For several months, North Babylon High School seniors Alyssa Giunta and Emma Naldrett have been engrossed in learning about world issues, such as “poverty in South Africa” and “plastic ocean pollution,” respectively.
As part of North Babylon High School’s “Participation in Government” program, seniors are required to complete civic action projects, designed to increase student productivity and inspire future world leaders. Students were encouraged to research a cause that they were
passionate about and worked to raise awareness for that cause as well as preventable solutions.
“I believe that the best type of learning is hands-on,” North Babylon High School Principal Jonathan Klomp said. “We can’t learn how to play guitar by reading about it. Fundamentally, learning that is actually transformative, that leads to true knowledge and skill, is active not passive.”
Emma’s project had her turning to Instagram to gauge the community’s response to
several questions pertaining to single-use plastic pollution. She found that while 89 % of those surveyed perceived the current usage of plastic as harmful to the environment, not all agreed with the county’s ban on single-use plastics.
Moving forward, Emma encouraged individuals to support those bans, donate to organizations involved with oceanic cleanups and acknowledge the importance of recycling.
Alyssa took a similar approach when addressing how to raise awareness for her cause: “poverty in South Africa.” She turned to social media influencer Cameron Dallas, with over 21.4 million followers, to share her Instagram post: “Help Me Help Them.”
Her post sought to raise awareness of the “millions of children fighting for their lives every single day,” Alyssa said. Her solution revolved around encouraging individuals to donate to organizations such as Action Against Hunger, Concern Worldwide and Global Giving. Both seniors recognized the power of social media when researching their projects. “Nowadays, people's lives revolve around social media. We tend not to look up from our phones to see what's actually happening around us,” Emma said. “I felt that reaching an
audience by using my social platform was the most effective way to inform and start a
conversation.”
K-12 Director of Social Studies Krystle Barnett explained that the district has been working to prepare for the New York State Seal of Civic Readiness. The New York State Education Department’s Civic Readiness initiative hopes to empower students to become active and engaged civic participants by providing opportunities to learn about cultural responsiveness, equity, and social-emotional awareness.
“It aligns very much with the district’s mission and goals,” Barnett said. “We really want
to inspire our kids to take action.”
Photo caption: Pictured left to right, top North Babylon High School Principal Jonathan Klomp,
Emma Naldrett, bottom, K-12 Director of Social Studies Krystle Barnett and Alyssa Giunta.