Part of being a teacher is modeling for students what I expect, and so this summer I took a trip of my own to find stories about the human cost of war and nuclear weapons. There is no better example of the effects and dangers of nuclear war than Hiroshima, Japan.

With a grant from Fund for Teachers, I traveled to Japan for two weeks to meet with two Hibakusha (literally “explosion affected people”) and the footage I collected will be made into a movie with the help of my students in Artivism-Moving Image. I also spent two days in the Hiroshima Memorial Museum, learning more about Hiroshima through stories and artifacts. I learned that the issue of nuclear weapons is complex and difficult, but that the clear bottom line is that we can never again repeat Hiroshima. Witnessing the effects of the bombing, in terms of stories of pain and survival, have brought me to a new level of awareness with teaching Activism and helping students understand the realities and costs of war..

I’ve been meeting some (super) cool people.  And I’ve been getting to know a lot about autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities by talking and meeting with parents and students and teachers, and by spending time with researchers.

I’ve spent most of my time at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, with my Great Aunt Martha Denckla (she’s a research scientist there, and a professor of Neurology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the nearby JHU medical school.)  I’ve sat in on conferences full of (difficult!) scientific talk and (crazy-freaky) statistical language (hi Rachel!)  But everything is really so fascinating once it starts to make sense (Oh, and there’s some good free food.)

Today, Martha was teaching JHU students how to test for executive functioning.  She discussed an interesting case of a young boy who was initially diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, but was later diagnosed with minor ADHD and tourette’s (a VERY unusual case…)  Anyway, I’ll have lots to talk about for my presentation. Missing Burke, and can’t wait to see everyone soon.

SENIOR PROJECTS!

For two weeks after AP’s, seniors can now choose to undertake their own self-designed adventures. In its pilot year, 5 brave seniors have decided to be the pioneers in what will hopefully become another Burke tradition.

All this week we’ll be highlighting each of the Senior Project Seniors and their amazing work.

First up: Michael Curcio working with F.O.R.C.E. (Friends of Rock Creek Environment)

In his own words:

“For my senior project, I am working for Friends of Rock Creek Environment (FORCE) in Chevy Chase D.C. I have been working on a video that discusses the groups construction of a Rain Garden at Chevy Chase Library. Rain gardens help absorb rain water so it does not go straight into Rock Creek, which carries trash and pollutants. During the project I have spent time filming in Rock Creek and have learned much about the environment and watershed there. When I complete the video, it will be posted to the blog.”

Here’s some more info about F.O.R.C.E.

Friends of Rock Creek’s Environment (FORCE) is a nonprofit organization working in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., to protect and restore Rock Creek.  Since its founding in 2005, FORCE has become just that–a force for positive change in the Rock Creek watershed.

Seeing the lower 9th ward – with some new construction from Habitat for Humanity and the Make it Right Project, but also many houses still in a state of destruction, surrounded by empty lot after empty lot. Experiencing the current state of the bayou, and learning about the costal erosion and the danger the city of New Orleans faces because of it.

Dana Brozost-Kelleher and Iman Abdul-Ali playing in the school yard with students.

Remember playing at recess with students of Mcdonogh 42, a charter school in the Treme area who’s students were all affected by Katrina in one way or another, and building them a rooftop garden to enjoy.

As all of the students experienced through group work, it’s difficult to even think about losing your family, your most treasured possessions, and the house you grew up in. Looking around at the destruction and emptiness that still exists in the city is the reason we’re here, and the reason we need to keep coming back, and keep contributing as much time as we can, to help rebuild a city rich with culture, diversity, and history.

the BURKE 2010 NOLA team leaning up against a newly cemented levee wall in the Lower 9th Ward.

Yesterday we met with author and playwright John Biguenet. I know him from working on one of his plays two years ago, Rising Water. He, and his family, live in New Orleans, and although they left just before the storm, he came back about four weeks later when the NY Times invited him to be their first ever guest columnist and asked him to document the state of the city. He did so in a series of blogs and videos you can find HERE

Among the many great and informative things he had to say, he really put in context what actually happened. He diagrams where the storm actually hit, and how New Orleans was completely passed over and left with little damage until hours later when the levees broke. He explained how the levee’s should have been 60′ deep but instead they were anywhere between 4′ and 20′ deep, and that while the Army Core of Engineers admitted fault (hidden in a 6,000 page document several years later) they still have not done anything tangible to rectify the situation.

One of the most eye-opening things he had to say was how, as a writer, it was his job to help the american people find a context to understand what had happened. Paraphrasing what he said: America has no ability to really understand the almost-full destruction of a city, as it’s something we’ve never had to deal with. The area affected by the levees breaking is (5?) times the size of Manhattan, making this man-made disaster much larger than anything we’ve ever seen on our land before. Europeans understood because they’ve seen their cities destroyed many times in history. We’ve never rebuilt an entire major metropolitan city before, both culturally, and physically, so how can we understand what that takes?

It was a really inspiring two-hour discussion we had with him, and definitely a moment that changed the trip for me, and my context for what really happened.

On Friday, March 5^th, Edmund Burke School hosted the D.C. premiere of the film, “Prep School Negro”, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center as part of its Intersections New America Arts Festival. Members of the Burke community as well as others from area independent schools attended the event.

The film focuses on the experiences of a young African-American boy, Andre Robert Lee, who was raised in a poor, inner-city neighborhood in Philadelphia, and gains admission to a prestigious, predominately-White prep school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lee’s experience alienates him from his family and from his friends back in his old neighborhood. He struggles with his racial identity and social class issues throughout his time as a prep student. Lee returns to his alma mater many years later to discover that many of the African-American students who now attend this same school are still fighting the same battles that he once faced.

Our panel of seven African-American students from local independent schools explored the issues of: race, social class, family, friends, and social interactions during our post-film discussion. Representing Burke was Imani Poindexter, currently in her sophomore year, and  Jonathan Goodell, who is completing his junior year. Although the students came from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, their stories were similar as they each spoke about life in their respective school communities. Among some of their concerns were: the small number of minority students and teachers in the schools, social acceptance by their friends outside of school, a curriculum and social environment that is more racially and culturally diverse and inclusive.

Over the past 5 years, over 80 Burke students and 12 faculty members/parents have traveled to New Orleans and we have provided over 3,000 hours of service to the region.

Since 2007, Burke has also offered a 13 week Senior Values class on Hurricane Katrina, where students have been able to understand how and why Katrina happened through exploring race, class, history, the environment and culture.  Part of our work during this trip is to create a documentary to help other schools continue teaching about New Orleans.  The worse tragedy of all is forgetting Katrina ever happened.

The faculty leading the trip are Amanda, Cory, Anike, Evan and Iman (Burke’09), and they’ve all developed a curriculum using New Orleans as text.  We’ve got classes on Katrina theater, Vodoun (Voodoo), Filmmaking, Hip-Hop in New Orleans and Reflective Writing.

We held our trip orientation last week, and the students are very excited!  We have a full agenda which includes serving at ARNO (Animal Rescue New Orleans), McDonough 42-a school in the Treme neighborhood where we will be working on a rooftop garden and a local homeless shelter.  We also have a wetland tour planned, a tour of the Lower 9th Ward and of course, some jazz and delicious food.

Enjoy the pictures of last year’s trip and 2010 Orientation and stay tuned as we live blog our trip over break!

[UPDATE: Don't forget to scroll down to see the other posts from Burke Community Service Week 2010.]

After learning about homelessness, students then move on to research a topic of their choosing and record 3 minute podcasts PSA’s, educating the public using statistics, stories or examples.  Those podcasts will be available in the future.  For now, enjoy the pictures of my Activism class helping the homeless through making meals and friendships through service.

Check this out…..

WAMU Report on Burke and Abolition Day

Pictures on Flickr about the Day