SIGN IN

Project Peace meets Each One Teach One

January 30th, 2008 by Winton Wedderburn

each_one_teach_one

The Project Peace Video Club is one of the most popular programs on the Bushwick campus, and also one of its most personal. Through their online blog, students make their voices heard on the issues that affect them the most: When fellow student Jasmine Colon lost a friend to gang violence, she told them her story in an emotional interview.

It’s important for students to respond and deal with problems that matter to them, but it’s also important to learn from the stories of others. They took on one of the nation’s biggest problems last month, when they filmed a PSA about violence in juvenile detention facilities – a sad truth for young men and women behind bars. Minors in juvenile hall are in danger of abused and beaten…sometimes to death.

Many may feel it’s a lost cause, but it’s one that must be addressed. “We decided to come together as a group and make a PSA” says Clarisa James, who collaborates with students on various projects. “There was a sense of accomplishment – they used their skills towards something positive.”

But for all their skills and accomplishments, they knew they would need some help. They found it at Each One Teach One, a program to train youth to be come advocates for youth in juvenile detention centers.“Through their program, youths learn about the injustices in juvenile detention centers,” says Clarisa. “They became advocates for teenagers that can’t speak for themselves.”

They staged a mock press conference about a fictional attack in a correctional facility – a 14-year-old was killed when he got into a fight with another teenager. With better security, it might’ve been avoided.

They also simulated a protest rally in response to the teenager’s death. “It was very important for them,” says Clarisa, “because they were not aware of the bureaucracy in juvenile detention centers.”

Afterwards, some students got to say a few words about what they learned that day. Juasheena Gilot said that she was emotionally moved by everything she had seen: “Each One Teach One has taught me that I have a voice to speak up for those who can’t.” She was clearly proud of what they had accomplished.

To learn more about the Project Peace Video Club, visit bccp.wordpress.com

Tags:
Posted in Project PEACE, Trips, Video | No Comments »

Being at Bushwick

December 12th, 2007 by Winton Wedderburn

ivan_bushwick

Where is it written that art can’t be fun? For everyone in the BCCP after-school program at Bushwick High School, art provides an outlet for creative expression: Some students might produce hip-hop jams on the computer, others might capture the rugged cityscape in a colorful drawing.

There’s a lot more to the program than that, though. Every weekday afternoon from 3 to 6, students come here to play games, study for tests and work on activities together. Everything here feels remarkable in its own unique way – it would be hard to think of another place where you can find teenagers listening to Jay-Z and debating over chess moves at the same time.

Ivan Katz, a percussionist who works in the music production lab, says that “the best way to teach yourself is to experiment and mess around.” Everyone here seems to think so: They’ve been using computers, keyboards and microphones all semester to record their own music. Using software programs like Reason, they can add eccentric sound effects to give their music more quality and depth.

Students like Ishmael Forde work hard on their music, but he says that coming here can “make the school a little more fun.”

After spending some time in the music production lab, students can try their hand at painting and sketching with Andres Martinez, a teaching artist whose fingers are usually dripping with paint.

“They’d never gone out and drawn from real life,” he says. “They’d never drawn another person, except maybe themselves in a mirror…I was able to teach them that, which I felt pretty good about.”

Although everyone says they admire his artwork, Andres seems to admire theirs even more, and he encourages students here to find themselves. Was it Picasso who once said “I do not seek. I find”? Maybe he was onto something.

Tags: ,
Posted in Music | No Comments »

BC @ Bushwick Receives Award from The UPS Foundation

February 23rd, 2006 by Winton Wedderburn

ups_grant

The Brooklyn College Community Partnership received a $12,000 grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS. The award was presented on January 26th at Bushwick Campus. In the ceremony, Bushwick grad and UPS employee Ted Crawford gave the award to Bushwick grad and staff member Gladys Jimenez. This grant will be used to support The BCCP’s work on the Bushwick High School Campus where we serve over 400 students providing much needed college-bound services. Last year, this program helped over 90 students prepare for college attendance. Funding from The UPS foundation will enhance this work and provide more opportunities for college trips, counseling, and standardized test prep.The BCCP would like to offer many thanks to Moises Hunt, who made this grant possible, and, like Mr. Crawford, is also a Bushwick graduate. Both men are and have been long-time supporters of the Bushwick community. The BCCP would also like to extend many thanks to The UPS Foundation.

Tags:
Posted in BCCP | No Comments »