Interviewing Kids and Learning to Use the Radio Equipment

This week I ran down to PS 328 in East New York to speak with the principal and also interview some kids in the Groundwork program. The principal said his voice was a little hoarse and that we could do the recorded interview next week, which I intend to do along with going to some record at some of the Groundwork classes, guided by the program's communications contact Monte Givhan. But this week I was able to speak with the kids, a trio of 5th graders and a 6th grader and 7th grader, directly. Interviewing kids can be tricky because they tend to move around a lot and get restless easily. They are demonstrative and opinionated but not necessarily the most articulate. In the beginning of the interview they seemed to be giving me a rehearsed line - that Groundwork is great for kids. It's hard to say whether this is sincere or not. But soon the conversation became more casual, and they all expressed a love of dodgeball, which they can play at Groundwork but not in regular gym. As expected one of the girls didn't like a teacher (she screams too much) and the core curriculum--basically the academic part--wasn't the main attraction for them. But they did seem to enjoy it and they preferred it to other after school programs they've been in before, where "you just go upstairs and do your homework." Groundwork offers academic help but also alot of other activities, like sports, which the girls loved, and for the older kids a magazine and arts group.

Also this week, I got a quick lesson from the ever so lovely Anne Noyes about how to use the digital recording equipment that you can rent out at the equipment room in the journalism department. I will have to do a test run to make sure I know how to use the recorder well, but I should be ready for next week when I'll do all the leg work for my podcast. Will probably head over to take pictures for the slideshow as well. And I'll storyboard the stuff this weekend.