Middle School Students At 'New Horizons' Want To Make A Difference In Their Community

Yesterday morning, I accompanied my friends Rita Miller and Betty Stoltz to the New Horizons Middle School, which is located at PS32 on Hoyt Street.
Teachers Michael Templeton and Anna Gutman are working with a group of students on 'Project Connect,' which encourages young people to get involved, help, and build a better community.
Rita and Betty had been invited to speak about their own involvement and activism. I joined them to give the students a few tips on how to use blogging as a way of getting their message out to others.

I was impressed by students Nicole Rosario, Keesha Hale and Alex Wells. They spoke of interviewing local residents about the presidential race as well as what they thought of Barack Obama as our new president. ( Their result: Most were happy about his presidency.)

Another survey taken by the children revealed that the community is concerned about the Gowanus Canal and its polluted state. So the group of students has tackled the issue with the help of their teachers. It would appear that these young people know more about the canal than some of our politicians.
The students walked around the Gowanus and took photos of the canal area like the one below. Then, they posed themselves these questions:

1) What do you notice about the community from these photos?
2) What do the photos make you want to DO?
3) If you had unlimited money and materials, what is one thing you would do for your community? Why?

It was inpiring to see these young people really care about the issues facing their neighborhood.
Their activism should be encouraged. So please, go to their web site here and let them know that their voices count and that we need them to be part of the discussion.

And of course, a big thank you to their wonderful teachers who obviously bring out the best in their young charges.




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