What Will They Say?

If you walked by Martha’s Table today, you may have spotted a busy scene on our 14th street sidewalk! Our Collegiate Academy students from Benjamin Banneker High School were filming PSAs on location at Martha’s Table as part of their all-day community service workshops. The mission of Martha’s Table Collegiate Academy (MTCA) is to use creative project-based workshops to provide young people with the services and support that is needed to attend and graduate from both high school and college.

Kierra, a sophomore, and Colby, a freshman, are two students who participated in with workshop. The students were charged with creating educational PSAs to inform Martha’s Table staff and local high school students about the importance of recycling. Working collaboratively, the students created the projects from start to finish from brainstorming ideas, writing scripts, to filming and editing the final PSA videos. Colby says “My favorite part was probably filiming because we seemed to have the most fun…I’ve learned a lot, like we learned how to use Photoshop.”

Apart from learning creative skills, MTCA also teaches students about entrepreneurship and gives opportunities to practice hands-on business skills. Colby says,”With Mr. John and Ms. Debbie we learned entrepreneurship and business,” which will be important as he plan on studying business and finance in college.

Kierra has also gained valuable skills in the program saying “My favorite part is working on the computers. I’m in a sub-group where we do graphic design.  We seek out assignments from people who want graphics done or business cards done. I want to start my own business, so we learned the foundations of how to do that and how to go about it.”

In addition to PSAs, students participating in our I am an MC Workshop during Black History Month completed their first Twitter blast using #WhatWouldTheySay about current issues as their theme. Students chose an African American of note, such as Frederick Douglass, Madame CJ Walker and others, and they selected a current issue they felt would be important to this person. Each student was asked to then assume the role of the famous African American they chose and speak with that person’s voice on their chosen issue. Students were encouraged to express how that person would feel, what they’d say and how they’d encourage their generation to take action on their issue.  Check out the Chripstory to read the student’s work: http://chirpstory.com/li/56134.

There’s a lot happening in the Martha’s Table Collegiate Academy, so stay tuned for the students’ completed PSAs and more updates!