In Miami,
Chad Bernstein is trying to help through his nonprofit, Guitars Over Guns. Since
2008, Bernstein's
organization has worked with more than 225 students in
Miami-Dade County. He says his group has seen more than a 90% increase in
academic performance and school attendance of students in the program. This relates this to his own life when Chad
was a kid. The other kids were different then him. He just wanted to fit in. He
started learning how to play guitar and felt like he fit in with everyone else.
He wants other kids to feel like they fit in too. “When I was a kid, I
had ears that stuck out the side of my head and really big green glasses. And I
was tall and lanky and definitely looked a little different than other kids. I
think part of the thing that really stuck with me was this feeling of wanting
to belong to something, because I just didn't feel like I fit in with the other
kids. When I started playing music it really gave me a sense of identity,
something that I belonged to, something that I was good at, something that
people would watch me do and say, "Oh wow, that's really cool or he's
really good at that." I think in that way music really gave me an anchor
in my social experience.”-Chad
Chad has helped so many people and
helped them live a better life. Not many people have the courage to get up and
do this. It takes a lot of work. It's
the time of their life to reach them not only musically, but also as young
individuals that are starting to form opinions about who they are and what
their world is going to look like. He know music has changed his life in a
really dramatic way. His hopes for the children that he works with are
that their vision of the world and their vision of themselves is changed in
some way, that they hold themselves to more than other people might, and that
they realize there's a whole world out there that they could very much be a
part of that isn't necessarily the one right outside their doorstep.
-Kayleigh Smerud Period 1
I think it's great that there is an alternative to guns that looks more appealing to young kids! It looks like it will, but I hope it really makes a difference in the safety of the students!
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome that his organization is helping students be more confident and try to make a positive impact on themselves and others.
ReplyDeleteErin McElhone (3rd Period)
ReplyDeleteI love that this is something positive, so many thing that are going on today are violent and/or negative. It is nice to see that someone is looking out for the teenagers out there, because they are the next world leaders.
This was very uplifting to read! Chad is certainly making a difference in the next generation of kids. It's amazing to see people like him work so hard to educate and motivate kids so they can feel confident with themselves.
ReplyDelete