LITTLE VILLAGE — Chicago Public Schools students, StoryCorps has homework for you over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The assignment is voluntary, but could be fascinating: the national project wants students to interview their relatives to become part of an oral history project, "Thanksgiving Listen," that seeks to gather 65,000 interviews nationwide.
“It will be the largest collection of human voices ever gathered, and I have to say, we’ve been moving very quickly. We’re really excited to be working with CPS and Chicago is where it’s gonna start,” StoryCorps president and founder, Dave Isay, said.
The program was announced Thursday at World Language High School at 3120 S. Kostner Ave. in Little Village, and administrators are offering it to every single traditional and charter school in the district.
LISTEN: CPS teacher Alex Fernandez interviews student Noe Rueda for a StoryCorps interview.
CPS will provide history and social studies teachers with the StoryCorps curriculum and they can choose to opt in. Teachers would introduce the lesson to the classroom, encourage their students to download the StoryCorps app on their phone and then send them to tape family members over the next two weeks. With the tap of a button, students will be able to upload their audio to the Library of Congress.
“As a former history teacher, I’m really excited about exposing students to oral history, and especially helping them learn more about their families,” said Janice Jackson, the Chief Education Officer for CPS. “There’s nothing more powerful than being able to tell your own story.”
They launched the initiative at World Language Academy because for the past three years the school has carried the StoryCorps University Program, which airs student-produced stories every Friday on WBEZ. Therefore, students there are already familiar with the storytelling process.
Students whose first language is not English are welcome to conduct their interview in Spanish, Polish, or whichever language their family speaks.
“We would actually encourage that. We know that we’re a multicultural country so we want people to represent themselves however they feel comfortable,” Jackson said.
Alex Fernandez is the social science teacher who is implementing the program at World Language. He has interviewed students for StoryCorps, including Noe Rueda, who tells of helping his mom make ends meet in Little Village.
In class, Fernandez organizes a series of activities that teach students to trust each other. The classroom also develops a contract, so to speak, setting guidelines that create a “safe space” for students to speak up honestly.
Fernandez said their conversations touch on three themes.
“Where have you been, where are you now, and where are you going,” he said. “When you listen to the media and you learn about Latinos and African-American males, the stuff that’s out there is tough. So when they get here they get to pick their stories. I love the fact that they get to control the story versus what’s popular for the news cycle.”
Among minority youth, most web-surfing is done through their phones, Fernandez said. With the new app, students won’t have to travel to a StoryCorps booth with a trained facilitator, as participants typically do. With a smartphone, interviews can be conducted instantly in intimate settings, making for truly authentic conversations.
“The kids want to do it. It’s just, will their parents do it?” Fernandez said. He’s offering extra credit as an incentive for the students and the parents.
Tania Modesto, a junior in Fernandez’ class, wants to interview her father.
“I have so many questions to ask my dad about his childhood. He had to work since age 10 because his father was an alcoholic and he had to help my grandma with his little brothers. I want to ask how did he do it,” she said.
But she faces some of the issues Fernandez mentioned about working-class households. Modesto’s father is a full-time cook in a Downtown hotel and she barely sees him.
“It’s hard because it’s not a silly question to ask, it’s emotional. And I only see my dad in the mornings when he drops me off at school. Saturdays he’s usually busy. Sundays he’s resting, and I don’t want to bother him because he works a lot,” she said.
She’s going to try anyway.
Isay said everybody’s story matters.
“We live in this celebrity-soaked nonsense, B.S. culture, and this really shakes you on the shoulder and reminds you what’s important and who’s important,” he said. “Because being listened to reminds people that their lives matter and they won’t be forgotten.”
All of the StoryCorps stories from Chicago can be found online.
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