List the situations/problems in your school/community that bothered you.

Each of our groups, explored an issue that resonated for them. Below are the mission statements from each group:

• Freedom of Speech: Our group is focusing on Freedom of Speech and how it behaves in the world. Journalists, writers, and activists have their unalienable rights violated, and are restricted to speak by their own Governments. We believe that Freedom of Speech is a ubiquitous right; One that should be given to people as a human right. It is up to us to make the change and loosen the brutal censorship in our world. SPEAK OUT!
• Gun Violence in America — Stop the Shots: Our group is focused on preventing gun violence in America because we do not have strong, clear laws to prevent gun violence in our country. We have been working with many organizations, including Harlem Mothers Save, NAGV and Everytown, USA. Through our work, we have learned how easy it is to get a gun and how this is a horrible injustice to our nation and it’s people. “Gun violence needs to STOP!”
• More Than Just An Image — Young Girls/Teens and the Media: Our group is focusing on the portrayal of women in the media and how it affects young girls and teens. Girls see stereotypical pictures of women represented in many places like ads, television and social media itself. These images are all arounds us but most of us never realize the stereotypes and sexualization of women. We worked with many organizations trying to learn more about the media and how it affect young girls’ self esteem.
• Change Climate Change: Climate change is a global issue that each of us contributes to. There are pipelines running throughout the world that could potentially make certain cities uninhabitable for more than 200,000 years! Our group is focusing on the effects of climate change and what we can do to keep our planet green. Remember, there’s no planet B.
• Take Hunger off the Menu: Our group is studying hunger in the United States. Hunger is a fast growing problem in our country. Over 48 million people are food insecure in the United States and 1 out of every 7 people have to rely on soup kitchens, food pantries and federal assistance to feed their families. People may think that our country has a “food shortage,” but really, around 40% of all of the food that is being produced/grown in the U.S., is wasted. Our group has been volunteering at numerous soup kitchens and food pantries and we have have been learning from many different organizations who are trying to put a stop to hunger.
• Education and Inequality — Funding Cut Our Future: Public schools in New York alone are owed over 5 billion dollars. Important programs, like art and music, are being cut. The schools that are affected by these cuts are not providing them with an education that sets them up for success, many kids are left to continue the cycle of poverty and inequity.
• Sexualization of Women in the Workplace — The Glass Ceiling: We are a group of eighth graders who care about women in the workplace. Why are so few women in positions of leadership in the Fortune 500? Why are women still paid less than men for the same work? We want to learn more about why this issue affects women and how women of different ethnic backgrounds are affected.
• Overconsumption and Pollution — Don’t Waste the Waste:  We care about our earth. There is just too much overconsumption on our planet, which leads to pollution and other ill effects on our natural world. We want to do something about it and are learning how to take responsibility for the waste we create.
• End Youth and Families in Poverty: 1 in 6 people in the U.S. are impoverished. 500,000 children in New York City alone live below the poverty line. Growing up in poverty can make it difficult to make choices and escape the cycle. Once in poverty it is extremely difficult to create a sustainable future. Our group is learning about the difficult situations these children are in and we have gone on many fieldworks to help with this problem.
• Food and Health: Fast food restaurants are everywhere. They portray their food as healthy and good. Most people don’t realize what’s really inside their typical burger. Do you know? Our group focuses on the unhealthy reality of fast foods. Eating too much of it can create sicknesses and diseases and can ultimately shorten your life. Although many people can simply quit eating it, lots of people in poorer neighborhoods and food deserts have no choice.
• Stop Police Brutality: When you feel unsafe, you call the police. That’s what you were told to do. But who do you call when the police make you feel unsafe?  Our group is focused on the topic of Police Brutality.  Too many citizens, and especially young men of color, are being targeted by the police rather than protected by the police.  We plan to learn more about this important civil rights issue and take action towards addressing it.

Who was affected by the situation/problem and what did they say?

As students explored their topics in the feel stage, they arrived at a number of important insights that helped to provide insight and context and helped to frame and guide their subsequent work:

“We discovered that children born into low-income families or neighborhoods were impacted by this problem. With the limited food options, education, health insurance and more it makes it very difficult for them to escape the vicious cycle of poverty.”

“While on our fieldwork, we heard many stories about those affected by climate change. We heard one woman talk about how she unknowingly moved into a house that was only 400 feet from the Algonquin pipeline and how this has affected her ever since. She has been fighting climate change and dirty energy not only to help everyone around the world, but also so that she and her family can live in a safer environment, without living in fear of the pipeline.”

“We interviewed many women who experienced discrimination in the workplace. Some of these women overcome this discrimination. When they first started working, they said that their bosses didn’t think that they would be capable of doing the job or their male peers who considered them weak harassed them.”

“We discovered that most of the people affected by the lack of free speech are just normal citizens. These people are trapped, for multitudes of reasons in countries that are plagued with governments who revoke freedom of speech.”

“As we talked to different people and learned more about the role media plays in projecting images of girls and women, we discovered that this affects boys as well as girls. These negative messages may cause girls to limit their options because of a set idea of what an ideal women should be. Boys also develop a set idea that may make them less likely to accept their fellow female peers as equals.”