Art in Life
In my last editorial, I questioned how art might come to aid the world around it, especially for at-risk youth? The term “at-risk” is a monolith in itself. According to the publication Child Trends an interpretation of the term derives from, “… the community, neighborhood, or school context as an at-risk environment. For example, a low-income community with a high crime rate and a low high school graduation rate might be viewed as a place that puts children and adolescents at risk of poor outcomes”. The poor outcome I want to focus on is juvenile sentencing. I think art will help youth both deter and process poor outcomes, and lead to a better future in the lives of America’s youth.
I explored art through the stories of actress, singer and teacher LaChrisha Brown. “Art is one of the few places where you can fail. Here you can take risks. Where you can try and experiment to see if things work, but not just with equation not just with science, but with yourself. And what better way to equip somebody to navigate the world? So it is imperative for you to practice life” she said.
After speaking with Brown, I decided that the best for me to aid at-risk youth is by equipping them with knowledge and experience via art. Through the creation of competition and vocal pieces, children from different backgrounds will gain empathy, humanization and tolerance of others.
Competition is an important instillation of my efforts because it creates value. I remember when I was in the first grade, my class had a reading competition. Everyone in my class idolized my teacher. The person who read aloud the most by the end of the week would get to eat pizza for lunch. Every single child in my classroom, even the shyest of students, would raise their hand to read. Similarly, to create a format where composing, performing and listening to different vocal pieces would be impactful to youth, there needs to be a factor that will drive them to be the best.
The age group I think this competition would be best is with 6th graders, ranging from ages 11 to 12. Congressional research about at-risk adolescents identifies that, “youth refers to adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24…. Although traditional definitions of youth include adolescents ages 12 to 18, cultural and economic shifts have protracted the period of adolescence. Children as young as 10 are included because puberty begins at this age for some youth, and experiences in early adolescence often shape enduring patterns of behavior”. Thus, 6th grade proves to be a pivotal point in the lives of the American population because it is the very beginning of their adolescent foundation. They still have the spark, vitalization and excitement of a younger child. Yet, 6th graders are still impressionable and have enough life experiences to feel pain while facing new life challenges as middle school ensues.
Children from different school districts will come together and be separated into groups of ten. Each child will come from a different background in ethnicity, income, race, gender and sexual orientation. No one child would have the same experiences. But, human empathy and surprising similarities can make those experiences shared. Take a city like Chicago, which is inhabited by so many different types of people on its north and south sides. According to World Population Review, Chicago’s demographics are 49.14% white, 30.51% black, 11.19% other race, and 6.22% asian. In addition, according to Data USA the city’s poverty rate lies at 20%. These statistics do not even include other sections of identity such as sexual orientation and gender.
Grouping together children of different backgrounds from diverse cities like Chicago, would be undoubtedly uncomfortable . However, the threat of competition and an enticing prize, whether it is eating pizza for lunch, or more likely meeting a celebrity they idolize, should spark motivation in the adolescent competitors.
I think that music is the key to facilitate and bring an understanding to children across the lines of intersectionality. When split into their groups, each student will be given a prompt to choose a song that is meaningful to them. From there, the songs of the ten children will be turned into a medley where they have to perform. Each child will receive their respective solo and sing vocal arrangements as necessary. The best medley would advance to a semi-final, and then later to a final where a prize would be to meet popular artists.
The use of vocal pieces is important because music is an easy avenue whereby people can express their feelings. This project’s effectiveness would lie in the child’s song choice and the vulnerability that comes with their opensess.
Brown was part of the reason why I felt that personal vocal pieces and performance would lead to the most success in intervening in the lives of youth. She said,“As a career choice, I’ve always leaned more towards theater because I felt like when I’m singing I feel naked. I feel like that’s just me. It’s hard for me to get over my nerves when it is just me”. I want the youth participants to feel vulnerable. The vulnerability of singing in their own skin, especially a song meaningful song, leads to the creation of a more authentic experience within the competition and thus authentic relationships with each child’s group.
This project would be most effective because all of the children in the group would have to sing parts of the medley. I found this to be best after talking to Brown. She said,“As a career choice, I’ve always leaned more towards theater because I felt like when I’m singing I feel naked. I feel like that’s just me. It’s hard for me to get over my nerves when it is just me”. I want all youth to feel vulnerable. The vulnerability of singing in your own skin, especially a song that means something to someone, leads to the creation of a more authentic experience and thus authentic relationships.
The very essence of this program is to use art to facilitate understanding and friendships with kids of different communities. It was not created to be a competition, although the competition aspect will lead to motivation. Everyone wins, because just gaining one new friend, one new perspective or one new experience is the end goal.
