10/27/10 - Hero Interviews #2

The hero journalists did great today. They conducted a 1/2 hour interview of Scottie Wait (Pine Street Inn Shelter for the Homeless) and Annemarie Elmore (Catholic Charities and the Bowdoin Street Health Clinic in Dorchester). They politely and enthusiastic asked some great questions of our heroes for the homeless and needy such as: 1) if you were given $1mm for the homeless, what would you do, 2) do the people you are helping always want your help, 3) does it sometimes get sad helping these people, 4) who else do you consider your heroes, 5) why did you want to do this for a living, and more.


Next week we will prepare for our final interview before our WOW! We will be going on a field trip to visit an incredible organization called Raw Art, which teaches art to kids in Lynn, MA (where there are more than 40 active gangs). Mary Flannery and Kit Jenkins use art as therapy to help kids deal with a variety of problems stemming from the difficult conditions in school, on the streets, etc. such as drugs and violence. It is a wonderful program and organization they have founded and we will roll up our sleeves and take a look at it.

Class 4 - Preparing for Hero Interviews #2

This week we looked at the tape of our first interviews with Marzuq Muhammad and Michelle Albert (see earlier blogs for their backgrounds). All in all, for our first interviews the kids did a great job, but we also learned through the tapes that we can speak louder and more clearly. And we can also be more specific when asking questions to improve our chances of getting our questions answered.

Last week Michelle and Marzuq talked a lot about education and how critically important staying in school, working hard and graduating high school and college was for them to improve their lives. Next week we are going to meet 2 "heroes" who are helping make others lives' better. Annemarie Elmore (worked at Catholic Charities and now the Bowdoin Street Clinic in Dorchester, and Scottie Wait from the Pine Street Inn Shelter for the Homeless in Boston) both have spent a long portion of their careers working with needy and/or homeless men, women and children. Next week the kids will interview them to find out what they have done, what motivates them to give so much to the needy, and how they think the problems of homelessness and poverty can be dealt with.

Way To Go Citizen Schools And Orchard Gardens

NBC News highlighted the work Citizen Schools is doing on the behalf of kids in a recent story.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/39693601#39693601

Class 3 - Our First Hero Interviews - 10/13/10

The kids and heroes were terrific (clips to follow). We interviewed 2 wonderfully inspiration young people who grew up close to Orchard Gardens and attended Boston Public Schools for part of their childhood. Marzuq Muhammad (I learned about him through this article)
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2010/07/10/a_lesson_they_learned/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news
and Michelle Albert (learned about her through Marzuq, she is the principal of an all girls middle school)
http://www.mcaec.org/videos/MCAEC2008Video_player.swf
Both are young and successful men and women who grew up facing some of the similar opportunities and challenges that the kids from Orchard Gardens faced, worked extremely hard, realized how important education was, attended great colleges, and now have great jobs.......and both today realize the importance of helping kids learn the value of a great education and helping them to succeed in school.
I learned a ton last week both watching and listening to the kids in our class as well as the heroes.
Last week the kids prepared for their hero guests and it showed as each of them asked excellent questions such as:
1) why was school important to you?
2) what do you think about the violence in Roxbury and surrounding cities and what would you do about it?
3) what would you do if you were the President or Secretary of Education for a day to help kids in school?
4) Do you like your job as principal (to Michelle) or would you rather be a teacher?
5) Did things always go well for you in school (did you ever have a detention, suspended from school)?
6) Do you regret anything?

These were just some of the great questions. We videotaped the kids and the interview and next week we will study the tape to reinforce our learnings about heroism and our performances as "heroe journalists."

Trading Day For Kids - Way To Go Piper Jaffrey - A Great Idea

Kudos to Piper Jaffrey since on 10/14/10 they are trying to raise $1.5mm for New York City Kids by donating trading commissions to Youth, INC. Haven't heard or seen of anything like this before but think it is a great idea. Youth, I.N.C. uses a unique venture philanthropy model that empowers, develops, and educates nonprofit organizations serving young people, Youth, I.N.C. guides grassroots organizations toward long-term sustainability.
www.youthinc-usa.org

Getting To Know The Kids and The Camera

During our first class, the kids tell us a little bit about themselves while getting used to talking in front of the camera.

Class 2 - Preparing for Hero Interview #1

The kids did a great job today. We reviewed last week's lessons including going over "surface" and "deeper" questions and then began to prepare for next week's interviews. We will be meeting two "heroes" including Marzuq Muhammad, a very impressive young man, who I met as a result of the following article in The Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2010/07/10/a_lesson_they_learned/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news
As well as Michelle Albert, who Marzuq introduced me and the class to because of her wonderful work and passion for educating young men and women, most currently where she is the principal at the Mother Caroline Academy for middle school.
http://www.mcaec.org/videos/MCAEC2008Video_player.swf
We spent some time going over both Marzuq's and Michelle's backgrounds and then developing some questions for next week. The kids are all very excited and ready for their firs official interview as journalists.