March 19, 2009
It was a class project born out of a discussion of the American Dream—an eight-minute video titled "Is Anybody Listening?" in which students at Village Academy High School in Pomona gave their own accounts of struggling with foreclosure, hunger and the looming threat of homelessness. Five months later, that video received a very public mention by President Barack Obama. Correspondent John Larson brings us the story.
And then, in a fairy-tale twist no one could have predicted, the kids from Village Academy High in Pomona get the chance to meet President Obama.
Plus, commentator Marcos Villatoro finds a telling sign about the status of the economy, a struggling garage sale.
Where you live may be hazardous to your health. SoCal Connected examines the intersection of community, environment and health.
teresa kirkpatrick says :
Saw your story on PBS tonight. It was very inspiring and I wish that all of America could see this ( and I also wish everyone watched the Newshour on PBS! I am an art teacher in Huntsville, AL, and I just returned from taking 11 of my students on a Spring Break trip. Many of them shared similar stories and stories of survival. I actually thought of having them write their stories and sharing them with our Creative Writing magnet students to try to publish. A video on PBS is even better! Wow! Many of our teachers have no idea about the life struggles of our kids- and they all have a story. It was so amazing hearing your comments, because I just had the same experience while listening to my kids. Most teachers at our school are so worried about whether or not our students pass the "Graduation Exam"- they forget to listen to them. It is amazing that so many students are making a heroic effort to stay in high school and graduate while living in such stressful situations. Good for you for being an advocate for these kids, which I'm sure represent a large population of American young people in similar situations. It was also a wonderful story to parallel the other stories about the Economy in the March 20 episode of Newshour. Congratulations!!!