Blog Entry 3

What are the particular issues, tasks or problems you have encountered or anticipate during your site visits?  

My visits to Crenshaw have been productive. The kids seem to be very engaged and eager to learn more about the music industry and how music and the arts in general can instill important values in life. With that said, it takes 7-10 minutes to get the kids organized and settled for discussion.  With the limited time we have, every minute is valuable. Also the barber is giving haircuts while our group meets, which can be a bit of a distraction for the kids as well. 

Usually the night before our site visit our group will discuss what tasks we want to accomplish. Our curriculum is very similar to the PTones curriculum, except we looked to emphasize how the arts acts as a positive influence on life. The first two visits we introduced the 5 departments of a music label, what each department does, and then asked the kid which department interested them most and why. After that we broke into groups depending on which department the kids selected.

Usually when we brake into groups, the kids tend to lose focus and start socializing. It takes a lot of effort from my group to stay onto of the kids and make sure they are being productive. This is not to say the kids don't work hard, it's just tough to watch 16 teenagers with 3 adults. However, by the visits end, the kids have usually made great strides and learned a lot.

I look forward to more enjoyable and productive visits

Max E.