Youth Radio - All Stories

D.C.’s Juvenile Justice System Sees Real Change

brett — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:01:37 -0600

In Washington D.C., the Oak Hill juvenile detention center was well-known for its decaying interior, rampant drug-use, and abusive guards. As part of sweeping reforms, Oak Hill was closed in 2009 and replaced by a smaller and dramatically different facility, appropriately-named New Beginnings Youth Development Center. We interviewed Daniel Okonkwo, founder and the Executive Director of DC Lawyers for Youth (DCLY), which provides legal representation to young people and works to reform juvenile justice policy. DCLY partners with the New Beginnings Youth Development Center, where many of the changes detailed in the report have been seen firsthand by Okonkwo.

Sayre Quevedo: So it’s been almost two years since Oak Hill was closed and New Beginnings was opened. Are there any tangible changes you have seen in the community and among youth since this has happened?

Daniel Okonkwo: Yes, absolutely. There have been a lot of real changes. I think most noticeably, and the crown jewel in the juvenile justice agency’s crown, is that there are over 19 young people who are in college right now who have come through New Beginnings.

At Oak Hill, that was impossible. A lot of the kids at Oak Hill were actually suspended from the school [within the facility], so not only were they ripped from their communities and taken away from their community schools and isolated, they weren’t even getting an education at Oak Hill. But now we have young people who are coming out [of New Beginnings] and getting reconnected to school and reconnected to the degree that they’re going onto college.

There are also young people that are learning trades. There’s a metal workshop that New Beginnings has that teaches kids vocational work. No thought was given to the reentry of young people [back into their communities] during the days of Oak Hill. Or if there was any thought it was, “just give them some schooling and they’ll be okay on their own.” New Beginnings actually tracks them 6 months out to make sure they’re still connected to school.

Read the full interview...

Sweet and healthy?

ZJackson — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:05:34 -0600

I will give up nuts, gummie worms ,whipped cream ,and marshmellows on top of my ice cream, but i refuse to give up the cool creamy confection that i have grown to love. I am addicted to ice cream and i don’t have any plans to go to rehab. On senior trip this year, we’re going to be on the beach almost everyday, which means that i’m going to need a bikini. Keeping this in mind, i have been working out and changing what i eat. I am addicted to ice cream so i have to find a way to get a fix without the extra calories, sugar, sodium and all that other unhealthy junk. Last sunday night i went to ben and jerrys and remembered that i need to keep my itty bitty pink and white bikini goal in mind. I looked over the menu like i have over a thousand times before and noticed something different. Instead of getting the usual strawberry cheese cake ice cream, i tried something new ,the test batch of rainbow sherbert. Not only did it have less sugar, it had real, legit fruit in it. The only thing i didn’t like was it tasted more like lemon than raspberry and orange. However, i would recommend it to anyone who loves ice cream as much as i do. Its definitely better than skinny cow ice cream which is really heavy and tastelss at same time. And a thousand times better than hoden doz sherbert which it way over priced. For only 2.99 or 2.69 if you are a Ben and Jerrys v.i.t very important taster like i a am you can taste this and even more other amazing flavors. For youth radio i am kiya to hear this review and more click over to www.youthradio.com

DREAMers Embark On 3,000 Mile Walk From S.F. To D.C.

rgee — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:42:54 -0600

The Campaign for an American Dream (CAD) is starting to make some buzz on the West Coast, as four young undocumented residents prepare to walk from San Francisco to Washington D.C., in an attempt to raise awareness along the way about the DREAM Act and Immigration rights.

The DREAM Act is a piece of legislation that would allow undocumented youth to get on a track to citizenship by going to college or being in the military. Many young people find out that they are undocumented years after they have moved to the U.S., and then realize that their pathways to becoming employed or continuing their education are blocked. Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who revealed that he was undocumented, and became a spokesperson for the undocumented population. You can watch his statement of support for the Campaign for an American Dream on their website.

The four walkers are between 22 - 26 years old, and from different parts of the U.S. They are converging in California in the next couple of weeks where they will participate in a day of lobbying in Sacramento and a protest at Travis Air Force base. Then they will make their way across the country for an estimated seven months. The walkers depart on March 10 and plan to arrive in D.C. in late October.

According to Jesus Guzman, Chair Emeritus of the CAD Finance Committee, and co-director of DREAM Act Alliance for Sonoma County, the walkers will not be doing the same thing in every city they visit. The campaign is leaving it up to each city to receive the walkers in a unique way. “In Colorado, they want to do work around a for-profit immigration detention center, so the walkers will contribute by holding a demonstration there. It’s up to the individual communities what they want to highlight,” said Guzman.

Guzman said they planned their arrival to coincide with the presidential election momentum, in order to raise awareness about immigration issues as people go to the polls. “Depending on how the elections fall into place--that will determine how we can respond to issues. During election season there’s so much that can happen,” said Guzman.

Stay tuned for an interview with a CAD walker and details on their route.

The Recession Hits Home

rgee — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:34:13 -0600

This story was originally published on L.A. Youth.

By Jennifer Gonzales-Romero

My mom, my brother and I used to go to the movies or eat out almost every weekend. We weren’t rich but I could tell my mom wasn’t struggling because she could always afford to take us out. Things changed in June 2009 when my mom was laid off from her job as an assistant property manager for a property management office.

I never thought she’d lose her job because she’d been working there for eight years. But since she didn’t look worried, I didn’t worry either. My mom had savings and the government gave her unemployment—money you get from the government every two weeks after you’ve been laid off. But she still made sure to budget her money.

We didn’t eat out or go to the movies as often. Out of habit, I’d ask my mom to buy me clothes when we were at the store but she said she couldn’t. So I would mostly ask my dad whenever I went over to his house because he had a job. Many times my junior year I’d come home after band practice and see my mom on her laptop looking for jobs, but she wasn’t having much luck. I didn’t think it would take two years for her to find a job and that she’d struggle to pay her bills.

The summer before senior year, I researched colleges. My dream school was the University of La Verne because I thought its small class sizes would be better for me. Tuition cost $31,300 a year but I thought financial aid would cover everything since my mom was unemployed. By the end of the summer I knew that I couldn’t depend on my parents to buy me new clothes and pay for my senior year expenses so I kept my summer job at Little Caesars.

In late September my mom started dating an old classmate from New Orleans. He and his daughter moved here and my mom and them moved into a three-bedroom home. My brother and I stayed in our apartment and my dad moved in with us so we could continue going to school in South Gate. My mom and her boyfriend got married in December.

My mom started to worry

At the beginning of 2011, I started to notice that my mom was struggling. Her mail was still sent to the apartment where I lived with my dad, so she would call almost every other day asking me whether her unemployment check had arrived. When I would say no she would say “OK” in a worried voice. She had been receiving unemployment for a year and a half and to keep getting it she had to prove she was still looking for a job. She told me she was worried that they wouldn’t believe she was having trouble finding one and that they would cut her off.Her husband wasn’t working either because he was having trouble finding a job in construction. I felt bad.

One day in March, I was doing homework in my mom’s room. She was sitting on her bed going through papers when she told me she was behind with her car payments. She started crying and said that she didn’t know how she was going to pay for her car and for rent. It hurt me to see her cry and I started tearing up too. I wanted to help her but I didn’t know how. I knew that if she couldn’t pay her car loan that they would take her car away, but she needed it. How else would she go to job interviews or pick my brother and me up so we could stay at her house?

In April, my mom scored a temporary job as an assistant property manager. I was hoping that they would keep her permanently. But after five weeks they didn’t need her anymore, so she went back to looking for a job. Around the same time I noticed that my mom’s husband was borrowing her car more often. I asked my mom what happened and she said he sold his car and they used the money to pay for rent. Still, I didn’t think their situation was so bad because they still had their home and money to buy food. But now that I look back, my mom had been worrying about a lot of bills.

In May I decided that I wanted to get my prom dress made so that it would be unique. I asked my mom if she could help pay for it since my dad had offered to pay $100. I think she knew how much it meant to me so without any hesitation she said she could pay $100 too. I was so excited. I didn’t feel bad for asking because if she had said no, I would have understood. I wanted prom to be perfect and I was just thinking about that.

A couple of weeks later my mom picked up my brother and me from my dad’s house, and I gave her three letters from the unemployment office. When she read them, she looked worried. I asked her what was wrong and she said that they were no longer going to give her unemployment. When she started driving she remained quiet and looked like she was thinking. Then she started crying and said that she had a lot of bills to pay and she didn’t know what she was going to do.

I thought about saying, “It will be OK, things will get better” but it didn’t seem right because I didn’t know whether things would get better. My brother and I kept quiet for the rest of the car ride. I wanted to offer her money but the only money I had I was going to use to buy my prom ticket. I didn’t want to be selfish but I didn’t want to miss out on one of my most memorable high school experiences. I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t find a job. She had a college degree, she was outgoing and hardworking, so why wouldn’t anyone hire her? She couldn’t help pay for my prom dress The next day she called and told me that she was having trouble paying rent and that they were going to move into a one-bedroom apartment. She told me she couldn’t give me the $100 anymore. I understood and told her it was OK. But now I didn’t have enough money either so I didn’t know what I was going to do.

My next paycheck wasn’t until the day of prom. I didn’t want to ask my dad for money because he couldn’t afford it and I knew he would get mad that my mom couldn’t contribute since they always split the expenses for me and my brother. My mom suggested I use some of the money I had saved for college from selling pastelitos, a Central American meat pocket, at school. I didn’t want to but it was the only way I could get money fast. I promised myself I would pay back every cent after my next few paychecks. Then my mom asked me if she could borrow $120 from my pastelito money. I was shocked she was asking me for money, but I said yeah. It showed how badly she needed it if she was asking me.

Although it hurt to hear what my mom was going through, it felt nice to finally have a way to help her. I had fun at prom because I was hanging out with my boyfriend and my best friend and her date. I was excited prom was finally happening and graduation was approaching. Around the same time, I found out that the University of La Verne was going to give me about $24,000 in grants and scholarships, which left me with about $11,000 to pay myself or through loans for the rest of the tuition, books, food and personal expenses.

One of the loans had to be taken out by one of my parents, and it was the loan with the most money, $4,000. I asked my parents but they didn’t want to take out the loan because my dad had bad credit and my mom had no income. I understood but it meant that I would be able to take out only $7,000 in loans so I would have to work part-time while going to school. I hoped I would make enough money to pay for my phone, gas and other expenses.

In June my mom went for a second job interview as a payroll clerk. I knew how hard my mom was looking for a job and I was hoping that they would hire her. After the interview she picked me up so we could open a checking account. She said they would call her later in the day to tell her whether she got the job. When we were opening the account with a banker, they called her. She stepped outside the banker’s cubicle while I finished opening my account. When she was done she came in crying with a smile on her face. I knew it was good news. She said they gave her the job and she would start next week. I was happy so I gave her a hug.

Afterward, we picked up my little brother and celebrated her new job by going to a restaurant to eat tacos. Now that my mom has a job, things have gotten better for her. She and her husband moved into a three-bedroom apartment and she’s been paying her bills off. She also has extra money again so she and her husband go out to eat on weekends sometimes. When my mom lost her job I was busy with my own life—just worrying about school, being in band and college applications. But as I watched my mom struggle, I realized how hard it is to make money and how the economy could affect even those who are good at budgeting their money or have a college degree.

Seeing my mom struggle makes me worry about whether I will get a job after I graduate from college. I realize now that it’s hard for a lot of people to get jobs, especially young people because we’re inexperienced. I now know how expensive life is when you’re an adult I’m scared about one day living on my own because I will have to pay for rent, groceries, utilities, the Internet, cable and all this other stuff. My job at Little Caesars is minimum wage and I couldn’t support myself on that.

Looking back, I could have asked my mom if she had enough money to pay all her bills. If I knew that earlier, I could have understood that she was struggling. If I had saved my money from my job instead of spending it on clothes, I think I could have paid for my prom dress myself. Now, I’m more appreciative of what my parents are able to give me. My mom has agreed to pay for my car insurance. I appreciate her help because I know it’s hard for her since she is still trying to pay off her bills.

To thank my dad, I’m helping around the house more and contributing to some house expenses since he is letting me live with him for free while I go to college. I wish my mom didn’t have to go through that financial struggle, but I’m glad I’ve learned from it. Save money for emergencies. Make sure I don’t go into debt. This is the perfect time to realize that before I’m living on my own.

Headnotic - Funky Star Wars [MIXTAPE]

Devonte Swag — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:02:56 -0600

Producer/DJ extraordinaire, Headnotic, of the Bay's own Crown City Rockers, shares his love of 70s and 80s Star Wars with this 40 minutemix of disco, funk, jazz and rap records all inspired by the original trilogy. If you love Star Wars, or at least have a good sense of humor, you'll love this mix. Plus, it's free! My personal highlight has to be Meco's "Ewok Rap." Enjoy!

DOWNLAOD: Headnotic - Funky Star Wars [MIXTAPE]

Will Measuring Creativity In Schools Help Youth Be Workforce Ready?

rgee — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:53:34 -0600

Last month, the California State Senate approved a bill to develop a Creativity and Innovation Education Index, designed to measure how schools are fostering creativity among their students. California is just one of several states to implement a law like this, Massachusetts being the first, according to Education Week.

It might seem like a shock that California is concerned with measuring creativity opportunities when the budget for arts classes and music programs has been cut in school districts all over the state in recent years. However, employers and business owners are saying that new applicants to the workforce are not equipped with the creativity and critical-thinking skills required to get hired.

The California Alliance for Arts Education describes the index:

A creativity and innovation index would provide a way for schools to rate their progress in teaching, encouraging and fostering creativity in students. Index scores would be voluntarily compiled by school and district staff from a survey of curricula and teacher reports. It would quantify the opportunities in each school as measured by the availability of classes and before and after-school programs offered by and through school districts that nurture creativity and innovation in students. Examples might include visual and performing arts education classes, debate clubs, science fairs, theatre and dance performances, music concerts, film-making, creative writing, and independent research.

We spoke with Mary Wright, Associate Director for The Conference Board, a business membership and research association, who specializes in the intersection of business and education. She was a leader on a report called, “Are They Really Ready To Work?” in 2006, which identified key skill sets that employers thought were important for their employees to have, and creativity / innovation were among the top five.

We spoke with Wright about the concept of a Creativity Index and how she thinks it could affect the workforce readiness of young people today.

Youth Radio: Explain in a nutshell, the findings of your workforce readiness research with regards to the need for non-academic skills.

Wright: We wanted to understand what business really meant by--new entrants are not workforce ready. We looked at both basic skills, which we took from No Child Left Behind-- the reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, and also asked about the applied skills, like 21st century skills. The applied skills are things around critical thinking, information technology application, teamwork and collaboration, and creativity and innovation. There are about 13 or 14 skill sets we looked at.

It was clear to us that the applied skills were the ones that were considered most important. Certainly, people would argue that math and science develop significantly critical thinking skills. They give you tools to figure out problems. But if you can’t communicate what you just learned or what you just did, you’re not as valuable in the workplace.

It was interesting given the emphasis that people have on STEM [science, mathematics, technology and engineering] skills, and yet, what employers were saying, it wasn’t the math skill that was important, it was the critical thinking skill. That would be true regardless of whether someone was in a STEM career or a retail career.

Youth Radio: How does this research reflect a changing trend in the workforce?

Wright: In my parent’s generation, you started working at the bank, and you were at the bank for 50 years and you retired with your gold watch, and that’s all you did. Today’s generation, you’re not only looking at six different jobs at the bank, but six different careers. You may start in a retail company, and take those skills and go to a manufacturing company, and take those skills and go to a bank, and take those skills and go somewhere else.

The ability to use your knowledge as a set of tools, to be ably to analyze, regardless of the industry or the role you find yourself playing - that seems to be a far more valuable skill set than whether you have the technical skills. There’s a stubbornly high unemployment rate, and people are saying that there’s a huge mismatch between the skills of the people available and the skills of the jobs that are there. That, I think, people are attributing to the decline of technical education, or the fact that people are saying everyone needs a four year degree, I think the data shows that that’s not necessarily true.

Youth Radio: Do businesses and schools deal with creativity in the same way?

Wright: We were curious to see, how is it that creativity is taught, and how is it enhanced. We asked both business executives and school administrators how they were thinking about creativity. Everybody said creativity was very important, but how it is defined was quite different. Businesses said that it was the ability to define the problem, whereas school administrators were saying it was the ability to find the answer.

A lot of businesses have gone out of business because they were solving the wrong problem. The auto industry has solved the wrong problem many times over - maybe they’re building bigger cars but the problem was fuel... We also saw that when we asked schools -- what are the programs that help develop creativity? They said creative writing and arts classes. Yet the majority of those classes are not required, not part of the strict core curriculum, they were an elective.

Now business had a very similar result. We asked, once you have these employees, how do you help develop creativity? They said yes, it’s important, but we don’t require them to take advantage of these things, they’re not required. Neither schools nor businesses are making creativity a requirement of either their employees or their students.

Youth Radio: Do you think creativity indices are a good way to increase the amount of creativity in schools?

Wright: What’s important gets measured. I think that therefore developing some metric by which you can determine - are you making a difference? - is a critical one. Massachusetts and California are two states with big high-tech industries and very interested in making sure there’s a creative nature. If we develop this measure and we think these schools are doing it really well - it allows for inter-state and inter-district sharing about what programs have really helped.

We're hoping to be able to ask, if these are the most creative people in the company, what is their training? What is similar in their background that would suggest that therefore if you did the following six things, you are going to be more successful as a creative person? If schools had some measure that begins to say-- it’s because they had a fabulous science teacher, or project-based learning, or a theater program -- because we don’t have a sense of what is the most significant driver.

Youth Radio: Do you have any concerns about the index?

Wright: There’s always an issue around equity -- if kids are coming from an upper-income area and parents can supplement what kids are exposed to, then you begin to worry about the bias. Is it just the school environment? Or what is happening before and after school that is going to make a difference? I haven’t seen the indices so I don’t know how they’re going to factor in that kind of thing.

There’s always the concern about how inclusive is the data and how are they used -- are they used to really benefit all the kids in the system?

Then there’s the issue of preference... If a kid chooses not to be involved in activities like theater, are they missing out on the opportunities?... If that project-based learning is not used in the traditional classroom, then that child will not be exposed. Then there’s the reverse - just because a kid was in a classroom with project-based learning, does that mean they’re inherently more creative? No.

Youth Radio: Do you see a common goal for businesses and education in terms of workforce readiness?

Wright: We continue to look at the issue around how businesses and schools talk to each other. Schools have always felt that their role is to make that person ready to be an important contributor to society, someone you want to have as a neighbor. We certainly feel that the skill sets involved in being workforce-ready are exactly the same as those of being a good citizen -- you can read, you can write, you can express yourself, you can understand, you can take knowledge from a variety of areas and turn it into something useful. We feel that the bridge between the business world and the education world is there - and it’s something we need to work on strengthening.

An Open Letter To Queen Latifah

Devonte Swag — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:06:26 -0600

In the age of social networks, regular people like me can speak to celebrities through social media. You might be able to exchange messages with your favorite actor, musician or socialite via their Twitter account, and some folks use YouTube to ask celebs on dates. But I'm not here for that -- I'm here to make a plea to a certain celebrity whose career I've followed since its inception back in '88. I'm talking about Queen Latifah.

Dear Ms. L.A.T.I.F.A.H In Command,

You've had one incredible career thus far. You conquered the rap world in the late 80s and early 90s and like many rappers from the golden age, got into film and television, having successes in both. You have endorsements and now a successful singing career. But with all this under your belt, I would just love it if you would go back in the studio and drop one more rap album; just one more.

You did so much for hip-hop a time when women weren't being taken seriously in what was considered a man's sport. Granted, it's still a man's sport, as male rappers have always dominated the rap game. There was a point in hip-hop, in the late 90s/early 2ks, where women were really starting to lay it down in the mainstream in greater numbers. But somewhere between then and now, the number of women in hip-hop's mainstream declined and now all we have to rep the ladies is Nicki Minaj. As dope as Nicki is, what she's doing for hip-hop is not nearly as important as what you did, Latifah. You came out the box swinging with the anthem "Ladies First", a record that to this day is the hip-hop national anthem for women. If you never put this record out, we may have only seen records like "Push It", "Tramp" and "I'll Take Your Man" blow up. No disrespect to Salt-N-Pepa, but if it wasn't for "Ladies First" I wonder if female MCs would have been able to release politically & socially conscious, non sexual and most importantly fun records for radio and video air play.

Along with giving female MCs a blueprint, you became a trailblazer for plus size women. Being a big dude myself, Heavy D, Pun & B.I.G and a bunch of others, I've always had people to look up to who are big like me. But women aren't supposed to be overweight. It's a horrible double standard but you helped change some of that. Would anyone even have given Missy Elliot a chance since she didn't have the body of a Salt-N-Pepa or Lauryn Hill?

If "Ladies First" was the foot in the door for women in hip-hop, "U.N.I.T.Y." kicked it all the way open and let hip-hop know that misogyny and sexism in rap has got to go and that women won't stand for it. “Who you calling a BITCH?!” Classic! Maybe if there were more anthems like that in the post-golden era, we wouldn't have had an overflow of disrespectful songs that hit on the top of the charts. And with you, Lyte and Lauryn (among others) paving the way, we saw a surge of female MCs. There was one downside and that was the over usage of sexuality to sell records. But some would argue it's empowering to use one's sexuality. Somewhere along the line all these femcees in the limelight fell off the map.

Since people are only paying attention to Nicki Minaj, you might now be aware that there are a lot of dope women in the underground scene who deserve more shine. Maybe you could be the one to bring em out to a public eye in the form of a posse cut. We've seen some classic femcee posse cuts in the past. A few that come to mind are Brandy's "I Wanna Be Down Remix", Erykah Badu's "Love Of My Life Worldwide" and Lil Kim's "Ladies Night." These were some classic all female posse cuts. The last great femcee posse cut was "Six Pack" a very underrated song from 2005, featuring Nikki D, Rah Digga, Bahamadia, Precious Paris & Heather B. I would love to hear you do a record with underground artists like Jean Grae, Invincible, Tiye Phoenix, Anita Tijoux and new comers like Azealia Banks. I'd love to hear you do a record with Lil Kim, Missy & Nicki Minaj. Maybe you could be the one to unite these powerful women and squash Kim & Nicki's ridiculous beef.

I could see the reasons to leave the rap game behind, but I think your fans deserve one more. One more classic Queen Latifah hip-hop album. I remember hearing of a comeback album that never came out. I heard you were working with Missy Elliot which would have been a good move. So what happened? Did it not feel right or feel too commercial when creating the tracks? Did you feel pressure from labels to make a rap record that you didn't feel was worthy of stamping the name Queen Latifah to? Or maybe you figured all your new fans from your film and singing career that aren't hip to your MC past, might not get it and wouldn't like it? No offense to them, but your hip-hop fans need you. And I know you have the capability to put out another classic. It doesn't necessarily have to sound like an old school hip-hop album, it just has to be classic and I know you have the ability to make it happen. And there are producers out there who could provide a “classic” sound for you. I'd personally love to see you work with Just Blaze, No I.D., Missy, Kay-Gee, K-Def, Pete Rock, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, maybe a DJ Premier track to close the album with at least one back? with Mark the 45 King. I know for a fact if heads got word that you we're looking to drop a new hip-hop album, you'd have no problem landing a production team like this. If you haven't rhymed in a while or written anything in a long time, maybe go back to your classics or some classic MCs that made you wanna get on the mic, listen to them and get inspired again.

And please don't be concerned if HOT97, Power 106, KMEL and the rest of rap radio stations will play it or not. I know how different radio sounds now vs. back when you were making records. But you're Queen Latifah and whatever you stamp your name on will speak for itself, especially if it's as dope as I know it could be. And if you drop a new rap album, don't trip if it doesn't sell like Lil Wayne or Drake's albums. You're fortunate enough to not have to depend on record sales for your livelihood. With that being said, if the record label you're on doesn't want to get behind it, drop it independently. Drop an album that's a work of art. Something that says and means something and that's not disposable like much of today's music.

Sincerely,

Mike Biggz

New Music: Ilya - Hollow

Devonte Swag — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:53:18 -0600

Hollow by Ilya

Bristol based duo, Ilya, return with a new digital album "Fathoms Deep." Here's one of the album's highlights, "Hollow." This song is a bit of a return to the style from first and second albums and it's a beautiful track. Joanna Swan's vocals are amazing as ever.

New Initiative Hopes To Get Climate Change In Class Curriculums

squevedo — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:26:02 -0600

Climate change is starting to become a problem and I’m not strictly speaking to the melting ice caps or extreme weather—it’s creating a problem for teachers too. The debate about integrating climate change into class curriculums is one that is (no pun intended) starting to heat up. That’s why the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) has launched a new initiative to support the teaching of climate change in classrooms.

The initiative is sure to ruffle some feather but Robert Luhn, Director of Communications at NCSE, says the chances of finding a way to please those on both sides of the debate are slim. “You have to remember that science is not a matter of opinion. Science is about empirical data and what we can prove,” he said, “'Teaching the debate', as it’s often called, is really a smoke screen from deniers. Do you find yourself going into chemistry class and seeing someone teaching alchemy? Of course not. There’s no science behind it. It’s the same reason you don’t find someone teaching creationism and evolution at the same time.”

Luhn also says that not teaching about climate change is an issue, but often times uninformed teaching can pose a problem too. “Those that are [teaching about climate change] might not teaching it well because it’s a complex topic. We need more resources for teachers to really learn about the subject.”

Coming To A Mall Near You, Android Mannequins!

squevedo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:19:27 -0600

As if mannequins weren’t already creepy enough Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University in conjunction with Takashimiya, a department store in Tokyo, has developed an android mannequin that interacts with shoppers. The android, who as far as I can tell doesn’t really have a name, sits in the display window of a store, staring at her phone and yawning. She apparently is capable of 40 different facial expressions, though in the video she appears to only know how to look bored, creepy, or tired.

Dr Hiroshi Ishiguro has been developing Geminoid android robots for a while. The androids, which are nearly-human looking besides they’re eerily perfect skin and emotionless eyes have appeared at the Ars Electronica Festival and in Denmark. Though the human presence—in other words, the ability to interact like humans—has yet to be developed Ishiguro says he hopes to see these mannequins gain a human touch and maybe eventually make their way to major stores in the U.S at some point.

Check out the video below to see the mannequin in action.

Ostracism Turns Young People Off To Physical Activity

rgee — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:51:34 -0600

The American Pediatrics Association released results of a study today that seems to indicate that when students are ostracized, they are less inclined to participate in physical activities.

The study included 19 children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. The first part of the study involved a computer game called Cyberball. Each child was told that they were playing with two other children on the Internet, but the computer actually controlled the other two “players.” One group of students was tossed the ball regularly, but the other group of students was intentionally ignored and not thrown the ball.

After the Cyberball sessions, the children were given the option of using physical activity equipment or doing stationary activities like word searches and reading. The ostracized students spent 41 percent more time on the stationary activities, reports Education Week. In addition, these children reported greater negative feelings, less emotional-control, and without a sense of belonging.

A Shadow Of Acceptance: Growing Up Overweight

denise — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:35:48 -0600

The following originally aired on KCBS

By: Dereke Williams

Some days when my knees are giving me a lot of pain I’ll look over at my shadow doing a slow pigeon toed wobble down the street, and I just think to myself how gross and unhealthy I look.

My mom taught me how to love me for me. I remember she once told me, “You’re fat simple as that, and until you’re ready to put in the hard work to change, you might as well be the cutest fat boy in the game.”

Some people in my life worry that if I accept myself the way I am, that it means I don’t want to change, but what they don’t understand is that the only way I can lose weight is to do it from a place of strength, not shame.

I’m accepting myself for who I am now, not what I wish to be or who I may become in the future, keeping in mind that wherever I go, my shadow will be there. Except now when see it, my shadow doesn’t have a negative hold on me. Instead I smile to myself and think, what a fat black beautiful bowlegged young man.

From City to City

SuSimon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:12:13 -0600

I was born in Santa Monica on May 9th 1996. I was raised in Palmdale, which is a valley 45 minutes away from Los Angeles. After my parents divorced when I was 8, my dad moved to Lancaster, which is a town that is merged into Palmdale.

So, now I had 2 places to live, but Palmdale and Lancaster were so different from each other. Palmdale was like an upper class suburban part of the antelope valley. There wasn’t much to do, and the only places I went were the mall and GameStop. Everywhere I went I kept seeing the same people and places. It was boring, but it was home and I was perfectly fine with it. Lancaster was almost like the ghetto section of the valley. Most black people lived there, and it was dangerous. My mom was sometimes scared for me to go to the park across the street from my grandma’s house because she said there were predators in ice cream trucks waiting for kids like me to get close to them and snatch me away. My dad was never scared to let me out of the house to explore the world around me, and I wasn’t afraid to try.

As I became older and started high school, I was used to going back and forth from Palmdale living with my mom to Lancaster staying with my dad. Then all of a sudden, my mom and I were moving to Oakland to live. My other grandmother lives here and is getting older, so my mom decided that while her sisters and brothers were occupied with their own lives, she would step in and take care of her.

I would always come to Oakland for summer vacations and holiday breaks, but that’s it, nothing more than that. I would just come right back to the antelope valley where it’s boring, and I’m use to. I thought living in Oakland would take me away from my dad, grandma, cousins, and close friends. It was hard for me to leave all that behind. I had actually asked my dad what he thought about me moving. He said “it’s a better opportunity out there than it is out here”. I was shocked and a little disappointed, but after a few days of thinking about it, I finally understood what he meant. He was saying that since this town is so boring, there wouldn’t be a place for me to branch out.

There are so many opportunities here in Oakland that I just can’t pick one. He and my mom wanted better for me. Since I’ve been here, I was accepted to Oakland School for the Arts, where I’ve met a lot of great people and explored my many great talents. I’ve gone to different places like Berkeley and Fairfield. I stay active in my community and actually like going outside to take a walk down lakeshore from my house. I look at everything differently, and I still to this day think about what my dad told me. I’m Sunday Simon, and I am proud to be from Oakland.

Google+ vs. Facebook

THarris — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:13:57 -0600

There is a new social networking program being launched online, this new program is none other than Google+.

Google+ is a new social networking website, and identity verification service, that from the looks of it is striving to become the next Facebook. Facebook is a fledgling company that has proven to be a crusader in the art of making leaps and bounds in client and consumer likability, as well as distinguishing itself as a major industry.

I know what it sounds like, “there’s no way this new Google+ can possibly compete with the rapidly budding Facebook”, but there are certain factors you must know firsthand. Google+ is not a separate industry, it is one and the same with Google, a lot like Gmail (Google mail), and Google translate; so it doesn’t have to rise from ground zero up. Now Google is what we would call a “mature” company, in a sense that it has been up and running for a number of years and as such has worked out most of its privacy flaws. On top of that Google has earned a more trustworthy reputation, and because of this people would feel more comfortable trusting Google to steward their personal information, over Facebook.

Google+ is an inescapable charging rhino; the longer it’s up the more dominant it will rule the social networking industry. There’s only two problems that i can see….one Facebook has built a solid foundation in the social networking world and so the public have already invested much into the company, people will see transferring information to tedious a task so they will be prone to blow Google+ away, hardly giving it a second glace; two Facebook is widely known as the social networking site, while Google+ is more a blur. If someone didn’t want to take the time to do the research or had no friends to inform them, finding out the nature of Google+ would be easier said than done.

I have recently signed up for a Google+ account and i can say first hand though the program is young it has much potential and I highly recommend that you try it.

The last point i want to make is a comparison between MySpace and Facebook, brad Greenspan CEO of MySpace quoted in an interview “I believe MySpace will change lives”, a couple of years later the much better, hipper Facebook wretched that dream from MySpace and pummeled into the ground. Facebook’s founder mark Zuckerberg quoted in a Facebook news conference “Facebook is going to change the world”. And now three years in the making a new social networking system has arisen ready to scuffle for control of the social networking world.

Valentines Day, The Day to Hate?

ZJackson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:18:19 -0600

Most people look forward to Valentine’s Day, but for me it’s the most dreaded day of the year, other than going to the dentist. When I was little my daddy made it clear that Valentine’s Day was “the day for the ladies.” He would bring my mommy and I gifts after work that would range from little blue boxes of jewelry, to two dozen roses and a box of chocolates. Now I have high expectations for Valentine’s Day, most likely because of my daddy’s gifts and special treatment.

Every year I make it very clear to whomever I am romantically involved with what I want, yet every Valentine’s Day I am let down. Some years it would be because I couldn’t get in touch with the person I wanted to be with to go on a date or just have a moment together, other times it would be because my significant other was just not on his or her job. I would ask for something simple like a box of chocolate, a teddy bear, or even a flower and every time nothing.

Over the years I began to grow cynical and believe that there was no hope for me on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, I still feel this way. I believe that Valentine’s Day is nothing more than an excuse for people to share buckets of ice cream, sob stories and pity. I most likely will always hate Valentine’s Day, but this year I’m trying to have high hopes. A week ago while watching “adventure time” with my boyfriend, he mentioned that I will be happy this year on Valentine’s Day. While in his arms my mind began to wander back to Valentine’s Day past. No one ever said anything to me about having a good Valentine’s Day. No one ever dropped hints about gift ideas or possible dates. It’s almost like no one even cared until now. It’s possible that I just have unreasonable expectations for Valentine’s Day. Some people might question why not just be loved everyday instead of one but to them I ask, why celebrate being one year older rather than one day older? There are 11 days left until Valentine’s Day and hopefully 11 days left until my 1^st great Valentine’s Day in a long time.

Too Much Temptation

rgee — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:59:19 -0600

This story was originally published on L.A. Youth.

Distractions are all around us—Facebook, YouTube, texting, TV. It’s sometimes so overwhelming that it can be hard to focus on homework. So we challenged these teens to do their homework without distractions for three days. They were allowed to take breaks to do things like check their Facebook, go on YouTube, talk to their friends or watch TV, but they couldn’t do those things while doing their homework.

By Moviz Dar 18, Hawthorne HS

I usually come home after school and eat, sleep for one to three hours and then watch videos on YouTube. I promise myself that I’ll start my homework the next hour but it never happens. I do my homework from 9 p.m. until midnight. I knew that starting my homework at 9 was bad because I wasn’t getting all my work done.

On the first day of the challenge, I deactivated my Facebook account and put my phone on silent. My brain was telling me every second that I had to log onto Facebook and reply to text messages I assumed I had. But I was able to resist. I finished my economics homework in half an hour. I usually take two hours. And I finished all of my homework one hour earlier than normal and got eight hours of sleep. Even though I got homework done faster, I felt like I was stuck in a cage and being forced to do it.

So on the last two days I went back to my old habits. I texted, watched YouTube videos and went on Facebook while doing my homework. Because of all the distractions, I stayed up until 1 a.m. I realized that if I want to do my homework fast I need to remove the distractions around me. When the three days were over, I wanted to do my homework without distractions but I was unsuccessful again and again. One day I didn’t even do my homework. I woke up at 4 a.m. and I rushed through it but I didn’t have enough time and I finished only half of it. When my English teacher said, “OK, turn in your homework,” I felt guilty that I let myself procrastinate.

By Jazmine Mendoza 16, Valley Regional HS #5 (San Fernando)

I was excited to do this challenge because I need to learn to stay focused. I do my homework with my computer on because I listen to music. When I get bored I check Facebook or spend an hour listening to new bands on YouTube. When I call a friend for homework help, or to take a break, I end up talking for hours. I was confident the first day. I left my computer and phone on because I wanted to challenge myself by keeping temptations nearby. I felt more focused because I wasn’t thinking about checking my Facebook every five minutes. I spent only three hours doing homework instead of the six to seven hours I usually take. I even had time to read for pleasure before going to bed.

The following day at school I felt better prepared because without distractions, I had fully understood the homework. During the second night I found myself dozing off and getting bored since I was used to going online or calling a friend when my homework got hard. I didn’t want to cave in though, so I dedicated myself to doing portions of my homework for about an hour and then taking five-minute breaks. I didn’t use the breaks to go online though, because I knew that I’d stay on longer than five minutes. Instead I cleaned my room, got a snack or saw what my family was doing. Then I continued my homework more refreshed.

I repeated the same routine the third day, and will try to keep that routine from now on. Spending less time on Facebook made it less important. I knew I wasn’t missing out on much because I could go on later and nothing had changed. It feels good being on the computer less.

For more technology temptation stories, visit L.A. Youth.

Suspended From School: Days Off? Or Days Behind?

rgee — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:39:08 -0600

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A group of sixth graders shared their stories with Youth Radio about getting suspended from school, and whether they thought it was a fair and a meaningful punishment. They Skyped with us from their classroom in Oakland, CA.

Listen to their stories above.

Their teacher Ms. M., who preferred her name not be mentioned, shared some thoughts after listening to her students speak. “I’m just surprised at some of the situations that my students have gotten themselves into... I feel like in my classroom these students are very respectful to me, they’re generally not behavior problems. None of these students have been sent to the office by me this year,” she said.

In general, she senses from students that suspension is not seen as a punishment. It’s the opposite. “That definitely is the feeling among kids - suspension is a time to take off or play around, a break from school... It depends on what is going on at home. If you have a parent that cares a lot about their child getting suspended, then the kid is going to be at home doing chores, and doing their homework. Other kids come back to school and say, ‘I was at Six Flags when I was suspended,’ or ‘I was watching tv,’ or ‘I was playing video games when I was suspended,’” she said.

A Shadow Of Acceptance: Growing Up Overweight

denise — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:22:55 -0600

The following originally aired on KQED-FM.

By: Derek Williams

I’m so bowlegged that my older brother says I look like I’ve been riding a bull since the day I was born. I stand five foot seven and weigh 380 pounds.

Some days when my knees are giving me a lot of pain I’ll look over at my shadow doing a slow pigeon toed wobble down the street, and I just think to myself how gross and unhealthy I look.

Being overweight is something I’ve dealt with my whole life. Names like doughboy and fatty used to really get to me. But even when kids weren’t being mean, I felt isolated. In the 3rd grade my class took a field trip for Chinese New Year to the Empire Buffet. Chinese food is my favorite, and I was so excited, but then came the bad news…we had to walk eight blocks to the restaurant. Sweaty and out of breath, I eventually stopped to sit on a fire hydrant. I remember the look on some of my classmates' faces when they had to stop and wait for me. I had never felt worse in my life.

I’ve come a long way since then and have my mom to thank for a lot of that. I remember she once told me, “You’re fat simple as that, and until you’re ready to put in the hard work to change, you might as well be the cutest fat boy in the game.”

I’m accepting myself for who I am now, not what I wish to be or what I may become in the future, keeping in mind that wherever I go, my shadow will be there. Except now when see it, my shadow doesn’t have a negative hold on me. Instead I smile to myself and think, what a fat black beautiful bowlegged young man.

How Can We Lower The Student Drop Out Rate?

rgee — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:49:56 -0600

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In last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama proposed something radical, that dropping out of high school no longer be allowed. But that might be complicated. Every school district has tried numerous solutions to the dropout dilemma without success. The problem prompted Russell Rumberger to write a book called Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It.

Rumberger is director of the California Dropout Research Project, and he currently serves as provost in the Office of the President at the University of California. He recently talked about his theory that high schools need to promote alternatives to college – and that some people might be better served not getting a higher education at all. KALW's Ben Trefny sat down with Youth Radio’s Robyn Gee to discuss this idea of education.

This story was produced by Youth Radio with support from the New Options Project and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

"Suspension Stories" Brings You Personal Narratives

rgee — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:58:59 -0600

Suspension Stories, a youth-led project by the Young Women's Action Team and Project NIA, produced a series of written, audio, and video testimonies about students getting suspended. The project intends to highlight the school-to-prison pipeline and show how school discipline policies often seem premature, too extreme, or unfair to students.

Below, Adeola M. shares her story of getting suspended. If she had been guided to talk out her conflict with her classmate, she says, she would not have missed a week of school, including a test.

Ana Mercado discusses why she thinks schools should be using "restorative justice" methods instead of suspensions. To see how "restorative justice" is working in San Francisco's public schools, check out this article from the Center for Public Integrity.