[nfb-talk] Youth Empowerment

[Judy Jones]

Thanks so much, Kathleen, would love to do something like that and pool info 
with others' ideas, too.

Judy
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathleen A. Millhoff" <kamillhoff at gdoe.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2006 2:26 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Youth Empowerment


> Hi,
> you've done such a great job outlining opportunities that it seems to me 
> you
> could write a pamphlet or booklet on this topic;  you could also form a
> committee or task force on this - (aren't I good at planning things for
> other people?) (LOL)
> seriously, I really liked your concepts here.
> kat
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
> Behalf Of Judy Jones
> Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:36 AM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Youth Empowerment
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I feel so impassioned about this myself even though I'm not a "youth".
>
> The NFB clothing and logo are much better now at veering from strictly
> primary colors, but we need to be promoting along with those the bright,
> electric colors as well. Even though we don't see them, we live in a
> colorful world and need to relate.
>
> We need some good NFB rap written and presented, and we older ones need to
> get used to it.  The videos and tapes we put out need to have that techno
> music in the background instead of piano music--as pretty as it is.  We
> should be having Youth Slams twice a year, and not just dedicate them 
> toward
> the sciences, but to reach youth in general--say, career promotion, or 
> "All
> About Me" maybe as a theme.  The girls need a chance to get or give
> make-overs, discuss how to effectively wear make-up as a blind girl, pros
> and cons of certain hairstyles . . . I'm just talking off the top of my
> head, but these are things my girls are interested in. I'm admittedly weak
> on guy topics, but I think our people at national convention do a 
> wonderful
> job with pertinent topics.
>
> The Youth Slam should be promoted just like Meet The Blind month, and it
> should trickle down into local levels.
>
> As important as academics are, and I'm not slamming the current "slam,"
> blind youth need a chance to be teenagers and enjoy being teenagers with
> seminars on dating, party-safety such as Party Patrol organization 
> presents,
> fashion workshops, how important is it to be popular, and as one of our
> young listers so aptly demonstrated, how to deal with blindness and 
> relating
> to peers.
>
> In our area, every Friday night there is Club Adrien, and also Impact, 
> which
> are totally safe and alcohol- drug-free chaperoned places that attract 
> teens
> with activities and food.  The YMCA also has something like this, but 
> don't
> remember the name of that program.
>
> Boys and Girls clubs can give us good ideas too, and maybe so could the
> DARES program.
>
> If we start doing some of these things in a concentrated way, I believe
> youth will start to look and listen and come.
>
> Judy
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tina Hansen" <thansen at quik.com>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, October 20, 2006 4:44 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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>
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