Youth: September 2009 Archives

In a new media world, we are often evaluating the role "old" media has to play in communication. And the discussion is prompted by some important questions: how do we create dialogue? with who and where? using what tools?

While I'm very excited about the possibilities new technology has to offer (texting, blogs, iPods), I have a special appreciation for "old" formulas that work like Radio Bolsa's "Youth and Education" show in Orange County.

Every Wednesday night at 7pm, the hosts of Youth and Education, a program aimed at Vietnamese immigrant parents looking for help in guiding their kids through the US education system, answer questions and talk about issues ranging from financial aid to online bullying.

From the LA Times article:

The show reaches out to parents like John Nguyen, 48, who immigrated to the U.S. in his 30s and is now raising two sons who go to Ethan Allen Elementary School in Garden Grove. Nguyen, his wife and mother-in-law listen to the radio show every week.

"The show brings up topics that I never thought of before," said Nguyen, who owns a graphic design business. "I never went to high school or middle school here, like a lot of Vietnamese parents. That's why there are a lot of things we don't know."

Nguyen said he had learned about after-school programs, programs for gifted students and how to prepare students to transfer to other schools. Nguyen, a PTA member, has also been a guest on the show, encouraging Vietnamese parents to volunteer at schools.

by Todd Johnson; originally published at TheGrio.com.

Jordan Sarazin was in foster care just five months after she was born. But in 2006, everything changed. She was adopted by Magalie Jean-Gilles, who has spent nearly a decade caring for dozens of foster children.

"[Magalie] has pushed to do better in school and impacted my life in a lot of ways," said Sarazin, who is black. "I was in foster care for so long. I'm glad it was [Magalie] who became my mother."
Gilles has made foster parenting her full-time job. And that means keeping up with her foster children and her two birth daughters.

"It's really sad, sometimes [foster children] have no family out there," said Gilles, who was born in Haiti. "It hurts my heart, but that is why I am here to help."

Black children account for more than 30 percent of the roughly 500,000 kids in foster care, according to research.

To address these numbers, a new federally funded ad campaign is looking to get more black foster children adopted.

Television commercials will feature black parents and children in settings such as parks and schools. Similar ads will appear on radio and in newspaper.

The ads were developed by the Advertising Council, which produces public service announcements and AdoptUsKids, a non-profit which helps connect foster children with adoptive families.

It marks the first time African-Americans have been targeted, according to project officials.

"There are a lot of negative images of African-Americans, especially preadolescent and adolescent black boys," said Kathy Ledesma, project director of AdoptUsKids. "African-American children are removed from their homes at higher rates than [other racial groups].

The new ads will officially launch November 1st.

Gilles is interested in adopting more children in the future.

"I feel blessed, I really do," Gilles said. "I will keep [foster parenting] until--I don't know--for a very, very long time."