Game the New York City School System

I drew from my own experience of going to school in NYC.

I made some of my best memories in New York schools but also experienced a pressure to succeed I thought all kids felt.

After moving to a small town in Texas, I was shocked by how painless it was to go to school. There was one district. No searching. No waitlists, resumes, entry tests, applications, or competitions.

I learned it was possible to have an equally enriching education in both a culture of extreme academic rigor and of complete simplicity.

This project allowed me to revisit my childhood exercising the critical eye I've developed having lived in polar opposite environments.

I wanted to mimic the competition and strategy involved in the school search.

I turned to another relic of my childhood: a Klotski sliding puzzle. I went through different iterations to improve the mechanics of my tiles and clarity of my message.

The game became a tool to entertain, teach, and provoke thought.

I questioned the role of competition in public school admission: its academic value, effects on young children, and potential for exploitation.

Reflecting on my own positive experience, I also wanted to celebrate childhood play and commemorate some of the best schools in the city.

With this souvenir, I invited my peers and professors to learn more about the New York education system and form opinions of their own.