|
 Forum
Gets Earful From Youth; Safety, Education are Among Top Concerns
by Wendy Wendland-Bowyer, Detroit Free Press, November
17, 2003
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
The Detroit Free
Press and the Skillman Foundation brought together 100 community
leaders, teenagers and others Saturday to discuss the most
pressing needs of southeast Michigan youth -- and did they get
an earful.
Violence in communities. Textbook shortages causing a 30-person
Detroit high school geometry class to share three books.
Children not being taught about sexual diseases or pregnancy.
Problems in getting mental health care and the failure of
agencies to work together to help families.
"My biggest issue is safety in the schools and in the
environment," said Danielle Ragland, 16, a Detroit Cass Tech
junior, who contends that more police officers are needed in the
neighborhoods. She said she and other students see or experience
violence much too often.
"When people can shoot people in broad daylight, and nothing
happens, that is not right," she said.
In 1993, the Free Press began a campaign called Children First,
to, as then-Publisher Neal Shine said, put the newspaper into
the game. Since then, more than 4,000 articles have run under
the Children First logo and the paper has raised more than $8.5
million from readers and a matching Skillman Foundation grant
for children's summer programs.
But one area where the newspaper came up short, said Publisher
Heath J Meriwether, was in bringing together the community to
listen to story ideas.
On Saturday, the first of what could lead to more such
gatherings was held at the Renaissance Center in Detroit.
Attendees included those from the health care community,
nonprofit agencies, child social service agencies, education and
juvenile justice fields.
The attendees broke into groups for brainstorming about issues
facing children. They then urged more stories on children's
health issues and parent involvement in their child's education.
Some of the morning's best ideas came from the teens.
Vieyaan Auri, a 16-year-old junior at Pershing High School in
Detroit, said her math class went a marking period without
textbooks. Kathrina Shabo, a Pershing senior, said she has had
several classes where students shared books because there
weren't enough to go around.
"In my English class, we have to read the book together, but
that's very difficult because people read at different speeds,
and it's not fair to have to sit there and wait before you can
turn the page," said Shabo, 17.
Both said when textbooks are available, they are often missing
pages or chapters.
Kyndall Minley-Marshall, a junior at Cranbrook in Bloomfield
Hills, said she lives in Detroit but goes to school and does
most of her recreational activities in the suburbs because the
activities aren't available in the city, and the educational
quality is lacking.
"The educational standards are completely different based on
where you go to school," said Minley-Marshall, 16, adding that
she doesn't think that's fair.
While reporters and editors took notes for future stories, Kari
Schlachtenhaufen, president and chief executive officer of
Skillman, said her staff was also jotting things down. The
children's organization is reviewing grant applications now and
plans to use the information when reviewing requests.
back to the top ~
back to Breaking News
~ back to
What's New
|
