Tagged With "Spoken Word"

Imagine the power of putting a handful of kids together in a class to tell their stories in their own words—and earn credits in the process. This school year, Learn4Life’s Innovation High School (IHS) San Diego – Lakeside is offering a spoken word poetry course titled “Dramatic Literature”. The course engages youth in classic works of literature and empowers teens to take charge of their own futures and unearth their potential. Annabelle Reyes, a Drama Lit student, told how beneficial the...

Learn4Life students in Fresno carry hardship and experience trauma, many of them without ever having the opportunity to process what they have been through, let alone heal. The Get Lit program focuses on taking those personal traumas and turning them into poetry, giving students a voice and the confidence to use it. The trauma that Learn4Life students have analyzed in the class include issues with disabilities, mental and physical illnesses, physical and mental abuse, drug and alcohol...

At the recent “Get Lit – Words Ignite” Classic Slam poetry competition, Learn4Life (L4L) students throughout California demonstrated that they have the knowledge and eloquence to Shed Light and Motivate (SLAM) their communities to take action. Hailed as the world’s largest youth poetry slam, the event took place April 26-28 th in downtown Los Angeles and included seven L4L squads and 36 total teams. Get Lit – Words Ignite is an organization that uses poetry to “increase literary, empower...

Happy to share, Jondi. The article really struck me--I could have written it myself. For some ACEs survivors, half the battle is realizing that what was "normal" for them was actually traumatic for them and may be the very reason that they are contending with depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, employment problems, medical issues, or any of the host of social and physical issues that can stem from childhood trauma. And I almost commented in my note on the post that even though I often use...

Karen Clemmer, the Northwest community facilitator with ACEs Connection, was already deeply interested in the CDC/Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study when she and a colleague from the Child Parent Institute were invited to lunch by ACEs Connection founder and publisher Jane Stevens in 2012. But that lunch meeting changed everything. Karen Clemmer “Jane helped us see a bigger world,” says Clemmer. “She came with a much wider lens. She didn’t look only at Sonoma County, she...

The Hope and Justice category was created under the guidance of educators, youth and young adults and community-based partners. While Directing Change will continue to offer it’s core film-focused contest and curriculums, the Hope and Justice category will accept and award submissions on a monthly basis and in multiple art forms. The Hope & Justice category is an opportunity for young people living through history to express their feelings, take action, and to inspire others through art.

Adam Avin saw his peers hurting and wanted to help them. In this interview, the now-16-year-old talks about the innovative ways he shares mindfulness skills with other kids and teens, sowing seeds for a happier and more peaceful future. Mindful : In your TED talk you say that your grandfather introduced you to a mindful and positive approach to life. I’m curious, did he call that approach “mindfulness” or was that a word that you learned later? Adam : No, he didn’t actually use the word...

SEL. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). My lil’ ole school counselor heart should be beaming with joy. SEL is FINALLY receiving the limelight it has long deserved in education. Most everyone everywhere is proclaiming the importance of SEL! So why do I want to smack myself upside the head (Homer Simpson style – D’OH) most every time I read about, hear about, or see an SEL effort in a school. Because we keep getting it WRONG! So before I start in with all the ways in which we are screwing it up,...

We are looking for Middle School and High School student leaders for two new student-led initiatives with the 16 Strong Project. The time is now. Given the raging COVID-19 pandemic that has upended all of our lives, our youth are struggling. It is imperative that we engage and listen to students about their needs. We need to educate them on what it means to face adversity and more importantly, how we can overcome it and thrive despite that adversity. Arguably every single young person now...

Students across the country are grappling with difficult feelings, situations and events as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are no easy solutions. A national study published in November found that over 80 percent of young adults reported a decline in mental health during the two months after the start of the pandemic. But arts education has the power to emotionally and academically rebuild students — and the world around us. At the start of this crisis, I saw people in need of a...

Author: To read the entire Anonymous article, please see the attachment below. It’s a bluebird sky day as the clouds float away leaving behind distinctive dry desert air scoured by sagebrush, tumbleweeds and settled sand. As for me, I cozily sit in a floral patterned recliner by an open window drinking in hot tea and cold air from the open window. Biscuit “puppy purrs'' wedged between the arm rest and me. Her features are concealed by white fur giving her the appearance of a couture throw...

Learn4Life helped Hector D. transform an idea into a business plan LOS ANGELES (February 21, 2023) – While occasionally working for his father’s landscaping business, high school student Hector D. realized that protection against sharp tools, thorny shrubs, biting insects and brutal heat could be improved with better gear. He had the idea for a technical vest that would protect workers that he is calling Arbolero – combining the Spanish word for tree and a bolero vest. Now his teachers in...

PACEs Connection is excited to roll out our summer 2023 *CRC* curriculum dates. Members who complete the CRC will qualify for a fall 2023 fellowship program.