Gresham program highlights overcoming adversity

Josh FloryFountain City, Our Town Youth

For students at Gresham Middle School, a teacher’s effort to highlight inspiring Black History Month stories has also become a chance to sharpen their digital media skills.

In January, Gresham ELA teacher Jade Jernigan was looking for ways to infuse some “joy and passion” into a unit of readings on liberty and equality. After brainstorming with fellow teacher Alice McManus, Jernigan began interviewing professionals from a variety of fields about overcoming adversity.

The project took off, and students began pitching in to help with nearly every aspect of the production: editing videos, writing questions, creating promotional thumbnails and even conducting interviews. The videos are now available on Jernigan’s YouTube channel: “Miss J’s Story Faves”.

“This is the first time I think in my career where I have actively reached out to students for help instead of my colleagues,” she said. “And my kiddos have just risen to the occasion.”

Gresham student Carlos Mata has been a key contributor, and said the best part is seeing the finished product: “It may take a while to get something, but as soon as you get to it, it’s like a reward.”

Jernigan said the project gives students something to look forward to at the end of class, and has served as a bridge between classroom texts and real-life stories. As an example, she said a lesson about the impact of literacy on the life of Frederick Douglass echoed the lessons recounted by MMA fighter Rampage Jackson, who talked about the challenges he faced by not understanding the details of his legal contracts.

Asia Smith got the chance to interview syndicated radio host Barbie T, but said that when she sees famous people, “I don’t exactly go into fangirl phase. I keep it cool, basically,” she added with a laugh.

To celebrate Women’s History Month, Jernigan and her students will be posting motivational success stories throughout March, and are planning to interview author Nikki Grimes.

And while celebrities may be intriguing, the students agreed that one of the most impactful interviews was with 6th-grade social studies teacher Vincent Dave, who talked about his efforts to promote Black history, and the adversity he overcame to become a teacher.

“I think it’s just uplifting, hearing how they’ve been able to go through many things and just come out successful,” said 8th-grader Maggie Wilson.

Josh Flory is a multi-media specialist with Knox County Schools and writes the blog Hall Pass for the KCS website.

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