What a year! It has been that long since I first organized a screening of Race to Nowhere in my community. I thought I was a lone wolf as the student voice for education reform. Since then, not only have I met likeminded students, but I have also met students who are taking action. Some are effecting change within their respective communities, others are politically involved, some are harnessing the power of technology in education, and I even know one writing a book. This weekend, New York Public Media hosted their annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning.

Let’s say, “So long to the days of meaningless assignments that keep us occupied during break.” Let’s say, “So long to the days of tedious assignments due the day we return from break.” Let’s say, “So long to the days of not having a break during ‘break’.”

There are days when I witness my fifth grade sister crying over the overwhelming load of homework she receives. Homework’s ability to cause such anguish and agony deter from its purpose of being positive reinforcement. A teacher who brings this damaging stress upon his or her students is only defeating this purpose.

    When I was in elementary school, I would come home worn-out from a drawn-out day of rigorous work. Second grade was not easy. You may be thinking: How could reading Captain Underpants drain the energy out of an energetic and enthusiastic youngster? Well, school would last from 9:20 a.m to 3:15 p.m., and I would typically be lucky to go straight home with the fair amount of after-school activities that I took part in. As vibrant as young boys tend to be, I only had so much stamina.

Wake up! 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM is class time and study. Then, if you are lucky, lights out at 10 PM.  Others put off sleep as they intensely study for life-long competitions that their fate and future rely on. In that case, you probably get about four hours of sleep a night. That's five hours short of what experts believe is necessary for an adolescent's proper mental and physical development. Not surprisingly, I just described the life of a Chinese high school student. They do not see the sun rise nor do they see it set. They study and they sleep.

It’s one thing to have a passion. It’s another to pursue that passion. It’s an overwhelmingly exciting and rewarding experience to share that passion with others. I was thrilled to do just that with a group of spirited students earlier this week. Thanks to the “End the Race” campaign, we connected as student leaders. Some of us strived for a Race to Nowhere platform to be implemented in our own school districts; others took the fight to their state capitols, while others even started their own national reform movements. In short, we want change.

In a classic example of corporate double speak and political spin, The DoE's spokesman, Justin Hamilton responded to Anthony Cody's column about President Obama's statements that we have too much testing.

Hamilton explains that we need even more testing, but that the "next generation" of tests will be "formative assessments" and therefore, not "high-stakes." He goes to great lengths to explain the need for more tests, given throughout the year "to

The Riverdale School District will be screening the film tonight!.