#NYC #covid19 #AOC #OcasioCortez #District14 #Congresswoman #education #educationalinequality #homeworkhelp #virtuallearing
New York City public schools have gone remote once again as the city is seeing more hot spots in the Covid-19 infection. Going remote means there is a fear of students falling behind academically. In homes across the country and in New York City, parents or older siblings have been subject to being homework helpers or in-home tutors.
Fear not! There is a new homework helper sweeping across New York's 14th congressional district and is landing into the homes of students through their computer screens. This is brought on by congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her team. The program will offer free one-on-one virtual tutoring to 1,000 students in the congresswoman's district for the 2020-2021 school year. It aims to keep a weekly schedule to help students stay on track. Ocasio-Cortez explains that "due to systemic inequalities in our education system working class families are especially struggling with virtual learning and homework" as reported by Parents magazine. As a native New Yorker and as an educator, I agree with the congresswoman's fears and support this cause. Virtual learning exposes systemic inequalities for numerous reasons. Oftentimes school budgets are determined by the income of the district. Therefore, lower income: lower budget in education. Digital literacy, access to tech, and electricity insecurity are all hurdles students must face. Not to mention that some students come from immigrant households (like myself) and those at home with them might not be able to offer homework assistance in English. Here is where Ocasio-Cortez comes to the plate: The Homework Helper program is designed as a "space where people could collectively work together to find solutions" by AOC's political organizer and spokesperson for the campaign, Jonathan Soto. The program recruits tutors from all over the United States to offer academic assistance to these students in the 14th district to keep them from falling victim to educational inequality. Soto is himself a NYC public school parent, too.
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