[nfb-talk] Youth Empowerment

[Hope Hein]

Hi Joe!
For those who have never had the experience of a youth slam or science program it would be fun to hear. Also, it would be educational.

One never stops learning. 
Hope 

-----Original Message-----
.From: "Joe Orozco"<jsorozco at gmail.com>
.Sent: 10/21/06 3:49:34 PM
.To: "NFB Talk Mailing List"<nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
.Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Youth Empowerment
.
.Hello list,
.
.    Again, everyone's feedback has been exceptional.  In light of the 
.dialogue flow, I'd like to interject my own two additional cents.
.
.    Technology, as many of you have pointed out, is important in today's 
.technologically driven society.  Youth respond to flashy sights and audio 
.blips, but as much as I equally enjoy these advertisements, I also fear that 
.technology will have an adverse affect on our development.  I suppose I 
.should feel glad that more and more states are turning to web casts of their 
.state conventions.  Yet the more we bring convention to people's homes, the 
.more justifiable their excuse not to ever make a physical presence.  I, for 
.one, am against web casting the Youth Slam next year.  We want students to 
.feel as if they need to do everything in their power to be there, that there 
.is no substitute to the energy of actually being on the premises.  I see the 
.value in archiving certain presentations, but I fail to see the importance 
.of attempting to duplicate what can only be felt in the presence of hundreds 
.of other excited children.
.
.    Unfortunately, the observation above only serves to add to the problem. 
.If technology can be as profitable as it can be detrimental, where do we 
.turn to for that delicate balance?
.
.    Everyone has good points about chapter involvement and the lack of youth 
.man power when it comes to legislative endeavors.  In the end, it is all of 
.our responsibilities to continue brainstorming ideas to increase youth 
.participation.  For now, I am interested to hear from your states on what 
.your student division can do to help you bridge the current gap.  Please 
.e-mail me off-list if you have specific conditions in your state. 
.Otherwise, please continue writing so that the active students can do 
.everything in our power to help shape the organization's future generation.
.
.          Cordially,
.
.          Joe Orozco
.
."Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like 
.you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not 
.forget you."--William Arthur Ward
.----- Original Message ----- 
.From: "Tina Hansen" <thansen at quik.com>
.To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
.Sent: Friday, October 20, 2006 7:44 PM
.Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Youth Empowerment
.
.
.> This is an excellent discussion, and it explains why I'm wanting to see 
.> more
.> of our stuff made available as mp3 downloads: young people are so dialed 
.> in
.> with their iPods, and if we can give them some meaningful content, they
.> might be able to gain a better understanding as to why we're here. The
.> Kernel Books are a perfect example of this, especially since they're
.> designed to be read as individual stories that state a common theme and 
.> are
.> packaged up in these books.
.>
.> All this has had me thinking about the impact of the media on our culture.
.> Our culture is so used to things coming in 30-second sound bites, thus
.> causing one to ask for immediate results. I must admit that I struggle 
.> with
.> this myself, since my digital conversion project is taking longer than I
.> want, partly because I don't have the funds to pay a studio. But I 
.> digress.
.>
.> I see two schools of thought on how to package our information and ideas:
.> one relying on what has worked for us in the past, including our 
.> literature
.> and speeches. These are valuable, and if some of these young people are 
.> able
.> to read or listen to and think about the ideas, they can understand our
.> message. These should not be discarded just because they're too long in 
.> the
.> eyes of young people used to sound bites. They need to have a chance to 
.> sit
.> and reflect.
.>
.> The other school of thought argues that the only way to attract attention 
.> to
.> your issues is through an event with a lot of flash, spectacle and 
.> fanfare.
.> Because young people are used to MTV, X-box, video games and the like, you
.> absolutely have to ppunctuate your remarks with loud music and flashy
.> visuals just to keep them interested. Without the extra spectacle, they
.> won't stay interested.
.>
.> They're used to being entertained, and if you present your message in a
.> Music Video format, this view argues, they'll listen. Otherwise, they'll 
.> get
.> bored. They won't sit and read a speech, but they will sit and watch a
.> 5-minute video. Thus, anything belonging to the past should be thrown out
.> the window.
.>
.> The danger, though, is that you have to make certain you don't compromise
.> your message just to draw in numbers. Thus, I believe we need to work with
.> both schools of thought and try to find a way to meet them in the middle. 
.> I,
.> for one, can see both sides and want to draw both on the past and the
.> present. We need to use our literature, but we also need to find creative
.> ways to reach out to our young people in language they can understand.
.>
.> The science academies and the upcoming Youth Slam are steps in the right
.> direction, but I also believe we can find other creative ways to reach our
.> youth. It may involve a DVD where youth are the focal point, and we might
.> want to find ways to explain our philosophy in language youth can
.> understand. It may involve some of our members writing songs that can
.> communicate to youth, or it may involve ideas I just can't think of right
.> now.
.>
.> There are also those who argue that the only way to draw a crowd is if you
.> hire a big celebrity to be a part of your event, and I fear that our 
.> culture
.> is heading down that path. While I hope we haven't gone past the point of 
.> no
.> return, I sometimes fear for the worst.
.>
.> As I think about this, I'd encourage anyone interested to read an article 
.> by
.> Dr. Jernigan on The Future of Education Innovation: Panacea or 
.> Pandemonium.
.> I have this article as a Word Document, which I can send to anyone
.> interested. I also have it as an mp3 file, but if I sent it, it would take
.> forever. So, if anyone is interested, they can ask and I can send the Word
.> file to them. Otherwise, you can find it in our chronicle, Walking Alone 
.> and
.> Marching Together. That is not on our new web site as of yet, but I hope 
.> it
.> will be. Although this piece was written in 1969, I believe it's still
.> timely in the main, and I believe it should make anyone think. It 
.> certainly
.> has made me think, and if anyone wants to read it, I think you'd be 
.> stunned.
.>
.> Any thoughts? Thanks.
.>
.> _______________________________________________
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.> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
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.
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