Quarterly events make connections through empowering discussion
Sydney, an 8th-grade City Schools student stood up in front of the crowded room, grabbed the mic, and confidently read:
“The beauty in your streets Your wildfire streets The beauty in your eyes Is the beauty in your truth Your eyes are the truth of your soul Let it be loud, let it be known The beauty of your streets, the beauty of your soul The beauty in your strut, the beauty in your cut They will ask you to repeat yourself, they will ask you where you’re from They will want to know your life and the bumpy roads in between Show them your energy, show them your worth, show them your soul.”
The student audience burst into applause, then celebrated Sydney’s original poem by sharing their reactions and ideas.
The experience was a part of the BMore Me Speaker Series, where hundreds of students come together with city leaders, changemakers and advocates for engaging conversations about their city, identity, growth and goals. Each quarterly session of the series poses questions that spark ideas and reflections, such as “how do you experience beauty in Baltimore?” and “if Baltimore could speak, whose story would it tell?” By contemplating these questions in community with their peers, students like Sydney are finding inspiration, motivation, and confidence in the program.
“The conversations in the BMore Me Speaker Series are showing our students what’s possible while encouraging self-expression, critical thinking, and exploration,” explained Lisa Ann Kim, BMore Me Program Manager. “By speaking with these leaders, our young people are able to visualize themselves having the same kind of impact down the road. It’s motivational, impactful, and so very important.”
Each BMore Me Speaker Series session begins with a panel, which includes a student leader, a student moderator, and external community leaders such as area CEOs, artists, entrepreneurs, historians, filmmakers and politicians.
Now in its third year, the BMore Me Speaker Series is a part of City Schools’ Bmore Me Curriculum, an inquiry-based course of study connecting what students learn in the classroom to their communities by empowering them to use their voices and express their unique identities. Find recent BMore Me Speaker Series sessions on City Schools TV, here. To learn more about the BMore Me Curriculum
Original source can be found here.
