Dec 9, 2009
Dec 8, 2009
Partnerships and Connections, the Research:
Our Next Generation, located on 35th and Libson Avenue is a non-profit organization aimed to create a strong foundation for the youth of Milwaukee. Growing up in poverty with little stability limits the good decisions that young teens make today. Which means anything helps from the fundamentals like help with schoolwork, to social skills and making the right decisions in today’s tough world.
Advising not only young children but also young teens lets this organization reach out to the community as a whole. Primarily known as the highest unemployed community in Wisconsin, this organization prepares its residents for the road ahead. Programs such as ‘The High School Connection’ train students to meet and understand the standards of college coursework. If 75 percent of children in this community are underprivileged and more than twice as likely to drop out of high school then others, then it is extremely important to begin this trend of stability and strength through education.
I had a chance to work with a couple kids at St. Andrew's Community Center. One student was a forth grader and lived only a few blocks away. Her favorite subject in school is art. Through a form of self-expression the two students worked to make footballs out of felt. Together they took pride and created a Green Bay Packer football, the states icon. One boy and girl exclaimed that they absolutely love the Packers. You can see that certain something in them that strives for a connection. It’s not just the fact that they love the Packers, but that they need that connection. Connecting the community is one thing that will decrease social barriers and bring the neighborhood out of poverty.
Prior to working with Our Next Generation I had no idea that so many different community members were associated with one another. They all serve to fit the special needs and interests from neighborhood to neighborhood, from young to old. I found that partnerships also aid the communities finance through institution loans. They bring additional resources that would be hard for one organization to provide alone. More importantly I found that partners help connect the neighborhoods with the school, ultimately supporting the local community development.
Advising not only young children but also young teens lets this organization reach out to the community as a whole. Primarily known as the highest unemployed community in Wisconsin, this organization prepares its residents for the road ahead. Programs such as ‘The High School Connection’ train students to meet and understand the standards of college coursework. If 75 percent of children in this community are underprivileged and more than twice as likely to drop out of high school then others, then it is extremely important to begin this trend of stability and strength through education.
I had a chance to work with a couple kids at St. Andrew's Community Center. One student was a forth grader and lived only a few blocks away. Her favorite subject in school is art. Through a form of self-expression the two students worked to make footballs out of felt. Together they took pride and created a Green Bay Packer football, the states icon. One boy and girl exclaimed that they absolutely love the Packers. You can see that certain something in them that strives for a connection. It’s not just the fact that they love the Packers, but that they need that connection. Connecting the community is one thing that will decrease social barriers and bring the neighborhood out of poverty.
Prior to working with Our Next Generation I had no idea that so many different community members were associated with one another. They all serve to fit the special needs and interests from neighborhood to neighborhood, from young to old. I found that partnerships also aid the communities finance through institution loans. They bring additional resources that would be hard for one organization to provide alone. More importantly I found that partners help connect the neighborhoods with the school, ultimately supporting the local community development.
Dec 7, 2009
The Art Form Relation: A Reflection:
In association with the Institute for Service Learning, Our Next Generation remains connected with partnerships. One of these partnerships is about creating a community through the arts. Our Next Generation received a $10,000 grant to partner with Express Yourself Milwaukee. The arts partnership takes notion through visual art, music, movement, dance and poetry. Through visual means of expression students are able to form a self-identity. For some children this is all they have to relate to. For these kids this is they’re neighborhood and they will represent it.
Around the community you can find graffiti, in the summer you will find dance, and in the speakers you can hear music. Kids are supporting this means of self-expression. It can save lives and keep young teens off the streets. Through the art form the youth learn the importance of community. I feel I have learned that not everything can be taught in school, and often it’s hard for kids to relate to those subjects when the community as a whole is cannot. So they relate to the streets or the way that they’re older brother, uncle, or even father had acted. As public school students they may learn from they’re teachers but can become through they’re art form. Which is why I strongly believe in building a strong foundation within the arts.
Along with the art form it is important not to forget about the ones that may not easily be able to find meaning through self-expression. I think that enabling anything as limitless would be ideal but difficult to compose. Providing access to easy transportation, living-wage jobs, and to neighborhood groups such as Our Next Generation can help this spectrum of an economically declined community. It seems that when financial institutions become partnered in a leadership role within the community its sends a powerful message to the youth, potentially binding stronger resourced partners to the table.
I learned that through encouragement and inspiration, surrounding yourself with other people of higher intellect could really change the way we perceive ourselves to be. Which is what Our Next Generation is doing with The Institute for Service Learning. Interaction from young volunteers and college student’s help the youth relate to something on an age and interest level. Seemingly, here is where those doors will open and strengthen tomorrow’s generation.
Around the community you can find graffiti, in the summer you will find dance, and in the speakers you can hear music. Kids are supporting this means of self-expression. It can save lives and keep young teens off the streets. Through the art form the youth learn the importance of community. I feel I have learned that not everything can be taught in school, and often it’s hard for kids to relate to those subjects when the community as a whole is cannot. So they relate to the streets or the way that they’re older brother, uncle, or even father had acted. As public school students they may learn from they’re teachers but can become through they’re art form. Which is why I strongly believe in building a strong foundation within the arts.
Along with the art form it is important not to forget about the ones that may not easily be able to find meaning through self-expression. I think that enabling anything as limitless would be ideal but difficult to compose. Providing access to easy transportation, living-wage jobs, and to neighborhood groups such as Our Next Generation can help this spectrum of an economically declined community. It seems that when financial institutions become partnered in a leadership role within the community its sends a powerful message to the youth, potentially binding stronger resourced partners to the table.
I learned that through encouragement and inspiration, surrounding yourself with other people of higher intellect could really change the way we perceive ourselves to be. Which is what Our Next Generation is doing with The Institute for Service Learning. Interaction from young volunteers and college student’s help the youth relate to something on an age and interest level. Seemingly, here is where those doors will open and strengthen tomorrow’s generation.
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