FREEDOM FRIDAYS
A JUSTICE HACK PROJECT
WHAT ARE FREEDOM FRIDAYS?
Freedom Fridays are blocks of school time in which students and educators come together and are empowered through innovative and creative curriculum they control. Students and educators in Miami-Dade County have the opportunity to collaborate, develop material and experiences that encompass what they are passionate about, and go beyond what is captured in standard curriculum. No tests. No grades. Just learning for learning’s sake.
Let’s create spaces in which students and educators can innovate, collaborate, and become empowered through learning together.
WHERE DID THIS IDEA COME FROM?
In August 2014, community-based organizations and over 150 locals came together for a creative workshop to tackle specific issues facing low-income renters, youth of color, taxi drivers and plant nursery workers in Miami. This event was called JusticeHack Miami. After hearing from students and teachers, as well as sharing their own personal experiences with local public education, one group came to the conclusion that the educational experience was suffering from curriculum constraints and high-stakes testing. In working together to brainstorm ways to offset these pressures, Freedom Fridays was born.
Freedom Fridays was one of the most popular ideas to come out of the event. Fortified with community support, JusticeHack alumni are actively working to bring it to fruition.
WHO ELSE HAS DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS?
MIT has hosted a similar program since 1957. In their program, MIT students and local community members are invited to volunteer and teach courses to middle schoolers on any subject they would like. Similar programs are run at Stanford University, University of Chicago, Duke University, Yale University, Boston College, and many more. We want to provide this same forum to Miami-Dade County’s educators and students.
WHO DO WE NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
We need the genius of educators and students most of all; we need input on experiences, topics that are wanted in our schools, and feedback on what is realistic and what’s a moonshot idea. We also need community partners to help make this experience come to life.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Thursday, October 7 at 6pm | 3000 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 102
Join us to further develop this idea with educators, students and community partners.
