Program inspired by Daniel Pearl teaches kids to use music for peace

An extraordinary program, Music in Common (MiC), takes on particular significance in light of recent events in the Middle East, when a video that author Salman Rushdie referred to in an NPR interview as a "disgraceful, shoddy little thing," seems to be at least in part responsible for terrible violence and death. In stark contrast, MiC's mission statement reads:

By producing free, publicly accessible concerts, school programs, and multimedia productions with an interest in underserved areas and communities where there is a history of conflict, Music in Common (MiC) provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and collaborations that can lead to positive social change.

Originally called FODfest (Friends of Daniel) the organization was founded by Pearl's close friend and bandmate Todd Mack in response to Pearl's tragic death in 2002. Pearl was kidnapped while working as a journalist in Pakistan, and subsequently beheaded by his captors.

Groups of students in the MiC youth program work together with industry professionals to write, record, perform, and produce a music video of an original song, participating in all aspects of the creative and multimedia production process. Their website states:

MiC Youth Programs are free educational programs that extend the FODfest concept of community building through music to youth, serving to educate, inspire, and empower junior high and high school students.  MiC Youth Programs take place in local schools or community centers where FODfest concerts take place and provides an experiential education to students, teaching the essential life skills of team building, collaboration, and mutual respect. 

MiC international focuses on the Middle East, and has produced music videos with groups of Arab and Israeli students working together, including this one Peace*Shalom*Salaam.

I am fortunate that the organization's founder lives in my town, and has brought the program to my son's school. For the past two weeks, a group of nine high school students have worked long hours together in an intensive process to create a song and produce a music video.  I had the privilege to sit in on a group of kids discussing what they are learning. One said that in the age of the Internet, it is important to think carefully about how your message will be received by a large audience. Another reflected on the responsibility of using creativity for peace, not war.

Following the production period, there is a performance,  referred to as a "FODfest community concert." Here the song and video are debuted for an audience, and musicians swap songs and jam together onstage. The Mic brochure describes these events as:

Powerful and healing experiences generating a sense of community and hope, serving as a call to action for individuals and communities to discover common ground.

Sex and alcohol use by high school students on college visits

Recently I received an email alerting me to an important survey conducted by CARE about sex and alcohol use on overnight college visits for high school student applicants. I admit that despite practicing pediatrics for over 20 years, and having a high school senior in the thick of the college application process, I have not previously given this issue a moments thought. Certainly it seemed worthy of a blog post! The email read:

Roughly one in six surveyed teens (16 percent) who had been on an overnight college admissions visit reported drinking alcohol during the visit. Teens also reported engaging in sex or other intimate sexual behavior (17 percent), using drugs other than alcohol (5 percent) or driving while impaired (2 percent) during their overnight college visit. 

The study, conducted for CARE(Center for Adolescent Research and Education) and SADD(Students Against Destructive Decisions) by ORC International Inc. surveyed 1,070 U.S. teens from age 16 to 19, 270 of whom indicated they’d been on an overnight college admissions visit. It includes high school students currently making college visits and current college students reflecting on previous visits. Data was collected online between April 17 and 20, 2012.

Most concerning, in my opinion, is that for half of those kids, it was their first experience with sex or alcohol. This suggests that high schoolers visiting college may a particularly vulnerable group. They may be initiated into the world of college life before they are quite ready for it.  Below is a quote from A Higher Education, the Psychology Today blog post by Stephen Wallace, director of CARE:

New research from the Center for Adolescent Research and Education (CARE) at Susquehanna University and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) reveals that  more than half (51 percent) of high school overnight visitors who reported drinking alcohol on campus (about one in six) report having done so for the first time.  Among those who reported having sexual intercourse (12 percent of those participating in an overnight visit), half (50 percent) said this had been the first time they had done so.

With regards to sexual encounters, it is quite likely, given the circumstances, that these are one time affairs. Such an experience may have negative consequences, particularly in the setting of emerging sexual identity.

The whole college application process challenges teenagers to focus, in what can and should be a healthy way, on their emerging sense of self and unique identity. For parents, offering background support and letting the child, with the help of college advisors, guide the process, is an excellent approach.

This survey, however, has opened my eyes to an issue that warrents parental involvement. Wallace offers some guidelines about addressing this issue, for both parents and teens. Every family has its own unique ways of communicating.  My hope is that in calling attention to the issue, it will help to prevent college bound teenagers from getting themselves into uncomfortable or unhealthy situations. 

I get by with a little help from my friends.....

Today my dear friends, I was visited by the "Curriculum Police" who walked into my class along with my Principal. THANK- GOD I wasn't in the middle of taking pictures for my blog...LOL!!! 

I had Deanna's Common Core Standards Posters up which caught their eye....thank- you Deanna! They were impressed with this :)

They stayed for what seemed like an eternity!! Here are the things we were working on:

My Spring Math Journal Pack

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Rachelle's {What the Teacher Wants} Handwriting Fairy Unit
(Several kids were finishing this up- we started it the day before)

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Christie's {First Grade Fever} What's Hatchin' Chick?

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& we just had to begin our "Waddle we do if it rains?" craftivities from the awesome Teri aka Mrs. Cupcake.

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What in the world would I do without teacher BLOGS?!! ;)
And don't forget to enter my giveaway...ends on March 27th. GOOD LUCK!!!