising educational advocates, which is a very good sign for students and teachers across the country. However, as self-advocates and students in the United States, we cannot take this change for granted—we are the ones who made it happen. We, as education advocates, pushed Biden to adopt these policies, and we must continue to push him to do more for us in the future. We have the power to shape our own education and the education of others, but we cannot do so passively. We must work together and continue to fight for the betterment of schools in our country so that everybody has a fair shot at a quality education, no matter where they are from. Together, we can maintain this forward progress during the Biden administration, and create a better future as students, teachers, and citizens.

Day in and day out, the grind of school can often feel monotonous and repetitive, which as a student, can be miserable. Much of our modern school system is built off of repetition and standardization: standardized tests, daily attendance checks, zoom calls, homework assignments, the list goes on and on. All of this monotony makes it hard for us as students to get excited for class and engage with the content, making it difficult to remember the material. However, there’s still hope for your career as a student! What’s the solution? Get creative! When you embrace creativity as a student in the middle of a monotonous school life, you can find new ways to study, learn, and engage with classes to better your learning. Here, I want to propose a few ideas that you and your friends can use as students to make school more enjoyable and informative, while hopefully making it easier along the way. I am a junior in high school, and as I’m sure any of my fellow high schoolers can tell you, study groups are an essential key to success. These groups can be anything from a group chat within your class to a group of friends that meets regularly to work together. This doesn’t mean they’re necessarily interesting though; I know that I’ve been in a few study groups that are blander than beige paint. However, you can make your study groups interesting by trying out different ways to help each other study! My first idea is to make your study group into a Kahoot! study group. To do this, have your group take turns making kahoots for everybody else in the group to review off of, and then play all of them together in person or over zoom. I know that I’m personally the Kahoot! champion of the MacArthur High School junior class (anybody who tells you otherwise is lying), and the friendly competition of a Kahoot! as opposed to regular flash cards or a plain review sheet always makes the material stick better in my mind. Plus, it gives you 100% credible bragging rights as the fastest draw in all of AP Physics (or, of course, whatever class you happen to be studying for). Another idea for how to take advantage of your study group is to form an audiobook study group. In an audiobook study group, you can get together in person or via video call, and listen to the audiobook for whatever book you’re currently reading in your English or Literature class. I know that I personally have trouble setting aside time to read my books for English, and this can help you hold yourself accountable. Plus, this gets the reading over with in one fell swoop, and if you have any questions, you can ask your friends in the moment. Everybody loves when teachers take time to read through things in class so that there’s no individual homework readings, so why not replicate this same thing outside of class in your very own audiobook study group! Embracing creative ways of study is really important for keeping school interesting, but creativity isn’t just about studying more efficiently, it’s about making school itself more interesting, so another way to flex your creative muscles is to engage in activities with your friend group while at school. One thing that I did with my friends all the time at school (pre-covid, that is) was a thing that we called “fresh Fridays.” About once a month or so, my friend group from choir would decide to collectively dress in fancy clothes for school on that given Friday. It was always fun to dress up, and it was even more fun to see your friends all dressed up together; I highly recommend it. It doesn’t even have to be fancy clothes though, maybe you and your friends could do a twin day, or a crazy sock day, or any other kind of clothes that you’d like to wear! Any way that you do it, it’s just a fun way to build your group identity and experience together as friends. Doing things as a group while at school is fun, but maybe what you and your study group need is a gathering outside of school. I propose to you: the friend field trip. Say you’re studying something in class that interests you, and you also want to find a way to engage with the topic further outside of school—try going somewhere related to the topic with your friends. You could go to a museum, or an art gallery, or the symphony, or a park, or any place that engages with your class topics outside of school. It’s a DIY field trip with the added bonuses of people that you like and places that interest you, all while furthering your education. You’re in jazz band? Go to a jazz club! You’re in art? Go to a local art museum! You’re studying biology? Go to the zoo! There’s so many places to go and so much to see. Plus, I can guarantee that going into a place with a working background knowledge of it will always make it so much more fun than if you’re just a passive visitor. Take your friends along with you and the possibilities for your friend field trips are truly endless. As a final word on creativity, this is by no means an exhaustive list of ways to exercise your creativity as a student, that’s the thing about it—by definition the possibilities are endless! There are so many ways that you can embrace creativity and use it to better yourself and your education. In the midst of a standardized school world, it’s up to you to find out what works best for your learning style, and creativity can help challenge your brain into finding new ways to grow. Also, taking your classmates along for the ride can likewise prove to be very fun and educationally rewarding. Embracing creativity pushes your limits while making school more fun and productive, and however you do it, do it your way. Come up with your own ideas to meet your own needs, and I guarantee you that it will be time well spent—or at the very least, become a funny dinner party anecdote!

I’m sure that you've heard the phrase “two brains are better than one.” Whether it be while completing a team work exercise, working on a difficult project or solving a puzzle, this idea often comes into play. But why is that? How can working together really help you out? Is it really a positive tool in the classroom? Well, teamwork is beneficial in more ways than one. It can help solve problems, teach collaborative working and blend together many skills to create the best possible outcome! Problem Solving and Teamwork Imagine being stuck on a very hard math problem. One aspect of the problem involves addition, and you’ve got that down! But the other part involves subtraction, something that you haven’t mastered yet. Now imagine, another student, one who knows how to do the subtraction, but is not sure what to do about the addition. If you combine your skills with that other person, you have all you need to solve the math problem. One person completes the addition and one person completes the subtraction and through that process you can find the answer. That technique can be applied to all sorts of problems and is incredibly useful to have in your back pocket! Creativity in Teamwork Creativity is the key in any idea. It’s the aspect of the idea that is unique. By brainstorming ideas in a group, creativity thrives. By combining different viewpoints, creativity thrives. When working with your peers, you can come up with creative and amazing ideas that are sure to blow people away! Building Trust Through Teamwork Working with other people requires a certain level of trust, both in their abilities and who they are. When working with other people you will learn to trust them and through this developed trust, you can form amazing friendships. You might be surprised by what you have in common with your teammates! Communication in Teamwork One of the most important aspects of working in a team is communication. You need to communicate your ideas. You need to inform people of what the next step is. You need to make sure everyone is on the same page. How is this done? Through communication! This learned skill will benefit you for the rest of your life and help you get to know everyone around you. Conflict Resolution Skills Conflict: the inevitable. There are often disagreements between people. Whether it be over who is going to do what, what is the right approach to a problem, or anything else. The good news is that there is always a solution to disagreements! Through communicating with your team, you should be able to resolve these problems together and become a stronger team than before. Teamwork is essential for learning and creative development. Working with others helps aid the development of many necessary skills that will help you for many years to come. So yes, two brains is definitely better than one!

With the presidential election right around the corner, it seems like the news cycle is increasingly dominated by the happenings of Joe Biden and Donald Trump (and occasionally Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, when news coverage gets dry). Both candidates are in the throes of last-minute campaigning, criss-crossing the states like a rushed game of chess, and the media is covering their every move. The evening news boasts stories along the lines of “Joe Biden was in Ohio today, showing his support of the workers in the automotive industry,” and, “Today, Trump held a rally in Oklahoma, where he pushed his support of middle-american farmers.” Round and round these news stories go, night after night, building up pressure until election day finally arrives in November. During a time like this, however, it seems like the news is failing to cover the topics that people really need to hear before casting their votes in the upcoming weeks. For me, a high school student currently in the public education system looking for colleges to attend, this means education policy. I want to know how the future president of the United States intends to change my access to education, and what that will look like for me in practice. While Joe Biden and Donald Trump both have strong opinions on educational policy in America, they differ significantly in their aims and beliefs. The best way to compare their policies, since they are so different, is to look at where it is they plan to institute change. The primary areas of change are public primary/secondary education, and postsecondary education. Another topic that seems separate but must be taken into consideration, is how they will respond to the difficulties schools face in wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, since it will affect how and when their policies will take shape. This election will, no matter its outcome, have a major effect on education within this country, and in this article I intend to explore what these effects will be in the event of either candidate winning the race. Public K-12 Education First taking a look at public primary and secondary education, President Trump has a track record of pushing to increase families’ access to school choice. He is a major supporter of school choice, because he believes that “the parents of every student in America should have a right to a meaningful choice about where their child goes to school.” (Trump, “National School Choice Week 2017 Proclamation”). In 2018 he budgeted $1.4 billion specifically for increasing access to school choice for students across America, creating programs which had not existed during the previous administration. His vision is that parents and students will have a free choice of which schools they attend, be they charter, private, or public, based on their educational needs and desires. The other primary stance that Trump holds on public education is that vocational programs should be widely available to students at the high school level. He states that this training is the key to opening millions of students up to stable, well-paying jobs in the future. Although in practice he has not provided them direct funding, he advocates for the building of these programs across America. Joe Biden views public k-12 education needs in a different light, and wants to put federal funding not toward school choice, but towards improving the school systems which already exist locally across America. He wants to “Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability” (Biden, “The Biden Plan for Educators”). He intends to radically increase Title I funding so that poorer districts receive the resources they need to better facilitate the education of their students. Biden also intends to double the amount of school nurses, counselors, and psychologists in schools to address students’ mental health needs. He believes the availability of mental health care in schools to be a major area in need of improvement, especially in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Biden also supports various other programs that would be instituted into the public education system under his plan. One of these is access to public preschool for all, which actually saw $500 million in funding during the Obama era. Another program that he supports is partnering with MSIs (Minority Serving Institutions) to help increase the diversity of public school teachers, so that they more accurately represent the makeup of America’s population. In addition to this, much like Trump, Biden wants to give funding towards vocational training at the high school level, increasing its availability to students throughout America. College and Trade School Education When it comes to postsecondary education, Donald Trump has focused his resources on trade and vocational programs. He believes that two-year programs for industry certification are a great way for people to find good-paying jobs, and he wants to encourage their development and support throughout the country. He signed an executive order in 2019 which required colleges to be more transparent about the cost of their education, as well as the salary people could expect to make with their degree after college. Through funding the federal TRIO programs, he has helped to create programs that assist in getting students into and through these industry certification programs. He has also worked to streamline the extremely long FAFSA form so that it is a little bit easier for students to apply for, and has extended the distribution of PELL grants to year-round for people who exhibit extreme financial need. Through budgeting and executive orders during his presidency, Donald Trump has made it a point to support HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and MSIs. He budgeted $492 million for the specific funding of HBCUs, as well as other predominantly minority-serving colleges, and is outspoken about providing them support. However, as a point of comparison, during Obama’s first term in office, the Obama administration provided $2 billion for the same express purpose of helping MSIs, which is more than the Trump administration has, in practice, committed to the cause. Nonetheless, Trump has provided lots of support to these organizations, and made them more of a priority within his white house policy. Biden and his team have taken a stance on college that likewise majorly supports postsecondary vocational training, as Biden believes that having only a high school diploma limits the jobs that one is eligible for. Citing a study done by Georgetown University, Biden states that “roughly 6 in 10 jobs [in America] require some education beyond a high school diploma” (Biden, “The Biden Plan for Education”). Like Trump, Joe Biden wants to invest money in community colleges and industry certification programs, but he wants to expand it to an extent where two-year degrees, or the first two years of a four-year degree, are completely debt-free for students. The specific makeup of his plan is that the federal government will cover 75% of the education cost, with the other 25% covered by the state government, leaving no net to the student. His belief is that this will successfully re-stimulate and grow the middle class in the country. Biden also intends to support a version of legislation written by Bernie Sanders, which would make public colleges and universities free to families who make less than $125,000 a year. This proposition is a radical shift towards free college education which is likewise meant to grow the middle class, as well as help to address racial and economic inequality in the nation. The outcome of this legislation, if it were to come to pass, would be access to free college for 8 in 10 families in America. Covid-19 Response Looking at the response of Donald Trump to the Coronavirus pandemic, we have hard evidence as to how he has chosen to divert government resources regarding education at this time. In March, he passed the CARES act, providing $30 Billion in emergency education funds, which went to setting up virtual learning, increasing connectivity, and paying for sanitation in schools. Currently there is a proposed extension to this act called the HEROES Act, which would provide a further $58 Billion to local school districts in need of funding, but he has failed to endorse or pass this act. He has also made it his intent to get students back into school in-person as soon as possible, suggesting incentives toward schools that entirely reopen in-person. Trump has gone as far as to threaten to withhold emergency funding from schools which are not open in person, and provide the funding to charter and private schools instead, who have already opened their doors to students. This goes against CDC recommendations, which state that complete in-person learning puts students and teachers at higher risk of Covid infection. He has been transparent about his intention to support in-person learning throughout this ordeal, and has received pushback from both the education sector and medical experts. As for Joe Biden, since he is not president, we have no concrete evidence as to how he will address this pandemic, so we must look at his proposed plans on the subject. The first thing Biden plans to do, if he wins the election, is to pass the HEROES Act to provide emergency relief to K-12 education and institutions of higher education, so that they can reconfigure spaces, purchase PPE, and hire assistance as necessary. He then intends to work with organizations such as the CDC to create clear and scientifically accurate guidelines for reopening schools safely, at a pace determined by local experts and school districts. Then, he wants to increase the number of school psychologists and certified counselors in schools, to help care for and monitor students’ mental health during this transitional period. His plan also promises to make a White House committee which will address the educational gap created by this pandemic, and specifically the extent of its effect on minority communities. As an extra measure, Biden wants to set up a grant for school districts that come up with creative solutions to respond to the pandemic’s effects in their schools. Since Joe Biden has not had the platform of president to implement these plans, there is no way to know how or what parts of this extensive plan would actually end up being implemented, and when the plans would actually take effect in the midst of everything else that the nation currently faces. Conclusion to my Fellow Students While doing research for this article, I came to appreciate the uniqueness of the struggle that we, as students, face when it comes to times like these. I am only seventeen as of now, seven months too young to cast a vote in this presidential election, but the outcome of this election will, either way, have a lasting effect on the remainder of my education in high school, and later college. Most students, by the nature of their age, have no political voice in the education they receive, which leaves the decisions regarding their personal education to be made by people who are years, and sometimes decades, removed from their own educational years. We have the right to a say in our own education since we’re the ones actually in the thick of it, but how can we make it happen without a ballot? We have to talk to voters. We have to make our voices heard. Talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, teachers, and anyone else with the power to make political change happen, and let them know what you want from your education. This doesn’t just mean advocating for yourself during presidential elections like this one, but constantly doing so, during local elections, during state elections, and during midterms, as every last one of these has the power to make change happen. So to all of my fellow students, this is a call to inform yourselves and to take your education into your own hands! We can make change happen- we are only as powerless as we accept ourselves to be. Sources: Joe Biden for President. “Joe Biden's Roadmap to Reopening Schools Safely.” Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website, 16 Sept. 2020, joebiden.com/school-reopening/. Donald J. Trump for President. “Education.” President Donald J. Trump's Accomplishments, 2020, www.promiseskept.com/achievement/overview/education/. Reston, Maeve. “Donald Trump's Mind-Bending Logic on School Reopenings.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 July 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/07/25/politics/donald-trump-schools-reopening-coronavirus/index.html. United States Senate. “Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act.” Fact Sheet. Senate. Washington, D.C. n.d. Web. United States, Congress, Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act. 2020. Committee on Education and Labor. “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.” Fact Sheet. House of Representatives. Washington, D.C. n.d. Web. Griffith, Michael. “What Will It Take to Stabilize Schools in the Time of COVID-19?” Learning Policy Institute, 2020, learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/what-will-it-take-stabilize-schools-time-covid-19. “Who We Are.” College Promise, 2020, www.collegepromise.org/who-we-are. United States, Congress, The Heroes Act. 2020. “CARES Act: Back to School Preparation and Support.” McGraw Hill, 2020, www.mheducation.com/prek-12/explore/back-to-school/cares-act.html?cid=ppc%7Cmhse%7CGoogle%7Cg%7CCARES_Act%7CUnbranded%7C10434207510%7C112004653428%7C445820349021%7C+cares++act++education%7Cb%7C. “Operating Schools during COVID-19: CDC's Considerations.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 Sept. 2020, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html. Department of Education. “President Trump’s FY 2018 Budget.” Fact Sheet. Department of Education. Washington, D.C. n.d. Web. Joe Biden for President. “Plan for Education Beyond High School: Joe Biden.” Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website, 3 Aug. 2020, joebiden.com/beyondhs/. Executive Order. No. 13845, 2019. Trump, Donald J. Memorandum on Continued Student Loan Payment Relief During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Secretary of Education, 2020. United States, Congress, The White House. Obama Administration Record on Education, The White House, 2011. “TRIO Home Page.” Home, US Department of Education (ED), 30 Sept. 2020, www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html. Carnevale, Anthony P., et al, “Recovery: Job Growth and Educational Requirements Through 2020.” [Executive Summary]. Georgetown Public Policy Institute Trump, Donald J. Proclamation on Career and Technical Education Month, 2020, 31 Jan. 2020.

Covid-19 has drastically changed our educational system. Teachers and students have been forced to find new ways of teaching and learning, some of which raise concerns about equity in online learning. At the same time, the pandemic has forced universities to reevaluate their admission requirements, with possible positive outcomes for previously disadvantaged students. While the verdict is not yet in, it seems as though the Coronavirus may have mixed impacts of equity in the U.S. education system. Although the pandemic has made it harder for some students, it has also opened some opportunities. With the cancellation of ACT and SAT tests over the past few months, many universities have announced that they will not require standardized tests during the pandemic. Experts have long argued that standardized admission testing can disadvantage students with lower income families who cannot afford the same test preparation as wealthier families, which has caused a gap in standardized test scores. Many people question if schools will ever go back to requiring these tests, as universities learn to evaluate applications without standardized test results. On the other hand, online learning can be a struggle for disadvantaged students. As schools transitioned to online learning to curb the spread of the virus, they developed digital programs to support students, utilized special learning tools, created online curricula to try to mirror school lessons, and turned to applications like Zoom for online lessons. For many students, online learning is working; but for others who lack access to stable wifi or a digital device, online learning is far from successful. In a recent report, Common Sense and Boston Consulting found that 10 percent of teachers and nearly 16 million students lack stable internet and/or digital devices. While some schools have distributed ChromeBooks to students in need, wifi continues to be a problem for many students who are by result, unable to complete online work or attend online classes. Furthermore, limited class time has made it hard for many students who do not have access to private tutoring to achieve at the same level as students who do have access to private tutoring. Students rely on teachers for extra help and they spend time outside of class going in for help. Because of Covid-19, there are fewer opportunities for extra help. For students who have access to a tutor, this isn’t a problem. However, for other students this loss of time results in lower grades and causes the achievement gap to grow. Students who don’t have access to extra help are likely to feel overwhelmed and anxious, and it doesn’t help that students are lacking regular social interactions. Social isolation and an uncertain future are leading to an increase in depression and anxiety. While everyone is vulnerable to these mental health challenges during this time, underprivileged students may have a harder time affording help. Often as their mental health plummets, their grades will often follow the same pattern. There is no doubt other changes in our education system will remain once the pandemic is over. As teachers become more comfortable with the new technologies, they will likely continue to incorporate online tools into lesson plans, assign online work instead of handing out hard copies (good for the environ  ment!), and continue to use online textbooks. Universities will need to continue to look for new ways of evaluating students in a manner that accounts for unequal access to education technologies. Although much regarding Covid-19 remains uncertain, it is clear that the pandemic’s impact on the U.S. educational system will be lasting. Sources: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/coronavirus-sat-act-admission/2020/06/15/18c406dc-acca-11ea-a9d9-a81c1a491c52_story.html https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/impact-of-coronavirus-on-education/ https://www.consumerreports.org/broadband/back-to-school-help- for -students-without-internet-digital-divide/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/learning/when-the-pandemic-ends-will-school-change-forever.html