by Nadav Zeimer (October 12, 2023)
I struggle to write anything on the internet due to the ongoing situation with my family in the Middle East. I choose not to comment. My emotions are too overwhelming to even consider rational arguments. Those are pointless right now. The violence is horrifying. Hearts are shattered. Countless families live in fear and uncertainty. More soldiers and civilians endure continued trauma. The Overton window on violence blown wide open. Extremist minorities collaborating to inflict brutal suffering on the moderate majority.
Yet, here I am writing because I refuse to let extremists anywhere prevent me from my own activism as an educator. Education matters now more than ever. Even over here in NYC.
I must also acknowledge the privilege I have to be able to choose not to comment. If I were in the classroom, I would have no choice but to address this situation and so many others taking place around the world. I would need to engage with it and process the trauma as a community. I would have to approach the differing opinions with care and curiosity, setting aside my emotions. Our teachers and school staff have no choice but to learn how to discuss such unspeakable things. I am always in awe of career educators for their daily dedication. Even if sometimes they fail and falter, that is part of doing such work. Teachers are dealing with the effects of a changing culture — destruction, birth of the unfamiliar, and violent and disorienting times.
It is time to alleviate the burden of standardized testing that teachers have carried for so long. It is time to empower them to empower students to become creators. Imagine hearing teenage voices as “academic influencers.” That is why we are building hs.credit.
We aim to create the largest collection of polished academic work products in the USA. A two-sided platform, not owned by anyone, controlled by educators, and defining value in quality student academic media. Incentivizing cycles of feedback and revision before a teacher approves a formal evaluation on our platform.
Similar to standardized tests, we provide multiple evaluators who are paid to apply a rubric as part of a larger effort — a normalized practice that represents a credit of learning independent of the individual grader. Such approved youth media assets are units of academic capital. The hs.credit platform serving as the Central Bank of #AcademicCapital.
hs.credit will grow up into become a data company with gold standard college readiness assessment options. Each backed by student work anyone can see to verify the learning journey. Units of 10-minute academic audio and/or video reflections created by 11th and 12th grade students. Instead of relying solely on AP Exam scores, we are a portfolio of validated work to present for post-secondary applications.
With this change in how we evaluate academic outcomes, we would witness an outpouring of youth media exemplars. AP-level classrooms would produce local media instead of striving to master an answer key for a score. Students would tell their own stories as budding historians or mathematicians. Their work would be minted as academic NFTs, earning rewards for approved content. They would edit footage representing academic habits while engaging with the real world and presenting to an authentic audience.
If the idea of #PassionForLearning exploding in high school classrooms resonates with you, please consider donating at hs.credit or joining our team as a volunteer. Email info@hs.credit and let us know what is preventing you from contributing. We accept bitcoin and with Apple Pay it takes barely any time. It doesn’t have to be a large donation, any amount helps. That is how you can inform us that the hs.credit platform is worth a try. We are all volunteers, and the more money we raise the faster this platform will go live for our students to use. If you are based in the USA, you will also receive a tax deduction via email minutes after you submit payment.
#PassionForLearning #AcademicCapital
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