This week , the members of Everyday Leaders really buckled down and had some serious debates about where the direction that the club is going. For Tuesday, students participated in more team building activities as well as activities to discover if their perceptions of themselves is the same as how others perceive them.
Students also watched the movie created by Nathan Black, a student at Georgia Tech, and Nadia Moreno, a recent graduate from Emory University. These young film directors were panelist at the seminar the students attended at the MLK Service Summit. You can watch the 11 minute video on homelessness at http://overcomingpoverty.com/.
Through a Democratic process, the students started narrowing down project ideas and started debating on the benefits and the impact of the service project on themselves, their school, and their community. Students engaged in a self-led debate for over 30 minutes and enjoyed that their facilitator, Laura, was not allowed to say anything!
In the upcoming weeks, students will begin to define their project, plan logistics, create a budget and a timeline, and present their project to the principal, Mr. Underwood. I will post the proposal as soon as that process is completed.
Good debate, students!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Week Eight: Presentation
We had a short week due to all of the activity last week. On Thursday, students prepared for their presentation at morning meeting in front of the school. Members created a slide show about Everyday Leaders and others made posters on the Service Summit and the MLK Day of Service. Students included these myths and facts about homelessness in their power point presentation:
Myth: Homeless children don’t go to school.
Fact: About 88% of homeless children are enrolled in school.
Myth: The homeless are uneducated and unemployed.
Fact: Many homeless people have completed high school and some have attended college.
Myth: Homeless people are dangerous.
Fact: In general, the homeless are among the least threatening and most vulnerable group in our society.
They did a great job in front of their entire school; great job Everyday Leaders!
Myth: Homeless children don’t go to school.
Fact: About 88% of homeless children are enrolled in school.
Myth: The homeless are uneducated and unemployed.
Fact: Many homeless people have completed high school and some have attended college.
Myth: Homeless people are dangerous.
Fact: In general, the homeless are among the least threatening and most vulnerable group in our society.
They did a great job in front of their entire school; great job Everyday Leaders!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service - Everyday Leaders Service Kick Off!
We kicked off our service by joining 8,000 volunteers working on projects throughout the Atlanta metro area by serving in the King District!
After meeting at John Hope Elementary for muffins, four students (Regan, David, Russell, and Reggie, along with Laura and her fiance Guthrie) walked through the hustle and bustle of the king center to the Wheat Street Senior Towers for hospitality cleaning. There were many volunteers in attendance. Students brought chemical-free cleaners that they made the week before. We had a list of three homes to clean. One resident unfortunately did not answer and another had just cleaned the day before. But, third try's a charm, right? Ms. Moses kindly welcomed us into her home where students cleaned her large windows, dusted ledges and table, and engaged in conversation with her. They did a great job and worked very hard!
After leaving Wheat Street, we joined the rest of the volunteers with the Hands On Atlanta project across the street at the Prince Hall Masonic home. Students cleaned floorboards and window ledges so that others could follow behind painting. The students of Everyday Leaders were very positive and flexible, willing to help with anything. They were even mistaken for high school students!
After lunch provided by Chic-fil-A, we were able to return the MLK visitor center for reflection and to walk through the visitor center before getting picked up.
Thank you, Everyday Leaders, for your hard work on your day off! and thank you parents for driving your students to and from the King District this weekend!
There is no Everyday Leaders today; we will return on Thursday!
After meeting at John Hope Elementary for muffins, four students (Regan, David, Russell, and Reggie, along with Laura and her fiance Guthrie) walked through the hustle and bustle of the king center to the Wheat Street Senior Towers for hospitality cleaning. There were many volunteers in attendance. Students brought chemical-free cleaners that they made the week before. We had a list of three homes to clean. One resident unfortunately did not answer and another had just cleaned the day before. But, third try's a charm, right? Ms. Moses kindly welcomed us into her home where students cleaned her large windows, dusted ledges and table, and engaged in conversation with her. They did a great job and worked very hard!
After leaving Wheat Street, we joined the rest of the volunteers with the Hands On Atlanta project across the street at the Prince Hall Masonic home. Students cleaned floorboards and window ledges so that others could follow behind painting. The students of Everyday Leaders were very positive and flexible, willing to help with anything. They were even mistaken for high school students!
After lunch provided by Chic-fil-A, we were able to return the MLK visitor center for reflection and to walk through the visitor center before getting picked up.
Thank you, Everyday Leaders, for your hard work on your day off! and thank you parents for driving your students to and from the King District this weekend!
There is no Everyday Leaders today; we will return on Thursday!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
King Center's Martin Luther King Service Summit
What a great and busy day! Overall, we had a great day. Six students came as well as two of the students' sisters, and Laura & her fiance. Together, we attended different activities and sessions.
Here are the highlights:
Freedom Rally & Keynote Address / 10:30 – 12:30 / Ebenezer Baptist Church
The Freedom Rally was hosted in partnership with National Park Service, this and featured speeches from the children of late civil rights leaders who are carrying forward the legacies of their parents interwoven with artistic performances from local performers.
Speakers included Jamida Orange, daughter of the late Rev. James Orange and Elder Bernice King, youngest daughter of Dr. King. Performers included the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church Choir, Pan People Steel Band, Free Agents 2nd Line Band, and a Grady High student performing spoken word. It was lively and fun! Our very own Ronald was even able to ask Elder Bernice King a question about the positive and negative legacy of the Civil Rights movement!
Homelessness, The Lived Experience / 1:00 – 2:30 / The King Center
According to the 2007 Tri-Jurisdictional Homeless Census, on January 25, 2007, there were 6,840 sheltered and unsheltered homeless men, women and children living in the City of Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb Counties. Panelists on this topic included Vernon Anderson, Veteran’s Assistance Manager, Samaritan House of Atlanta (was also formally a person affected by homelessness), Elisabeth Omilami, daughter of the late civil rights leader Hosea Wililams, and Executive Director of Hosea Feed the Hungry & Homeless and film makers Nathan Black, a student at Georgia Tech, and Nadia Moreno, a recent graduate from Emory University. Check out their 11 minute movie at overcomingpoverty.com This conversation was be moderated by Protip Biswas, Executive Director, Regional Commission on Homelessness, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. Again, one of our club members, Regan, was able to dialogue with panelist Vernon Anderson. This panel gave us ideas for planning our project for Global Youth Service Day!
For the final session at John Hope Elementary, we split into two groups. The majority of us attended:
Understanding Dr. King's Philosophy of a Beloved Community
A youth only session, participants expanded their knowledge of Dr. King’s leadership through an interactive workshop that explored the tenets of the Beloved Community as a tool for engaging communities and skills for effectively bringing people together. Participants discussed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a transformational with speaker and community activist Kirk Tyler. Everyday Leaders were strong participants in this workshop!
Two of our older male students (Regan & Russell) attended Success, Struggles, & Setbacks An in depth discussion about the importance of boys coming into their own as responsible men, productive citizens, and community servants. Speaker Sir James Buchanon works at Hands On Atlanta, is a motivational speaker, an author, and a relationship therapist. This workshop was for youth males.
We ended our long day with written reflection at John Hope Elementary. Highlights of these reflections will be featured in this week's Courier. I am very proud of the students--their maturity was recognized and appreciated by Hands On Atlanta staff, special guests, and presenters. Way to represent ACMS!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Week Seven: Preparing for MLK
We had a busy week getting ready for our field trips to the Martin Luther King Service Summit and the MLK Day of Service on MLK Day (It's a day ON!)
On Tuesday, Everyday Leaders prepared for the weekend by watching parts of the PBS special, Citizen King. Citizen King is a great documentary not only highlighting Martin Luther King's more notable accomplishments, but it goes beyond the I Have a Dream speech into more of his work with the Poor Peoples' Campaign as well as his opposition the Vietnam War. We a held a group discussion following the film.
On Thursday, students started to prepare for their day of service by making their own chemical-free all purpose cleaners and glass cleaners. Students will take these with them to clean senior's apartments at the Wheat Street Towers in the King District. Students also completed their final day of online research for project ideas for their Global Youth Service Day project.
Looking forward to the weekend!
On Tuesday, Everyday Leaders prepared for the weekend by watching parts of the PBS special, Citizen King. Citizen King is a great documentary not only highlighting Martin Luther King's more notable accomplishments, but it goes beyond the I Have a Dream speech into more of his work with the Poor Peoples' Campaign as well as his opposition the Vietnam War. We a held a group discussion following the film.
On Thursday, students started to prepare for their day of service by making their own chemical-free all purpose cleaners and glass cleaners. Students will take these with them to clean senior's apartments at the Wheat Street Towers in the King District. Students also completed their final day of online research for project ideas for their Global Youth Service Day project.
Looking forward to the weekend!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Week Six: Stating the Problem
Happy New Year! We really started the year off right with a generous $50 gift card from Target at Edgewood for the students' project planning budget. Thank you, Target!
Students really started working on their multi-tasking skills this week as we are starting to gear up for the 16th Annual Hands On Atlanta Martin Luther King Service Summit held at the King Center on Saturday, January 17th. Students will also be participating in their first day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day - It's a day ON!
Students used their new knowledge of the subject of homelessness to complete a Community Mapping Tree - root causes, effects, and available resources. Students started the brainstorming process for specific project ideas. They will continue to cultivate this list during the MLK Service Summit. The students also developed a script and called some community-based organizations like Open Door, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and Task-Force for project ideas.
Finally, students also worked on their presentation that they are going to give the school for morning meeting on Friday, January 23rd. They delegated tasks and created an outline.
***Students - Get in your permission forms for the MLK Service Summit and the Service Kick-off!
Students really started working on their multi-tasking skills this week as we are starting to gear up for the 16th Annual Hands On Atlanta Martin Luther King Service Summit held at the King Center on Saturday, January 17th. Students will also be participating in their first day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day - It's a day ON!
Students used their new knowledge of the subject of homelessness to complete a Community Mapping Tree - root causes, effects, and available resources. Students started the brainstorming process for specific project ideas. They will continue to cultivate this list during the MLK Service Summit. The students also developed a script and called some community-based organizations like Open Door, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and Task-Force for project ideas.
Finally, students also worked on their presentation that they are going to give the school for morning meeting on Friday, January 23rd. They delegated tasks and created an outline.
***Students - Get in your permission forms for the MLK Service Summit and the Service Kick-off!
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