Lessons for Life

Video's attendance in classrooms throughout the country is earning high marks for education.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Nintendo. MTV. Bart Simpson. Gang warfare. Drug deals. The homeless. Images on the streets and in our living rooms. Our children see them all. But what do they think? Educators around the country are putting video cameras into the hands of students to find out.

These students are making more than home movies. From inner city high schools to rural elementary schools, student videomakers are working on such diverse themes as the prevention of teenage pregnancy, gay rights, the environment, and student apathy.

The Educational Video Center (EVC) in New York City is a nonprofit community organization that trains students to make video documentaries about problems in their communities.

"The purpose of the EVC is to help raise the consciousnessof these students and provide media access to youth who would otherwise not have access to the media," says Julie Feldman, EVC assistant director. 'Video gives a voice to the students' perspectives. It lets them express their views in a medium that's respected. It gives a voice to students who are often ignored.

"We're making a documentary on gay rights," says 17-year-old EVC intern Alex Block. "The prominent message of our documentary is that gay people are normal-they don't have a different lifestyle, theyjust have a different sexuality. Gay people are like anybody."

Terrence Newell, a 1 6-year-old student at PVC, is collaborating with other students on an environmental documentary. "It involves a whole lot of research," he says. "It's our tape, so we have to do everything ourselves.

"I didn't know anything about the environment except the ozone layer," he adds. "Since making the documentary I don't use aerosol cans. I'll walk or ride my bike before I ask my mom to borrow the car. I got my family into recycling. It's not much, but I feel I'm doing all I…