In the Presence of Maya Angelou

This past Friday we gave the teens a choice to continue our traditional Friday night Game Night or to go see Maya Angelou at the Northwest Hwy Barnes and Noble. The group was split in half. The girls wanted to see her; the boys did not.

Making an executive decision about what would be most beneficial to everyone in the group, I decided everyone would go see Dr. Maya Angelou speak. After all, it was an opportunity of a lifetime...and it was FREE! Knowing she would arrive around 7:00, we had decided to leave at 6:00. However, when we called at 4:00 to find out more details, the store employee informed us that there were only 150 seats available and people had already started arriving. The Americorps members overseeing Teen U and Mid Teen U scrambled to make phone calls and push the teens to hurry home from school so we could leave. Around 5:00 we had finally gotten the last permission slip needed.

The store wasn't overly crowded when we got there and we were able to find seats about halfway back. We sat and waited...for about two hours. At 7:00, they raised the black curtain they had set up as if they were revealing a piece of artwork. It seemed odd but I guess, in a way, Dr. Angelou is that precious and rare so why not??

At her first words, the audience began to silence. However, in the 30 seconds to a minute it took the audience to settle down, Dr. Angelou had finished speaking. She was ready to sign books...and we didn't have the wristbands needed to have that opportunity. The teens were disappointed. They couldn't understand, despite her age and breathlessness, why she couldn't/wouldn't say more.

In hopes of them taking home something from the experience, we drove down the street to Half Price Books. I purchased 5 Maya Angelou books and we did a drawing to see who would get to take home one of her books. I watched the bravado of the boys, but I also saw the interest some of them showed in knowing more about her.

After purchasing the books, we quickly drove back over to Barnes and Noble just in case she might speak her words of wisdom. Luckily, right after we got back, she did say a few more words which, I can only hope, were enough to inspire the teens and help them understand her greatness.

Here is a video from the evening. Unfortunately, because of youtube's strict rules these days, the video doesn't have any music with it (until I figure out how to use OpenSource music). However, music or not, I always find the words of people in our Education Department completely inspiring and encouraging.

After-School programs...a day in the life

Yesterday our Americorps representative came by to check in our members. As I toured her around, I had to quickly grab the Flip to capture some great moments. Check out what the youth in our programs are doing...



...and then feel free to contact us for a tour! :)

This has been an incredible summer. How fitting to end the summer blogging with this picture of Neisha tackling the ropes course at the Urban Impact Camp.
All summer the youth explored many avenues dealing with the environment, “going green” being the set theme. It goes to show you, that with some discipline, a burning desire to achieve, and a lot of determination sets a path with endless opportunities. Trial and error plays a big part too, but one has to be willing to go that extra mile.
See, Maya Angelou stated that:

“You may not think you can reach it,

climb anyway.

You may not think you’ll be heard,

speak anyway.

You may not think you can change things,

try anyway.”

That is exactly what they did. From Aviant, a 2nd grader, who has motivated his family to recycle to a bunch of Kindergartners and 1st graders learning the importance of eating right, to Neisha who was determined to succeed and make it to the top.

Plain and simple, I encourage all of you, especially those who work with youth, to repeat the mission statement at least twice week, “equipping youth to envision who they can and one day will become.”
Hello new school year!!!!

P.S. It is true; a picture does speak a thousand words…

How to Apply to College: Steps in the Application Process

College 101 "What college should I choose?

Choosing a college can be a difficult decision for students. It is best to start the process early, even if you are not a senior in high school. Wednesday, Teen U students had the opportunity to compile a list of universities and decide which university is a perfect fit by using a point system. If the universities had things they loved such as the student organizations, climate, offered their major, or freshman were not required to live in a dorm, then they would put the number 1 on their worksheet. If they saw things they dislike such as the universities did not offer a large number of student organizations or tuition was too expensive, then they would put a zero on their worksheet. When they finished with the worksheet, they calculated their points to see which university is right by looking at the college with the highest points.

Julian's selected school was the University of North Texas. He stated he loved the numerous student organizations and it is only 40 minutes from his mom.

La’kyra's selected school was the Oklahoma State University. She loved the school because it offered a lot of student organizations and had her major, Zoology; because she wants to become a veterinarian.

Shariah's selected school was the University of California : Davis. She found it fascinating that they give freshman the option of living in a dorm instead of requiring the freshman to live in the dorm. She also liked that it offered her major.

I have enjoyed creating College 101 workshops and encouraging students to learn about higher education at a young age is great.

--Jamacah

Public Etiquette Demonstration

My Day in Mid Teen University

So, as the teens in Teen University were going through Etiquette Class upstairs, I was sent down to unofficially assist Mr. Adam in running Mid Teen University. I have seen Mr. Terrence and Mr. Adam run this program before, but I didn't think I was going to assist in it anytime soon. No sweat...well maybe a little bit.

In attendance were two of the three young men who helped me pass out flyers earlier in the community, Niemen and Joshua. Along with them, were two others, Noel (who claimed I stole his name, his father's name, and his grandfather's name) and TJ. These guys have a lot of energy I tell you.

Well, we started of playing a board game geared towards prominent African-American figures and African-American history. I have never seen anything like it and I thought it was pretty cool to learn facts about George Washington Carver and George Washington Bush. After that, we played Brain Quest, the United States version. We learned facts about the 50 states and I was appreciative of the involvement of the young men in the program.

After sitting around with board games, they want to be more active, so we played a series of Human Knot and Categories (Joshua insisted). And I don't remember, but someone mentioned having a crab walk competition...Whew! To see them all crab walking for a time was funny and inspiring altogether. So, I volunteered to compete also...I am not old enough to complain, but it has been a while since I crab walked :) After that, we had a bear crawl competition. Even Mr. Adam participated in the activity (which also inspired me to participate). I almost broke a sweat, but it would have been well worth it for the fun of the program. Engaging them in physical activities is a great idea because young men have lots of energy and what is a better way to use it than to have them play a sport, or even bear crawl.

The kids in the program are great, as well as the staff. I am glad Mr. Terrence created this program and Mr. Adam is continuing it. I like the path MTU is going through and if they need any assistance in running the program, whether physically running or just running the program generally, I wouldn't mind. That was my first day of Mid Teen University in a nutshell.

- Dranoel

I GOT THE BLUES!

What an exciting day for Teen U students! Today, we went to the House of Blues and learned about African Americans contribution to music from the past to the present. It was very fascinating to hear the songs the slaves sang when they were being transported through the Middle Passage to America to the 1970's when Muddy Waters sang "I can't be satisfied. " The students enjoyed the experience and cannot wait until next Friday when they go back to the House of Blues to learn about folk artists.

On Wednesday, Teen U students had another college 101 workshop entitled "How to choose a major." Each student had to find a major based on their interests. For example, Sharde loves to help people so she decided to major in sociology. After they found their major, they had to look for universities with their major and pick a profession. Finally, they created a poster or PowerPoint to present their major and career choice to their peers. I enjoyed listening to their presentations and getting to know more about the students.

~~~Jamacah~~~

Call for Legos!

Thanks to the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA), we were provided space that allowed us to operate our Teen University, Library/Bookstore and Connect U technology lab in the Roseland community since September of last year. Conversations with residents (youth and adults) over the years had told me that our communities didn't have access to the educational opportunities people want and need in order to be successful. Though we had an After-School Academy, it only allowed us to reach kids up to 5th grade. So, I was very excited once we were provided with the space to expand our programs.

Despite our 300% increase in number of programs, we realized about halfway into the school year that we were still missing something. The middle schoolers weren't fitting in to our 6th-12th grade Teen University concept. They just weren't old enough for it to work for them. So, Terrence, one of our Americorps members, branched off on his own to create Mid-Teen U for the middle school (and sometimes younger) boys.

What he found was that the boys wanted to learn "how to." They wanted to figure out how to build structures. They were interested in knowing how things worked. So, the staff started researching and found some curriculum on aerodynamics. They started dropping things from the bannister to see how fast it would fall. They let the boys experiment. They looked into building wind turbines.

As a result, instead of the boys being on the outside of the building getting into trouble with their friends, several of them began going inside and using their brain power to think about educational concepts. You know that saying, "The idle mind is a devil's workshop"? Over the years, I have begun to understand that if we challenge our kids to think and work with them in our programs on things that cause them to leave for the day still thinking and wondering about how they can do something or what they can create next, their brain power is used up strategizing what they can do next. As a result, they know how to use their brain to create and construct instead of destroy.

Investing in these young men takes staffing, time, effort, and lots of emotional energy. However, not investing in them ends up taking much more staff, time, effort, and emotional energy in a much more negative way.

So, this summer, we have worked to try to continue the program two days a week. (We hope to have it 5 days a week this fall). We invested in Lego Smart kits for each kid with the goal of entering Lego competitions in the fall. The boys have begun to take an interest and now want to create a community with Legos. The only problem is, the Lego kits only have about 15 pieces each. So, we need more Legos!

If you or anyone you know can donate retired Legos (tubs, kits, etc.), we would love to take them off your hands...and maybe when the young guys get their city or other structure built, you can come see it....or at least see them in process.

Hands on with Solar Energy

Video by: Danielle Davis

Solar Energy Workshop for the ASA

Today the Green Team had their second environment workshop, Solar Energy. The workshop went off well, although the sunlight was blocked due to cloud coverage. The Green Team worked with what they had and did most of their original activities with a few modifications. I was impressed with the way the Green Team adapted to the sudden change in plans. At no time did they say we CAN’T do something, they just worked with what they had. The workshop concluded with a movie and we finally got a chance to watch Wall-E (YAH!!!!)

Overall I would say this workshop went off better than the last, due in part to the ASA staff. After the first workshop we asked the ASA staff for recommendations. Their help allowed the Green Team to be successful in this workshop.

If you want more information on the workshop check out Ruben’s blog post (below). But until next time remember to tune in to this Bat Channel at this Bat Time!

~Nazim

This week at Teen U...

It was a very busy week at Teen U!

Tuesday-- The teens had a very special guest speaker, Mrs. Sharon Grigsby, from the Dallas Morning News. Mrs. Grigsby shared how she became interested in writing and editing for Newspapers, what it took for her to get there, and many other things. Thanks Mrs. Grigsby!

Wednesday-- The UTD Go Center Interns (Jamacah and Dranoel) turned the 2101 Building into a mock University and the students attended "Freshman Orientation". During the orientation, the teens learned about all the services that are offered on college campuses. The students really enjoyed the role-playing and having many of their questions about college answered.

Thursday-- The teens took a field trip to Dallas City Hall. When we arrived, we were greeted and introduced to the City Plan Commission. We had the opportunity to attend a briefing of some of the projects the Commission would be voting on later that afternoon. After the briefing, Commissioner Mike Davis gave the teens around City Hall. They really enjoyed learning about the different careers and services offered at City Hall but their absolute FAVORITE thing about City Hall was the Mayor's Office. Thanks Commissioner!!!

University of Central Dallas: Class of 2013

This week Teen U students’ lived the life of a college student by going through a mocked freshman orientation. My co-workers and I turned 2101 building into a real university. The students went to different places in the university to learn about housing, registering for classes, meal plans, student organizations, financial aid and much more.

The students were giving handouts and instructed to act like their characters. They had to use their Id number to check into the orientation. After they checked in, they were giving a map and their own agendas to learn more about University of Central Dallas. For example, La’kyra was from Plano, Texas and majoring in Education. She had to go to the student union because she wanted to be active in a lot of organizations and did not know where to begin. Next, she went to university housing to fill out a roommate compatibility form because she had to live on campus and did not have a roommate. La’kyra and the other students loved role-playing. They were excited to learn so much about college life.

~Jamacah~

" almost there''

This week we learned about college and all the things we go through to get ready our freshmen year. For example, we have to go to freshmen ordination and get things (information) on the services that are offered at your school.

by kadriana

A Day At Dallas City Hall

My first day at Dallas City Hall was interesting. A major thing I learned was the name of the Mayor, which is Tom Leppert. Not only did I know his name I saw a picture of him. Whenever the mayor is out the Mayor Pro-tem, which is Dwaine Caraway, takes over. An excitng thing for me was when I we went into Dwaine Caraway's office. My favorite part about the trip was when I saw the history of the Mayors which were pictures of them.

By: LaKyra

*Dallas City Hall*

City hall: I learned so much from the trip we took to City Hall. I learned about all of the AW3SOME CAREERS that you can have there which are council members, mayors, commissioners (chair and vice chair) assistants to the mayors, etc. The field trip somewhat inspired me to become a mayor one day.. because of all of the things they get and perks, nice offices, etc.

College Workshop: I enjoyed the workshop and I also learned A LOT !!!!! I had some great volunteers set up a somewhat 'freshman orientation" that was pretty cool. I learned almost everything that I need to know about college including some things that probably most college students don't even know.



I have had a fun time ! :) by: Julian Randall

Have You Ever Played LIFE?

The game of LIFE is not a board game! It is actually a game that deals with financial planning and your financial future. To me, this game is like going to J.A Biz town without any breaks. You do things, like go to the bank to make deposits, pay loans, and get your pay check amount. You also start of with a bill payment guide and calendar that has the place where you need to pay your bills. Although LIFE is educational and fun, you have to pay attention and understand what you are doing.

--

Pinwheels and Wind Turbines

I wanted to make sure the kids understood that the pinwheels they were making today were a part of a bigger lesson on wind energy. I was pleasantly surprised when the tables turned and they began explaining to me how wind turbines work!

Never underestimate the learning abilities of a child.

Library Learning

As I was observing the Green Team implementing their weather/environment workshop, I got a pleasant surprise. Jailyn and Trinity started greeting me in sign language!

Every day after the After-School Academy is over (around 2:00 p.m.), Trinity and Jailyn head over to the Library/Bookstore. Two days a week, Ms. Brittany teaches sign language. Evidently, they're catching on! :)

My First Day at T.I.

One of my favorite parts about going to Texas instruments was when I went in the Theater Room. In there I saw a couple of 3-D movie previews that dealt with the D.L.P projector using 3-D glasses to watch. The D.L.P projector is actually with Texas Instruments and is really cool to use when watching a 3-D movie.

What I learned was when you take interviews for the job you want they could ask you about the experiences you have had and how would you deal with certain situations. I also learned that college teaches you how to apply and learn more on whatever you want to succeed in. Going to T.I for the first time was very interesting and cool. I enjoyed myself A LOT!

-La'Kyra