Education Commons^™

Unplugged, Krisha Patel '21, Jonathan Gao '21, Jason Li '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Technology has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Regardless of financial conditions, most people have a cellphone in their hands at all times—usually a smartphone. TVs are installed in almost every single room in the typical American household and very often powered up with a marathon of a favorite show, playing episode after episode without pause. Kids become obsessed with the latest video game consoles and games, paying exorbitant amounts to be the first of their friends to get their hands on them. Even many parents compulsively check and post updates to a variety of social media sites throughout the …

The Differences Of Funding In Education In The United States, Gnandeep Chintala '21, Abhi Thati '21, Isha Kadakia '21, Ruchi Patel '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Many individuals are disadvantaged due to the variation of funding in the United States. However, over time, schools have received a greater amount of funding to source primary through secondary schools in order to decrease the monetary gap between schools. In order to help those who do not have the same privileges, the government has increased funding, which has illustrated great strides in educational systems. Students are now able to receive the materials and supplies necessary for an effective learning environment. For example, students now have experienced teachers, as well as textbooks to allow them to learn curriculum. As the …

An Innovative Solution To Make Sure High School Students Stay In School, Manasvi Thumu '21, Ju-Won Park '21, Jaelynn Abdulla '21, Elvin Mclclaughlin '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Project No Drop attempts to make sure that students stop dropping out of high school. Currently, within Illinois, high schools such as East Aurora High School have a dropout rate six times higher than the national average. Project No Drop’s mission is to make sure that all students are able to get the same opportunities in the future through continued education. There are many factors that contribute to a students decision to drop out, which includes low motivation, disillusion, and apathy towards schoolwork and school completion because a student doesn’t feel or show significant academic progress in school. Through identifying …

The Teen Vaping Crisis, Jayavignesh Ganesan '21, Cynthia Mu '21, Carolina Seoane '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

In today’s society, many teens have the idea that is is cool to vape. This has led to an exponential increase in the number of teenagers addicted to nicotine. This increase is directly caused by nicotine companies, specifically vape companies, presenting their products with appealing and misleading packaging. Indeed, nicotine packages are required to have a warning. However, the warning is usually not taken into consideration, as the warning is not eye-catching. Because of this, we propose that all products containing nicotine, including e-cigarettes, must follow plain packaging regulations. Under plain packaging regulations, companies would be required to have the …

Bringing Stem Resources To Underprivileged Students, Ethan Haque '21, Juan Chiu '21, Natalie Oliven '21, Delicia Chen '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

The Goal of our project is to address the lack of STEM education in lower-income communities caused by a lack of fun and easy to use resources. These centers will contain resources such as fun stem projects and workbooks that allow students to enjoy learning essential STEM-related topics. We intend to do this by implementing Little Stem Centers in school libraries and community centers. That benefit most of our potential partners as our solution provides a low-cost solution to stem materials that can be replenished and repaired easily using commonly found recyclables. The product will be sold to local school …

Discrimination In The Application, Abraham Casas '21, Maia Peregrino '21, Brenna Christoffel '21, Zach Eness '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Prospective students across Illinois work excessively towards the achievement of getting accepted to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Though the selection process of applicants is meant to be fair and only admit the most qualified students, it has been found that this process has its flaws. While GPA and SAT scores are factored into these decisions, additional factors such as geographic, gender, and ethnic criteria are involved. Measures such as Affirmative Action are put into place to ensure each student has a fair opportunity to education. However, one result of IMSA’s attempt to comply with its statutory requirement to …

Aurora Resources Education Association (Area), Jade Bates '21, Michael Bello '21, Diego Lichel '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Aurora Resources Education Association (AREA) focuses on helping students in Aurora through high school. Aurora High Schools have the highest level of dropout rates in the entire Chicagoland area. As a result, the future of these dropouts are affected; it limits their future career prospects and/or the motive to pursue higher education. AREA plans to take direct action of the problem, which is high dropout rates and plans to benefit all those affected directly. With free and reliable tutoring sessions run by local volunteers of Aurora, this program’s aim is to help people not only learn concepts in class that …

Seedlet, Abhi Vinnakota '21, Aryan Gandhi '21, Amanda Chen '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Jewelry is commonly thrown away or abandoned when the owner loses interest. This results in the product just gathering dust in a drawer or finding its way to the nearest landfill. Whether it be the landfill or the drawer, the article of jewelry is not meeting a pleasant end. In order to combat this problem, the group has found a solution which combines both the beauty in jewelry along with being environmentally friendly.

The Seedlet is a completely eco-friendly bracelet or necklace made out of biodegradable materials(biodegradable yarn, natural wood, etc). Located on the Seedlet is an interchangeable charm which …

Chasing Equity, Samantha Taylor '21, London Bennett '21, Kayla Quigley '21, Len Washington Iii '21

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

Our main goal is to fight against the inequities present within our country and communities. The disadvantages that marginalized individuals encounter create obstacles that make obtaining success extremely difficult, and for some, impossible. We aim to challenge the lack of representation of middle and lower class citizens by proposing to federally dismantle lobbying within America’s Executive, Judicial, and Legislative Branches. This all attempts to accomplish the UN Sustainable Goal of reduced inequalities. Lobbying is not only immoral but discriminates against individuals who do not have sufficient funds to engage in it, which in this case happens to be a majority …