Thursday, May 9, 2013

Wide Angle Youth Media

   The most exciting student group that I read and hear about this year was Wide Angle Youth Media. I first heard about the group when I went to the school board meeting, and was amazed with what the students were doing. WAYM is a program that introduces students to media production and the performing arts through various media outlets. The video they showed at the meeting was written, produced and edited by students and used to get their message out through a creative outlet.
   I think that integrating arts back into schools is one of the most important things that we can do. There is a serious lack of art programs in Baltimore and it is discouraging because it is one of the things that our students like the most. I think that giving students the opportunity to express themselves could improve not only student academics but also classroom behaviors. So much of the negative behavior we see in class is students wanting to express themselves with no outlet to do so. Therefore, I think giving them this outlet would really help them focus in class. Also, creating a piece of media art is a huge production that will help students learn how to work together, develop work ethic and simply give them something positive to put on their resume.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It was an honor to speak at the school board meeting, and I appreciated the opportunity to share our students’ work there. We have seen first hand that that giving students the opportunity to express themselves improves not only their technical media making skills, but also their soft skills.

The film shown at the meeting was made in our Baltimore Speaks Out! Program for middle school students. You can view “Anything Is Possible” on our website here: http://wideanglemedia.org/anythingispossible/

Thank you for supporting after-school opportunities for young people in Baltimore. If you would like to get more involved in the organization please click here: http://wideanglemedia.org/act-now/volunteer/

Susan Malone
Director
Wide Angle Youth Media

Unknown said...

It was an honor to speak at the school board meeting, and I appreciated the opportunity to share our students’ work there. We have seen first hand that that giving students the opportunity to express themselves improves not only their hard skills, but also their soft skills.

The film shown at the meeting was made in our Baltimore Speaks Out! Program for middle school students. You can view “Anything Is Possible” on our website here: http://wideanglemedia.org/anythingispossible/

Thank you for supporting after-school opportunities for young people in Baltimore. If you would like to get more involved in the organization please click here: http://wideanglemedia.org/act-now/volunteer/

Susan Malone
Director
Wide Angle Youth Media