School Budget Cuts
In Other Words wants to hear how budget cuts are affecting your school. Leave us a comment or send us your pictures and videos.
Our email address is inotherwords@kqed.org.About In Other Words
In Other Words is part of the Digital Natives project, a CPB funded partnership between Youth Radio and KQED Public Media.
Young Teacher Aims For Oakland
Youth Radio profiles a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, Nessa Mahmoudi, who wants to put her Masters of Education to use in the Oakland Unified School District. Watch below to find out why Oakland Unified is both a challenging and attractive district to teach in and why they may be turning away teachers like Mahmoudi.
The Trickle Down Effect of Budget Cuts
Youth Radio and the Graduate School of Journalism at University of California at Berkeley joined forces to bring Digital Natives a video that examines how budget cuts at UCs impact students and classes at community colleges. As it turns out, one of the hottest tickets in town these days is a seat in class.
The California Report: The Mt. Eden High School Band
The Mt. Eden High School Band is good. How good? Well, they were invited to perform at the Beijing Olympics. Unfortunately, the students had to decline the invitation because the trip was too expensive. Reporter Mina Kim caught up with the band for this week’s California Report Magazine. She’ll find out how a such a strong program has persisted in such hard times.
To listen to the program, click below:
To see a photo slideshow of the Mt. Eden High School Band visit TheCaliforniaReport.org.
Quest Launches Science on the Spot
KQED’s multiplatform science program, Quest, recently launched a new, web-only series called “Science on the SPOT” in conjunction with their latest television offerings. According to senior producer Craig Rosa, the web series aims to “drill down on one place, one science concept, one person, and see the science in action as it is happening, with the folks who make it happen. All with a style that gives a nod to our award-winning broadcast TV and radio stories, but with its own voice.” Here’s their first episode, Swimming with the Sharks:
Personally, I’d love to see the concept applied to some political coverage. Paging John Myers.
Rep. Speier Holds Youth Town Hall
Rep. Jackie Speier announced she will be holding a youth town hall on Monday, April 12 for young adults ages 18-25. In an announcement about the town hall, the congresswoman said, “Young people are passionate and full of ideas about how to improve our community, but too often they are not heard. I look forward to spending an evening with them, talking openly about their concerns and see how we can do better.” Those comments are not entirely surprising given that Speier debated the merits of young people during her appearance on The Colbert Report:
Congresswoman Speier represents California’s 12th district, which includes parts of San Francisco and stretches down to Redwood City. The youth town hall will be held from 7:00 to 8:30pm in San Mateo at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation Conference Center.
For more information on the town hall visit Jackie Speier’s website.
Youth Perspectives on Forum
A group of sixth graders from the The San Francisco School appeared on Forum to discuss The San Francisco School Perspectives Project. As part of the project, students wrote Perspectives, modeled after the two-minute commentaries that air daily on KQED, on subjects as diverse as divorce, soccer and cliques. The students’ teacher, Ruth Corley, then sent the pieces to Perspectives editor Mark Trautwein who was impressed enough to publish all 31 pieces as web-exclusive Perspectives.
The San Francisco School Perspectives Project and the accompanying Forum episode are both examples of the rich content that results when youth are trusted to express themselves.
More:
To listen to the San Francisco School Perspectives Project click here.
To see Ruth Corley’s lesson plans on using Perspectives in the classroom click here.
For more Perspectives by young people, visit the Youth Perspectives contest page.
Gang Injunctions in Oakland
Both Youth Radio and Forum recently covered The City of Oakland’s call for an injunction against North Side Oakland, a gang the police identify as one of the most violent in the city. Youth Radio producer Denise Tejada interviewed a resident who opposes the injunction and wants to see resources allocated to other programs. Read the interview at YouthRadio.org.
Several weeks ago Forum discussed the injunction with representatives from the Oakland city attorney’s office, the Oakland Police Department, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Youth UpRising, a youth development organization. Listen to an archive of the show below.
A Look at First Generation College Students
Both of today’s episodes of Forum examined the challenges facing first generation college students and successful strategies for helping them. The show was actually broadcast from the Downtown College Prep High School campus in San Jose and students participated in each hours’ discussion. Both shows are embedded below.
Tell us, what kind of support do you need to help you get into college or to finish your degree? If you’ve already graduated, what kind of support served you well?
Youth Radio Video: Cal Students Rally on Day of Action
Statewide Rallies to Protect Education
Rallies, marches, political theater and teach-ins are taking place at schools across the state today. Protesters are hoping to send the message to Sacramento that cuts to public education need to be restored. According to one KQED story, California currently places 47 in per pupil spending in the country. Here are a few sources to get you up to speed on today’s activities:
- Today’s Forum discussed the rallies with education reporters Lisa Kreiger and Jill Tucker as well as a few students and PTA members.
- Youth Radio has been posting updates about every half hour.
- Chronicle reporter Justin Berton has been tweeting about the protests.
For a bit of background on the protests, listen to KQED Tara Siler’s report from Tuesday:
And KQED Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers look at Prop. 98:
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