Youth On Record

Jenn Cohen | February 1, 2012 | 0 Comments

by Jenn Cohen

As the number of CMB readers continues to grow, I want to take a step back and introduce Youth On Record youthonrecord.org to anyone who is not familiar with their program and their monthly column. YOR is the newest Flobots.org program, operating music programs in residential treatment facilities around Colorado. Students are both boys and girls, ages ranging from 7-19 and come from a variety of backgrounds.

Using music production and lyric-writing classes, YOR teaches participants how to navigate their emotional landscapes by creating original music using industry-standard production software. These classes are fun, safe, educational, and above all, empowering.

Students, teachers, administrators and clinicians in the treatment centers consistently testify that YOR students are less likely to succumb to negative behavior and are more likely to act as positive role models for their peers. “As the principal at Devereux Cleo Wallace, (Dustin Coleman), I have personally witnessed the program’s exceptional impact on our students. We have a student base that has failed out of countless schools, residential and intervention programs, and many have been involved in legal challenges. Many have seen only failure in academic settings; they have given up on the importance of knowledge, learning, and skill acquisition.

“YOR has helped to inspire a number of our students by creating an atmosphere in which students’ interests and talents are utilized to create genuine learning opportunities. [The students] look forward to the opportunity to participate and share their successes. The students learn the basic skills of producing and mixing music using computers, and are able to record their own vocals and mix them into their tracks, to create a final product in CD form to take with them.”

Instructor and founder of YOR, Nathan Schmit, has a long history in residential treatment care for teens, and has seen the impact that creative exploration has as a means of self-development. If you talk with Nathan for even a few minutes, you will see this is clearly his passion, and his students see this as well.

Karen Kazemi, is a language arts teacher at a school in Littleton, CO. She has this to say about the program: “As an educator in special education for 17 years, I truly believe that students can/will benefit from using their voice to express themselves, as well as to use writing as a place to be heard. We all know that individuals, and especially teenagers, want to be heard, have their feelings validated and just have a place to communicate without judgment.

“After the first visit with YOR in my classroom, I observed several of my reluctant and non-intentional learners raising their hands to share their writings in front of their peers, showing pride, and for the first time, actually seeing/understanding the purpose and power of the pencil. I challenge you to witness their positive influence!”

Each month, a current student in Nathan’s class contributes in some way to the CMB column. It is their story, their voice. And we’re proud to have them on board.

ABOUT FLOBOTS.ORG

Founded in 2007 by the internationally known Denver hip-hop collective Flobots, Flobots.org connects underserved youth across Colorado with music and empowerment education. Led by a network of professional musicians, artists and educators, Flobots.org programs are designed to harness the power and those who love it.