> Why did you start Curie Youth Radio?
Every English teacher searches for ways to make
writing seem more relevant and "real world." In the
past few years, educators are doing so much more with
peer review and publishing; Curie Youth Radio is just
another way for students to know that their stories --
and the way they tell them -- matter.
This kind of class introduces a built-in audience of
adults who already may not understand where teens are
coming from. When they write for this audience (as
opposed to for themselves or their friends), teenagers
are forced to examine and explain their actions and
ideas.
Ultimately, radio is the perfect teacher. Writing for
radio demands that students make every word count.
Their imagery must be specific and strong. A youth
producer needs to understand the emotional and
thematic effects they want to create; this means that
youth producers are doing critical analyses of their
own writing. Each edit, each music selection, each
fade, each silence needs to serve the overall effects
of their stories. It's delightful to watch high
school juniors arguing over whether an editing choice
is too cliched, or whether cutting the ending short
will damage the overall impact of a piece.
> And what do you (they think) is the greatest benefit of the project?
Here are some things my students wrote about the
project:
"The greatest part of being in Curie Youth Radio is
that you can express yourself in ways you never
thought you could. We get to tell the whole world
our version of life. It’s kind of exciting to know
that people on the other side may not know you, but
you can share your world with them."
(Martin Macias, Elizabeth Pliego, Jessica Melendez, Keith Shine, Kimberley Espinosa, Christian Rangel)
"I also find it amazingly fun to be able to see what
different people think about questions that I think
about all the time."
(Taqueria Woods, Heather Branch)
> We're hearing a lot more youth work on NPR. Would you say there's a youth
radio movement going on in the country? What impact is the it having?
I'm hearing a lot more too. I remember being very
excited to hear Youth Radio on NPR in 1998 and 1999.
In just the last few years we've also been hearing
from Appalachia, Chicago, New York, and Washington,
DC. And if you look on the Public Radio Exchange
(prx.org), you'll see at least 30 youth radio groups
who have posted their work.
And hearing from them does have an impact. My
students call us -- the adult audience -- "the other
side." We definitely need to hear their stories.
I don't know what constitutes a movement, but I do
know that each year, more places are recognizing that
youth radio projects offer both a place for young
people to mature AND great art. That's a nice
confluence.
> What, in this day and age, still attracts young people to radio/audio?
Here are some of my students' responses to this
question:
"Working with audio is still like every other media in
that you can express yourself personally and
artistically. However, in radio you can have your own
space in the world of creativity. Unlike video, there
is no face behind the voice. So, it encourages you to
express yourself more because there is no pressure of
people recognizing you by your face. When you can
express yourself more as an artist...your work becomes
better."
(Julie Flores, Charles Garcia, Claudia Lopez)
"What attracts us to audio is working with other
people’s imaginations. Working with audio allows us to
paint a picture while still leaving room for
interpretation. You just can't do that watching TV."
(
Diane Zaldua, Jeweline Hale, Phillip Baggett, Pui Chau, Nancy Marquez)
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Sarah Levine is an English teacher and the leader of Curie Youth Radio, a writing and radio production class at Curie High School on the Southwest Side of Chicago. Like many youth producers, Curie Youth Radio students are simultaneously working to create fresh and revealing stories while trying to figure out just exactly what “fresh” and “revealing” mean. You can hear their work on 