The schools have done their job well. The "13 children a day has morphed into "12 young people". "Narcing" on mommy and daddy will be next. Hitler Youth redux.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/news0611e.htm
By Susan Besze Wallace
Special to The Denver Post
June 11, 2000 - LITTLETON - The adventure began as anything but serious. Twelve eighth- and ninth-graders, allowed to create their own elective, decided videomaking would be pretty cool.
But it ended recently with choked-back tears, a sense of pride and five minutes of footage that's on its way to every middle-schooler in the state. The kids from Pathways - a Littleton public school for kids who learn best in small settings with their hands busy - have created a video telling peers that to "narc" - tell on friends who have guns - is the right thing to do. With the guidance of teacher Franco Marini, they did it all - the script, the acting, the staging of shots - and the end result is a piece earning rave reviews and a growing audience.
The AT&T Broadband crew who volunteered to help with filming liked it so much the segment is airing daily on Littleton's Channel 8. The Littleton Police Department was so pleased that it will pay the postage to send copies to every middle school in the state. Littleton Mayor Susan Thornton, whose profession is video work, was so impressed with her copy that she showed her City Council colleagues, and invited the students to the meeting to be congratulated.
"We knew it had to be real," said student Bonnie Owens, 14. "Otherwise kids wouldn't be impacted."
The video's opening scene alternates between gun blasts and sober young faces saying,
"This could happen to your brother . . . sister . . . friend . . you." Eerily empty swings serve as a backdrop for statistics including: An average of 12 young people die each day from gun violence in the United States.
Jessy Southern trembles and his eyes water as he tells of his stepbrother's gun-inflicted suicide - a powerful moment in the production that further solidified the group's purpose of keeping kids from choosing contact with guns.
"I have an "Eddie Eagle' video for kindergartners, but there's nothing I know of commercially available for this age dealing with gun violence," said Littleton community resource officer Mike Broadhead.
"I suggested they focus on guns, but I had no high expectations.
"When I've showed it to cops a few times, they were very quiet, affected," Broadhead said. "We're always telling kids things, and they start to lose their effectiveness. This is about kids talking to kids. It works."
Jesus Pena said he still "freaks out" when he sees himself in the video, portraying a suicide victim. Alycia Ward endured 13 takes for a few lines telling that she's lost five friends to gun violence. The kids were fascinated by what they learned about lighting and production, and stunned by the statistics they turned up about gun deaths.
One of many effective moments features the corresponding number of pennies tinkling into glasses to represent the year's 10 gun deaths in Australia, 13 in Sweden, 68 in Canada - and 10,567 in the United States. Several glasses were broken during practice deluges.
"That really got to me," Jordan Bluhm said. "Think about it. It was like when Hitler came around - piles of dead bodies."
Jordan's mother, Marla Haschke, said the video project is evidence there should be more schools like the 3-year-old Pathways, where eighth- and ninthgraders learn in classes smaller than 15 students and are individually challenged by their teachers.
"Jordan went from a kid who absolutely dreaded school and was failing to a kid who's totally flourished," she said. "He was falling asleep . . . but here they learn by doing."
When they studied the Civil War at Pathways, there were re-enactments. When they studied graphing, the entire school was turned into a grid and a scavenger hunt was held to plot points. And when it comes time for electives, students brainstorm and vote, with Pathways coordinator Jenni Villano vowing that they'll offer as many choices as they have teachers.
Students' respect for their teachers and school is evident in playful teasing and awe at how far "Stop Gun Violence" has gone.
"It's not really like a school, it's lessons to becoming an adult," Stephen Schoenfeld said. "If you put your mind to something and get the right people to help you, you can do anything."
Ask about the video, and its close-knit stars will still talk about those pennies. Next school year, kids all over Colorado could be talking about them.
Copyright 2000 The Denver Post. All rights reserved.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/news0611e.htm
By Susan Besze Wallace
Special to The Denver Post
June 11, 2000 - LITTLETON - The adventure began as anything but serious. Twelve eighth- and ninth-graders, allowed to create their own elective, decided videomaking would be pretty cool.
But it ended recently with choked-back tears, a sense of pride and five minutes of footage that's on its way to every middle-schooler in the state. The kids from Pathways - a Littleton public school for kids who learn best in small settings with their hands busy - have created a video telling peers that to "narc" - tell on friends who have guns - is the right thing to do. With the guidance of teacher Franco Marini, they did it all - the script, the acting, the staging of shots - and the end result is a piece earning rave reviews and a growing audience.
The AT&T Broadband crew who volunteered to help with filming liked it so much the segment is airing daily on Littleton's Channel 8. The Littleton Police Department was so pleased that it will pay the postage to send copies to every middle school in the state. Littleton Mayor Susan Thornton, whose profession is video work, was so impressed with her copy that she showed her City Council colleagues, and invited the students to the meeting to be congratulated.
"We knew it had to be real," said student Bonnie Owens, 14. "Otherwise kids wouldn't be impacted."
The video's opening scene alternates between gun blasts and sober young faces saying,
"This could happen to your brother . . . sister . . . friend . . you." Eerily empty swings serve as a backdrop for statistics including: An average of 12 young people die each day from gun violence in the United States.
Jessy Southern trembles and his eyes water as he tells of his stepbrother's gun-inflicted suicide - a powerful moment in the production that further solidified the group's purpose of keeping kids from choosing contact with guns.
"I have an "Eddie Eagle' video for kindergartners, but there's nothing I know of commercially available for this age dealing with gun violence," said Littleton community resource officer Mike Broadhead.
"I suggested they focus on guns, but I had no high expectations.
"When I've showed it to cops a few times, they were very quiet, affected," Broadhead said. "We're always telling kids things, and they start to lose their effectiveness. This is about kids talking to kids. It works."
Jesus Pena said he still "freaks out" when he sees himself in the video, portraying a suicide victim. Alycia Ward endured 13 takes for a few lines telling that she's lost five friends to gun violence. The kids were fascinated by what they learned about lighting and production, and stunned by the statistics they turned up about gun deaths.
One of many effective moments features the corresponding number of pennies tinkling into glasses to represent the year's 10 gun deaths in Australia, 13 in Sweden, 68 in Canada - and 10,567 in the United States. Several glasses were broken during practice deluges.
"That really got to me," Jordan Bluhm said. "Think about it. It was like when Hitler came around - piles of dead bodies."
Jordan's mother, Marla Haschke, said the video project is evidence there should be more schools like the 3-year-old Pathways, where eighth- and ninthgraders learn in classes smaller than 15 students and are individually challenged by their teachers.
"Jordan went from a kid who absolutely dreaded school and was failing to a kid who's totally flourished," she said. "He was falling asleep . . . but here they learn by doing."
When they studied the Civil War at Pathways, there were re-enactments. When they studied graphing, the entire school was turned into a grid and a scavenger hunt was held to plot points. And when it comes time for electives, students brainstorm and vote, with Pathways coordinator Jenni Villano vowing that they'll offer as many choices as they have teachers.
Students' respect for their teachers and school is evident in playful teasing and awe at how far "Stop Gun Violence" has gone.
"It's not really like a school, it's lessons to becoming an adult," Stephen Schoenfeld said. "If you put your mind to something and get the right people to help you, you can do anything."
Ask about the video, and its close-knit stars will still talk about those pennies. Next school year, kids all over Colorado could be talking about them.
Copyright 2000 The Denver Post. All rights reserved.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.