Education Inequity - Our pledge!

2020 has been a tough year for all, no one (except perhaps the mega-rich profiteers) has escaped without loss, whether it be of family and friends, income, food security, or just of their lifestyle. There is no easy way of saying it, 2020 has been a shit show.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in Education. not in the teaching, teachers are superheroes who have gone above and beyond, but in the availability of technology and internet access to students.

When Felt took our classes online, we didn't know what to expect, but the one thing we were caught off guard with was the lack of internet access. New York City is often mentioned as the city that has everything, or as an ultra-modern city, yet 30% of our students didn't have wifi access, with a further 42% having limited access. This means that their children were struggling to attend classes, or that they had no access to essentials online.

We raised funds, we made sure to provide internet to those without and tablets for the families to use, where needed. We are lucky that we had the means to do this. However, this isn't a post about how lucky we are, it is a post about the inequality of education.

As a nation we need to do better. We must address the inbalance in education, teachers cannot do everything. Teachers are very aware of the needs of their students, but they shouldn't have to buy their supplies. We should make sre that the schools we have in the most economically challenged areas are the ones that are funded with learning tools that in richer areas, the parents can provide.

We are going into 2021 with two goals. 1) to try to rebalance education where we can by giving access to those who usually do not have it. and 2) By providing world-class Trauma Informed Teaching Practice trainings to all who need it.

Let's work together and pledge for a more equitable education for all.