Clips and Feedback from our 10/27/10 Hero Interviews

In this class, the Hero Journalists interview 2 women, Annemarie Elmore and Scottie Wait, who have dedicated their careers to making the lives' of those in need including homeless adults and children better.

Who Needs The Lottery

A couple in Canada decided that life before winning the lottery was just fine the way it was so they gave away almost all of the $11mm they won to organizations that needed it. Way to go....that's kindness.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101104/od_yblog_upshot/nicest-canadian-couple-in-world-doles-out-lottery-winnings

Class 6 - Preparing for Next Week's Field Trip to RAW

Today we started off by reviewing some of the highlights of last weeks interviews with Annemarie and Scottie, 2 women who work with the needy and homeless. We talked about some things that stood out such as their willingness to dedicate so much of their time including long hours (work on x-mas eve in Scottie's case) as well as how passionate they are about improving the lives of others. We were also struck about how they told us kids could help out the needy and homeless by organizing clothing or food drives but also by doing simple things such as smiling, saying hello and being compassionate to those in need.

We then took a look at some of the videoclips from the interviews with Annemarie and Scottie and saw that overall we did great. Overall we asked good questions and practiced good listening skills. Moving forward, we all agreed we can continue to speak more loudly and clearly as well as be even better listeners so we don't repeat others' questions and that the interviewees see that we are interested in their answers by giving them our full attention.

We then prepared for our trip to RAW (http://www.rawart.org/) next week; a really inspirational non profit that offers programs in art therapy to children in Lynn, MA where kids face a lot of challenges including dozens of gangs that actively recruit children and teens. In preparation for the art we will see, the kids drew pictures that depicted challenges they face as middle school students; they did a great job and their drawings included such challenges of fitting in and getting along with friends and family, getting up early, doing well in school and violence.

Random Ideas To Help Others

1) Better Nutrition / More Fruit - in talking to some young men and women who grew up in Roxbury, Dorchester, etc...as well as parents in these cities from my own recent observations, it seems to me there are significant challenges that kids in these environments face with regards to having access to (challenges of money, time, availability) to more healthy and nutritional food choices. And that these challenges can affect not only their physical growth but also pose mental challenges such as reduced attention spans, learning skills, etc. I will be thinking of some ways that myself and others can play a role in helping to improve this situation.....isn't there a way to get more fruit to these kids ("free deliveries from a fruit truck", fruit on the bus on the way home, etc."). I have been amazed at how excited the kids in my class get when I bring in fruit salad for them.