Post Classifieds
Digital storytellers at CAC
By Jasmine Willis
On February 20, 2013
The Buffalo State Community Academic Center has started a new after-school program for West
Side youth, providing Buffalo State education majors with a way to gain experience.
The Digital Storytelling Workshop takes place every Tuesday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the
Community Academic Center at 214 Grant St. Children in grades 4-8 are welcome to participate.
Dr. James Cercone, assistant professor of secondary English education and head of the DWW
program, explained how West Side students plan to work closely with Buffalo State students on
producing short films about the children's life experiences.
"BSC students write along with the children and each share their poems," Cercone said. "BSC
students will then help workshop participants develop their 'I am From' poems into short films,
mixing audio recordings of their poems over videos and photographs."
Cercone said the workshop provides education majors a "unique opportunity" to gain experience
working with children, and helps them develop a "deeper understanding of what literacy learning
looks like in the 21st Century."
Maureen McCarthy, associate for the Center for Excellence in Urban Education, said that
students will be designing lessons that focus on students' cultural identities, and these stories will
be written, reordered, edited and displayed as part of the Grant Street Global Voices Public Arts
Project.
Cercone said one important element of the program is helping the students understand the issues
they are studying in his Methods of Language Instruction class.
"We focus on time-tested approaches to supporting students writing about their worlds and lived
experiences," Cercone said. "We engage them in an exploration of their culture and experiences,
using the 'I am From' series of prompts, a common template used in schools."
Three students involved said they are excited about the program.
Mary Kelly, a secondary English education major, said her experience as a substitute teacher for
the past two years has really helped.
"I gained a tremendous insight into the lives of many children through observing, listening,
discussing, interacting and of course teaching at the elementary and secondary grade levels," she
said. "I welcome the chance to work with the students at the CAC, because I think part of being a
good teacher is reaching out and relating to all children and valuing how their culture has shaped
who they have become and how they learn."
Jesse Dixon, English education major, said he is interested in the program because he thinks it is
important to give kids the chance to tell their own stories.
"This is beneficial for the kids because it can give them a sense of worth and importance to
have someone who wants to hear what they have to say," Dixon said. "This process benefits me
because I am learning about some of the methods I can incorporate in a classroom setting that
were not in use when I was in school."
Dixon said he enjoys being involved with the Grant Street neighborhood because it is a "diverse
and electric area," and he said he is excited to be "contributing to the growth of the area".
Elementary education major Teresa Hunter said she believes Buffalo State is one of the best
places to receive an education in the United States.
"The people encompassed within its walls come from all different parts of the world in hopes
of seeking a better future for them, as well as their families," she said. "One of the reasons I
was so drawn to this Digital Storytelling Workshop is because a lot of these children do in fact
come from different parts of the world but live here in the U.S, which means that they will
need someone to help guide them along to and through the 'cultural norms' of this city. And I
immediately want to be that person."
Hunter said another reason why she looks forward to working in the program is because it is in
the neighborhood where she grew up.
"Anyone who knows the West Side of Buffalo knows that it is not the 'best' place in the world to
grow up and raise a family," she said. "Even though people do it all the time and do an incredible
job, most of the West Side population is poverty stricken."
According to Hunter, the kids involved with the program will benefit by learning how to
communicate their different interests through different mediums.
"I want to be the ring of faith for these children who feel as though there is no hope or no chance
at succeeding," Hunter said. "I want to be the person who they feel they can trust - someone they
know who cares about them."
Cercone said he feels that this is an "excellent opportunity to know first hand the incredible
stories diverse young people have to tell."
He said the program will not only help future teachers build skill and technique, but also show
the potential that kids from all types of backgrounds may have.
Jasmine Willis can be reached by email at willis.record@live.com.
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