This STARS program was responsible for last year's third place rap music video, "Eat School Breakfast". When Ms. Ijaz and I arrived around 3:30 pm we were given a brief tour of the buzzing facility by a freshman student named John. Since we had time to kill before the presentation John showed us a magic trick with a deck of cards. John had Ms. Ijaz pick her card and not show it to him. He then performed a lengthy combination of shuffling and rearranging of cards that culminated with the entire deck narrowed down to Ms. Ijaz's card. We, as the knee jerk reaction goes with all magic tricks, immediately and excitedly asked, "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!?" Of course, before John could tell us his secrets, one of the mentors, Dorian, told him not to reveal his tricks. This past Monday I gave my first Summer Breakfast Video Contest Presentation at STARS of Randolph High School.
Not immediately knowing the secret behind John's magic trick proved to be the most "frustrating" part of our time there. Around 4 o'clock the 15 or so members of the AV club gathered on couches and chairs to listen to my presentation. Using the pre-formatted slides we received during orientation, delivering the presentation was much easier than I imagined. Reflecting on the presentation, the more successful segments were the ones I actively tried to engage the students in by framing the issue of hunger and the school breakfast programs in terms and with examples they could relate to.
became momentarily disengaged. This information is valuable, especially to educators, administrators, and other mentors watching the presentation. Moving forward I need to find ways to make this information engaging so its value isn't diminished. Conversely when I discussed details about the Child Nutrition Outreach Program (CNOP) and research from Food Research Action Center (FRAC) about the benefits of school breakfast programs, the students
This brings me back to John's magic trick. On our way out I asked John again about the secret behind his trick. He laughed and shared the simple trick with us and I left wondering how I didn't pick up on it. By the time I reached the third set of lights on my route home, I was admittedly disenchanted by the simple yet illusory nature of the trick. By the time I arrived home, I resolved to learn the trick. Oddly enough, the spectrum of emotions I experienced after learning the secret of John's trick serves as a metaphor for anti-hunger efforts. The initial perception that we need some sort of magical solution to end hunger in Massachusetts arises from the "smoke and mirrors" that are, in this case, the heated debate around the Farm Bill, the SNAP program, the high cost of buying healthy foods, etc. These things make it easy to become disenchanted with the issue. However, just as John's simple trick initially seemed magical, the problem is not irresolvable. Hunger is a problem we have the capacity to eliminate. The trick to solving it may not be as simple as John's shuffling and rearranging technique, but there are solutions available for those willing to dive a little deeper.
-Samantha Bennett
became momentarily disengaged. This information is valuable, especially to educators, administrators, and other mentors watching the presentation. Moving forward I need to find ways to make this information engaging so its value isn't diminished. Conversely when I discussed details about the Child Nutrition Outreach Program (CNOP) and research from Food Research Action Center (FRAC) about the benefits of school breakfast programs, the students
This brings me back to John's magic trick. On our way out I asked John again about the secret behind his trick. He laughed and shared the simple trick with us and I left wondering how I didn't pick up on it. By the time I reached the third set of lights on my route home, I was admittedly disenchanted by the simple yet illusory nature of the trick. By the time I arrived home, I resolved to learn the trick. Oddly enough, the spectrum of emotions I experienced after learning the secret of John's trick serves as a metaphor for anti-hunger efforts. The initial perception that we need some sort of magical solution to end hunger in Massachusetts arises from the "smoke and mirrors" that are, in this case, the heated debate around the Farm Bill, the SNAP program, the high cost of buying healthy foods, etc. These things make it easy to become disenchanted with the issue. However, just as John's simple trick initially seemed magical, the problem is not irresolvable. Hunger is a problem we have the capacity to eliminate. The trick to solving it may not be as simple as John's shuffling and rearranging technique, but there are solutions available for those willing to dive a little deeper.
-Samantha Bennett