Get Lit

For those that haven't seen this, do yourself a favor and take the time.  The message here is pretty powerful coming from our youth.  Just when you begin to believe the young people of this country swallow everything they learn in what we euphemistically call "school," this group shows up to dispel the thought and challenge their own.

I haven't seen this much energy in our youth since the Up with People movement was founded in the mid-sixties "as a positive voice for young people during a turbulent period in the United States."  Well, we seem to have young people that really believe we are undergoing another turbulent period in their history.

This program speaks to a problem in this country, and the world, that is dear to me - education.  I'm not talking about the drivel we spew, for the most part, to our young folks in schools today.  I'm talking about the seeming mission of education to transform our kids into mindless socialist robots that move, unquestioningly, to the beat of a suffocating government.  We live in a world where history is bereft of facts and twisted to fulfil some political agenda.  Classic literature is banned because of a word or idea that doesn't meet the party line.  Is it any wonder that intelligent kids find school a waste of their time?

I challenge each of you to, first, check out this clip, Get Lit on The Queen Latifah Show, and then check out Get Lit on their website.  I would also recommend just searching Get Lit on Google and watching any of the clips that show up.  All are well worth the watch.  I have provided a bit of information gleaned from their site to give you a taste of what they are trying to accomplish.  Bravo!  Bravo!  Bravo! I applaud all of these young folks.

MISSION

Get Lit is dedicated to bringing the power of poetic expression to at risk teens through a standards-based curriculum fusing classic literature and poetry with contemporary Spoken Word performance techniques. Get Lit’s youth poetry programs are designed to boost literacy, foster cultural understanding, and encourage creative self-expression. By immersing teens in the world of great books (often for the first time), Get Lit equips students for future success in college and the workplace by building concise writing skills and dynamic public speaking abilities and a foundation of self-confidence.

VISION

Get Lit aims to empower youth to succeed by drawing connections between the emotions and experiences fueling the work of classic writers to the complexities and struggles teens face in their daily lives. By igniting a love of language, teens are inspired to stay in school, become lifelong learners and thrive. Get Lit’s citywide Classic Slam is the first youth poetry slam to draw upon canonical works and spoken word responses.  It’s huge popularity provides a model for inspiring teens throughout the country.  Get Lit’s long term goal is to make it’s curriculum available for schools nationwide.

VALUES

Words transform lives. Whether spoken, written, read, or performed — self-expression is fundamental to success and happiness in our society. Books provide a valuable resource and refuge for the human soul. Everyone should be provided with the tools to access all that books have to offer. Get Lit aims to fill the gaps where public schools have failed students in this area.  It uses the oral expression of poetry and literature to bring words to life.