Social Awareness Project:

By Theo Gold

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Table of Contents: 

Community Service in the Teenage Life:

My experience at my local bike park and how working with people in a community changed who I am.

(Page 2)

Changing the World One Baby at a Time: 

Notes on an interview with famous midwife Julie Gold.

(Page 3)

Observing the IMPACT of Looming Homework:

The problems and solutions with everyday homework.

(Page 4-5)

Overview:

My project is about how it takes time and dedication to be deeply involved and connected with what you love. Even if you have to manage your work to get through, it takes time to learn new things and expand what you know. We all change the world everyday if we take our time and listen to our needs and the needs of the people around us.

Community Service in the Teenage Life:

Teenagers deserve time in their busy schedules to do community service. Community service is a way for students to develop their dedication to things they care about and learn how to work cooperatively. I believe that opportunities for community service make the world a better place and provide participants with a sense of belonging. 

The thing that I am most dedicated to right now in my life is the reopening of the Brooklyn Bike Park in it’s permanent location. I am part of a group of BMX riders that wants to share their passion for riding with other New Yorkers. The Brooklyn Bike Park was a place to have a good time. It opened spring of 2013 and closed the fall of 2014. The lot was donated by developers for a little more than one year in hopes to make the local community happier before they built condos there. And it did. 

When I decided to help rebuild the park I put my name on the group mailing list. I never would have thought I would be designing a concept myself. I was just sketching some drawings of a bike park and my Dad asked me if I could make a 3D model on a computer. I found a program called Google Sketchup™ and soon had a giant model. I didn’t stop there, I found several concepts of other bike parks and I visited as many parks as I could get to. Of course, my Dad and I wanted to take it one step further and decided to build a jump at our cousin’s house. We went to Home Depot and got some two-by-fours and plywood sheets. It took six hours and then we got to ride it. The experience definitely set me up for the rebuilding of the Bike Park and changed my whole perspective on skateparks and dirt jumps alike.

The reason I’m so committed to the Brooklyn Bike Park is because it is what introduced me to BMX. When I discovered the park I immediately fell in love with it. The layout was great and smooth transitions topped it off. But what really made it awesome was the community around it. Everyone was so nice and the mood was awesome. Strangers would give you tips and I made so many new friends. By the fifth time I had been there I started to volunteer. After storms, we would repair the dirt jumps and build up what had been destroyed. I also would teach little kids, and I made sure that if someone fell they were OK. That made me even more involved. I finally felt part of something bigger. I wasn’t just riding, I was changing the way other people experienced the Bike Park and I think that’s what made me so dedicated. 

Throughout my childhood I always rode on the front on my Dad’s or my Mom’s bike traveling throughout the city. I think that’s where I get this idea of loving to ride a bike. After spending years in the passenger seat I have now finally taken control. I’m making models, researching, riding and also planning things like writing letters for participatory budgeting for a new Brooklyn Bike Park. Without it I would have never shared the joy of BMX with so many amazing people.

Changing the World One Baby at a Time:

“My job as a midwife is to change the world one baby at a time. This is not a statement I came up with. This is a phrase that midwives use to describe themselves and the work that they do.” says Julie Gold, Solo Practitioner in Brooklyn New York. I didn’t know until I spoke with her that being taken care of by a Midwife isn’t common and that when midwifes deliver a baby, they are also helping women feel empowered about their strengths and their right to have choices. Because of her skills and her unique training she can help women feel safe by giving them lots of options including delivery in the hospital or at home. Unlike doctors, and many midwives, Julie does all of her prenatal visits in her client’s homes establishing a deep connection with her patients and their families. Everyday she helps women discover their strengths. As woman go through a massive change in their bodies and bring a new life into the world she helps them feel safe, understood and loved. She helps them understand that they can do their best even in the hardest of situations. She says earnestly, “My hope is that simply by being present, unrushed and focused when I care for each and every woman that she will the develop some of the confidence she needs to trust herself as a mother.”

Observing the IMPACT of Looming Homework:

Right now…I’m worried about Christmas Break. Why, you ask? Because of schoolwork. I’m worried that my Christmas Vacation is going to be ruined by projects, essays, and homework. Part of me would rather skip vacation just so I don’t have to feel crushed by the work load. The problem is teachers don’t understand that when you give us homework and projects over the weekend and especially over breaks, that we often end up spending the whole time distracted by looming assignments. It’s unhealthy and not making us better students. We need to have time to enjoy ourselves, learn different things, and catch up with our families. If we are always assigned work then there is no point in having a weekend  or having breaks. I just finished Thanksgiving Break and my family time was disrupted by schoolwork. Thanksgiving is not just three hours on a Thursday, some families wait all year to get together and relax. No one wants their time off ruined by thinking about schoolwork.

The solution is simple, all schools should have scheduled, homework free breaks during the school year. Schools can adapt to this requirement in a variety of ways. For example, one solution is for every three weeks of school, there is one week with no new homework, or looming projects. Another option is no homework at all. If we spend six hours a day at school why not just make it seven and get all the work done in school. An other easy option that some schools use today is to have no homework and projects assigned over the weekends and over school breaks. The point is that homework without a break teaches us to not fully engage with our work, because all we want to do is get it done and it never stops.