Edit Lab Experience!

Edit Jam Reloaded

What would your answer be if you're asked about democracy ?

Do you want to know how to effectively deliver the concept of democracy through media and technology?

Do you want to have fun with good people and free food?

Well, the Second Edit Jam hits Teacher’s College ! In case you missed last year's and you still don’t know what it is, let us bring you up to date : it’s a fun, creative and enriching experience !

What's Edit Jam?
It is an event organized by EdLab's Media Design Center. Even if you missed the previous edition, now you have a chance to catch it up; come and learn democracy with media and technology!

This year, the event refers to Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" (a film about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans). The HBO documentary film is complemented by the Teaching the Levees curriculum project created by TC faculty, students and staff. The project is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and will be available by next fall.

What can you do at the event?
You can not only watch how artists are working, but also join them and get unique educational experiences while using new technology, media and ideas.

Who's coming ?
You will meet video artists and creators of the Teaching the Levees curriculum project. Also, live musicians and the Nuyorican poet Mundo Rivera are expected to come. If you participate, you will be involved in the creation of videos concerning democracy by using different media. Your work will be recorded and broadcast to the world in spring.

Extras?
Free food no matter if you come for 15 minutes or all 3 hours.

When and where?
March 2 2007 5-8pm; Teachers College, Columbia University, Gottesman Libraries 5th Floor.

Questions?
mdc@tc.edu

Kids in NYC !

CALUM, 8, and JULIAN KEELEY, 11, brothers
3rd and 6th grade
Live on West Side with parents and their two Jack Russels

"Me and Calum were used as background skaters for "Night at the Museum" "

Q : So, what is it like to be a kid in New York ?
C : It's good ! we can do a lot of things here, go to hockey games, see basketball games, baseball games, at Madison Square Garden...
J: I like New York.

Q : You go see games at Madison Square Garden ?
C : Yeah, we've been lots of time, especially for basketball games.

Q : What's your favorite team ?
C&J : The Knicks !!!

Q : I'm not surprised, that was a silly question ! I can see you're really into sport.
C : Yeah, I like ESPN Zone too, it's really cool.

Q : What is that ?
C : You go the this place at Madison Square Garden and you can have dinner there, it's like an arcade, you can do lots of sport games.

Q : And what are your other interests ? Do you go to museums ?
J : Oh yeah, the Natural History Museum is good. It was used inside a movie called "Night at the museum", they used our house inside too, but we got cut out. Me and Calum were used as background skaters.

Q : Oh, is it the movie with Ben Stiller ? They used your house ??
C : Yeah, for some scenes, our bedroom and the front door. But we got cut out. And you don't see us ice-skating either.

Q : It must have been exciting, did you get to meet Ben ?
J : Yeah we took a picture with him and we got his autograph.
C : I think it's good for the museum that they did that, everybody's going to go now and see there's a lot of good things around here.

Q : Smart boy ! Where do you go to school ?
J : A French school, the LFNY, because our Mum is Swiss.

Q : I bet you like cheese then !
C : Yeah, I like Gruyere the most !

Nah! (Interviewing a 12-year-old New Yorker)

NAME: JACK DONOGHUE-EDELMAN

AGE: 12

LOCATION: MANHATTAN,NYC



'THERE ARE NO GOOD COLLEGES IN NEW YORK'



Q: How many songs do you have on your iPod?

About 80.

Q: Do you have any favorite singers or bands?

Not really.

Q: But if you had to pick one, who would it be?

Probably Akon.

Q: Oh, so you listen to hip-hop. How old are you?

I'm 12.

Q: What is it like to be a 12-year-old New Yorker?

It's good, it's fun. It's to do a lot of stuff, you know...

Q: Like what?

I don't know, just fun, being with my freinds a lot and...yeah...

Q: Can you imagine yourself living somewhere else?

Not as a kid, not really. Maybe when I'm older.

Q: Are you going to study in New York City?

Nah! There are no good colleges in New York.

Q: What would you like to do in the future?

I wanna become a basketball player.

Q: So you're more into sport than music, right?

Yes, I am. I like it more.

Q: Anyway, it seems to me that music plays a key role in your life since you can't leave your home without your iPod. What does music mean to you?

Umm...Nothing really. I just like to listen to it.

Q: Thank your for your time.

Thanks!

Interview with Adrienne FitzGerald

Born in New York. Works as Associate Director of Pro Bono Programs at Columbia Law School. Adrienne tells us about her hometown, her job and more!

Quote: “…the energy that was in Manhattan is moving to the outer boroughs, so it’s not been lost, it’s moving”


What’s the meaning of your name?

I don’t think my name has a meaning. I know there were many popes in Italy named Adrian. My last name, Fitzgerald, means illegitimate son of Gerald. But other than that, I don’t think Adrienne has a meaning.

Which is your hometown and what do you like most of it?

New York is my hometown. I think what I love about it is that all my family and really good friends are here. I love the energy and the constant stimulus that is here and I love the fact that you can travel to almost any country and… stay in New York. You can meet people from pretty much everywhere in the world.

How do you see the city now in comparison to ten years ago?

For me, I can talk really… even mostly… about my neighborhood which is York field It’s turned into a city for very rich people…and Manhattan before had a lot of small neighborhoods, had a lot of mixed income…Near my house there were these beautiful, little stores from Germany. It was a German, Irish, Polish, Hungarian neighborhood and there were beautiful little cake stores…and now has turned into Banana Republic, huge chains.. it’s losing any charm that it had…because those big chains are the only places that can afford the rent here. So I think it’s losing a lot of character. I think places like Brooklyn and Queens and some of the outer boroughs are turning into places for artists and a lot of the energy that was in Manhattan is moving out to the outer boroughs...So it’s not been lost, it’s moving.

What did you study?

I have two masters, one, I did in social work and community organizing. So I did housing advocacy for many years and I worked on the Lower East Side on low income housing, and then I went back and I did a degree in interactive media at the School of The Arts and that’s when I worked for a web documentary company for a number of years. Mostly working on a project on the criminal justice system.

Where do you work and what’s your job?

Right now I work at Columbia Center for Public Interest Law and my job is to manage the mandatory pro bono program there. It’s administrative and it’s also programming, you know…making sure that developing the programs.

What do you like most of your job?

I love meeting students, I love, that both the faculty and students here are really interesting, really wanting to do new things and thinking about things in a new way…So that’s fun…and I think one of the things I like best is developing partnership with non-for-profit’s and firms -both public sphere and private sphere, to provide resources to people who don’t have resources. It’s really challenging and it’s really gratifying when it works.

For how long have you been working at Columbia University?

At this job a little over three years.

What do you see yourself doing in ten years?

I see myself doing a lot of things…I can give you a few. One, I would love to do animation, you know…I did that a bit when I was in media work…I love to draw… Somehow I wanna work that in. But I also really in part because of my parents and my mother situation with Alzheimer’s…I’m really interested in working with elderly population because this country and I’m sure Argentina too…but this country is facing a huge…we are gonna have a overpopulation of elderly people and the illnesses and the costs have not been figured out at all…. So I’d really love to work on policy issues around that and also therapy with families who are going through... Who are trying to figure out how to care of elderly sick people and how to house them and all of that.

_______________The end _______________

Interview with a New Yorker

Interviewer---Yoko Interviewee---Nicole
February 14 , 2007 Yoko’s apartment lounge



Profile:
Nicole: she is in mid-forties, an African American, a mother of three teens, a nurse.
She is interested in music and creative writing. She lives in Brooklyn.


Q: Hi, Nicole. I know that you have been in New York for about 23 years. You told me last time. You are a real New Yorker. Where are you originally from?
A: I’m from Nigeria.

Q: Do you miss your home?
A: I had missed my home before I went back . About for eighteen years I hadn%u20

Interview with Lev Moscow

Lev Moscow was born in New York the 19th of July 1979. He grew up in the Bronx and he is now an History and Economics teacher at Beacon High school in Manhattan.

Day of the Interview: Febraury 14th 2007
Location: Lev's apartment in the Upper West Side

Sandra: Lev, for how long have you been teaching in New York?

Lev: I'am teaching in New York for an year and half, I am about to finish my second year of school teaching.

Sandra: What do you think about teaching in New York?

Lev: Well, I love teaching, it's been great and the kids are great and it's an hard job but nearly as hard as I thought it would be and mostly is because the kids are so cool. The hardest part is coming up with lessons everyday.

Sandra: I can imagine!! If that is the hardest part, what do you think is the most rewarding part of the job?

Lev: You know, you see the kids learning everyday new things and, I don't know, I think may be in some time like I'll see when the kids get back from university and see what kind of job they take, I think that will be really rewarding but I don't think that comes for a few years.

Sandra: Do you think there is something particular about teaching in New York?

Lev: Well, I think what's nice about New York is the kind of diversity that we have which gives you the possibility to work with all sort of different kids and kid's whose parents come from all over the world and I think for example that if I was working in Kansas wouldn't be the case!

Sandra: If you weren't a teacher which other job would you like to do in New York?

Lev: Well, you know, I think may be being a fireman would be kind of cool because, you know, they are the most brave people in the all city and everybody look up at them and...why are you laughing Sandra??!!

Sandra: Well, I think that's really funny!!...let's go back to "teaching"...If you had to give a suggestion to a new teacher what would you suggest?

Lev: I would tell him that they have to be prepared to work really long hours, like you come home after work may be around 5 or 6 pm, you have a very quick dinner and then you basically start planning lesson again, you never stop thinking about the job untill the summer comes!!

Sandra: So, basically you are looking forward for the summer time to come??!!!

Lev: Always!! When this last summer time ended I was already thinking about the next summer time! you never stop thinking about it!

Sandra: So, where would you like to be this summer?!

Lev: Well, I can think of few good place like to may be go back to Europe this summer and spend the summer in the south somewhere...could also be nice to go to South America: may be Costa Rica, Chile could be cool, I don't know but I don't want to stay in NYC over the summer.

Sandra: Let's hope this months pass quickly then!!

Lev: Definetely!!!

Sandra: Thank you very much Lev!!

Lev: You are welcome, anytime!!


"I think what's nice about New York is the kind of diversity that we have"

Interviewing New Yorker

Name: Erin Kim
Age: Early Thirties
Hometown: San Francisco
Date and Location: At a cafe in the Grand Central Station on Feburary 14th

Q: May I ask your occupation?
A: I am a consultant working for Towers Perrin. It’s specialized in Human Resources, and my specialty is executive compensation.

Q: How long have you been working?
A: I’ve been working for this company for almost eight years now, and I started working in New York office, but I had a great opportunity to work in the office in Korea. I did like, 4 years working in Korea and 4 years in New York.

Q: Wow, I think that’s a pretty interesting career. Where do you live now?
A: I live in New York City, the town of Battery Park City.

Q: Battery Park City? It’s not, you know, not a familiar neighborhood for me. Why did you choose to live there?
A: Battery Park City wasn’t actually the area I was familiar with, either. But when I moved back to New York, this time around I have family now and I have 2-year-old son. I was looking for a neighborhood within New York City, which was more family friendly. And one of my colleague said Battery Park City is very residential and family friendly area. I’ve been living there for 8 months, and I actually agree.

Q: Would you recommend the area to other people with family and kids?
A: Definitely. There are 3 parks right along the river, a lot of outdoor playgrounds, different age groups, a lot of yards, trees, lots of classroom-type learning activities. So, highly recommended.

Q: It sounds like really good neighborhood. I’d like to visit there some time. Now I know that you’re married and you have a son. Do you have any plan tonight? Today is Valentine’s Day.
A: You know, it’s always difficult to plan something with a little boy. We actually thought about going to a family type of restaurant. However, it’s snowy today and very slippery outside, so it might be a little dangerous to go out with a kid. Well, probably we would decide to stay home.

Q: But still, you probably have some expectation today from your husband. Is he the type of guy to plan a secret event for you and to surprise you?
A: He is. He likes to send flowers to my office without any notice, and I am always very happy about that. But today, I told him not to send any flowers.

Q: Why is that?
A: Well, you know. It’s Valentine’s day, and it must be very expensive.

Q: That’s too cynical. Ok, what was the most memorable and the greatest event he’s ever planned?
A: That was the first Christmas we spent together. It was actually 2 months after we first met. He planned entire Christmas for both of us, which was really wonderful. First he took me to the one of the fanciest restaurants in New York, in which we had a great view. He also presented me a very memorable gift that I’ll never forget. He actually didn’t give me at that time. After the restaurant, we went for ice skating. And then, he dropped me off at home, and before I got off, he said I needed to help him to lift something from the trunk. When I opened up the trunk, there were balloons flying out of the trunk. And there was one last balloon that was stuck in the trunk with a gift attached to it. And I got a very nice Tiffany necklace.

Q: Wow, how sweet. He must be a very sweet guy.
A: He is a very sweet guy.

Q: Well, I think now you have to go, right? It was very nice talking. Thank you for your time today.
A: No problem. Thank you.

"The very first gift he gave me was a book called Love Story."