[embed]https://youtu.be/8dvL1c-VG-c[/embed] This week's main story focuses on the Trump attacks on Venezuelan boats. News around TCS include a visit to The Lyric for theatre class, our first Young Playwrights seminar of the year with Susan Stroupe and more. This week's TCS Student News was produced by Ethan Jobita Jemadari and Madisyn Hall with production assistance from Mohamed Cisse....
[embed]https://youtu.be/HyefDCMRRnE[/embed] This week's edition was produced by Jordan Smith and Judah Peterson with production assistance from Hector Rivas. The main story focuses on the Ethiopian dam affecting other countries fed by the Nile River. News around the school include a second visit by artist Kini Collins, ta Conversation with TCS alumni, a spotlight on volunteer Lisa Knickmeyer and two compelling documentaries Digital Disconnect and The Outrage examining lynching in the U.S.,...
We had an amazing Conversation with several TCS alumni. Olivia Yates ('20), Salma Ruiz-Cruz ('21), Claude Nicholson ('21), Joshua Sharp ('22), and Madison Hansel ('25) shared both their experiences at The Community School and since graduation with the students. It was a meaningful and honest discussion with alumni talking about the impact TCS had on their lives. The students, especially the seniors, were interested in the choices the alumni made after leaving the school and their experiences with college and career. The discussion ranged from challenges with professors to learning from setback decisions that were made to positive strides in the face of adversity. The discussion was spirited and inspiring with a strong bond created between the current students and the alumni. It was decided to hold more conversations with alumni before the year is out. We are so proud of our current students and the graduates who are a credit to their families, communities and TCS....
[embed]https://youtu.be/qALTNQHgLBM[/embed] The main story this week was on the U.S. government shutdown. News around the school includes last week's Conversation with writer Rafael Alvarez, an art seminar with Kini Collins, a special Restorative Circle semiar with Sister Helene Cooke and more. This week's edition was produced by Hector Rivas and Ruth Rivas with production support by Mohamed Cisse....
FAILURE-SUCCESS…The students were challenged to consider the interaction of these two fundamental realities of life. JASON…makes the case for resilience and determination, with a bit of help from hip-hop’s Kendrick Lamar and history’s Kunta Kinte. You Fail What is success without failure? It’s like saying you can’t feel pleasure without pain. Most of your improvement is done through failure. When you fail, you might think you’ll never succeed. But If you give up then, you won’t ever succeed… not because you're not trying but because you gave up. The worst thing you can do is give up. How does success feel? How much failure have you endured to come to success? Hold on to those feelings next time you feel like giving up and use your resources to help you. It doesn’t have to be a person but you should have someone to confide in. Don’t blame your failures on others or put your procrastination on something else. Six hundred thousand people commit suicide every year, that is what giving up is. In some ways, committing suicide might seem better than doing nothing and having no purpose in life. That's not a life at all. That is not a life worth living. There are probably billions of failure * success stories out there, get inspired and try to do something with your life. Turn your meaninglessness to meaningfulness. You might not know what to do and you don’t have to, just do something, move forward, never give up. Do something until you find your meaning. Find some time, find some time...
FAILURE-SUCCESS…The students were challenged to consider the interaction of these two fundamental realities of life. KARLA…grabs our attention with her opening line, before acknowledging mistakes she regrets but refuses to be taken down by. Failure I’m one failure away from ruining my life. I mean, I’m about to start doing crack and live on the lonely, dirty streets of Baltimore. I’ll be honest, I don’t know where to start. I thought about it yesterday for a very, very long time and I still don’t really know how to articulate how I feel. I feel like I’m being held hostage by this invisible force that has deprived me from oxygen and is causing me to roll around as if I’m a roach on its back trying to get back on its feet. I’m kind of still trying to figure out how to say something, without saying anything at all. It’s actually the most difficult thing to do. I’ve been trying to not make my past mistakes happen again. I’m trying really hard to be able to live with them, but there is nothing more difficult than forgiving yourself for past mistakes. It’s even harder to do that if you didn’t hurt just one person, but many. Now I feel like I’m actively hurting the people around me. It’s a crazy, almost unreal experience to be scared of yourself and your actions. I’m trying really hard to be careful with my words telling you this. I don’t want people to read or hear this story and have pity, I just want people...
FAILURE-SUCCESS…The students were challenged to consider the interaction of these two fundamental realities of life. KHORI…uses her very mixed feelings over the loss of a special family member to remind us all that in order to help others you must first be able to help yourself. Failure*Success The definition of failure is the lack of success. Throughout my life I’ve experienced many different forms of failure. I’ve always been the type of person who believed that everyone can change, even when they fail. I thought I was a prime example. If I can fail and keep trying, then surely everyone can, right? No, I was wrong. Last year I was a freshman, and I’m sure everyone knows that, when you’re a freshman, you have to show an enormous amount of perseverance. I expected everyone around me to show the same amount of perseverance ,and this unfortunately led to my demise. I had a family member that passed away from drug use last year,and I felt the failure she inflicted on herself ,and the rest of the family. As a kid, I would often see her in a lot of pain. Pain from losing her closest family members from old age ,and pain from her own failure to stop using drugs. I remember always being in her room, and asking her questions of what she used to be like, how she used to act, and all of her regrets. It’s still hard for me to acknowledge the fact that she’s actually gone. During her funeral, I was so angry that she...
Japanese Calligraphy was the theme of this week's art seminar with special guest artist Kini Collins. Kini learned this art while studying martial arts in Japan. Each student was given a brush and rice paper and was able to practice various symbols that stood for words. The students learned the very physical techniques in shaping these words that make each recognizable though unique. The workshop ended with a group project where the students used what they had learned to communicate with each other through their calligraphy. Thank you Kini Collins for your generous sharing of time and talent, and thank you Cheryl Fair for curating this series....
Learning ways to resolve conflict and restore relationships was the focus of aa special seminar today. This Restorative Circles seminar was facilitated by Sister Helene Cook who traveled from Scranton, Pennsylvania to join us at the invitation of Lisa Knickmeyer, her former colleague. In this time that is often immersed in division and alienation, we wanted to give the students an opportunity to talk about the conflict in their lives and share methods they have used to find resolution. This was a deeply personal and meaningful seminar that we hope will lead to more understanding and stronger interpersonal relationships. Thank you Sister Helene....
Journalist, author, screenwriter and extraordinary storyteller, Rafael Alvarez, returned to the school to talk with the students for this week's Conversation series. He started the Conversation by interacting with each student learning about his or her interests and plans while sharing ideas and contacts to support each one. Rafael then fielded a broad range of questions from the students on topics as varied as his travel experiences to his inspiration for writing to the issues of the day. He had taken two trips on merchant ships earlier this year - one across the Atlantic and another across the Pacific. While he speaking highly of our school, he also said one of the best ways to get an education was to travel and experience places and lives very different from your own. Rafael 's connection with our school goes back nearly 50 years when he was a reporter for the Baltimore Sunpapers. Since that time, he has written many books and also worked in Hollywood writing for television and film including two years on The Wire with David Simon. He reinforced the teaching in the school that everyone has a story and that much is to be learned from taking the time to interact and listen. The students have started reading his book "Don't Count Me Out: A Baltimore Dope Fiend's Miraculous Recovery" as part of their English literature class. We appreciate Rafael's generosity of time with us over the years and for always responding when we ask him to come in to talk with the students. https://baltimoretraces.umbc.edu/projects/greektown/rafael-alvarez/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Alvarez...