My partner, Brittany Allison, and I are still very excited about getting this program started for the local New Orleans schools. Again, we are trying to get the newspaper back into the school’s curriculum. Although, we have not actually visited the schools, we have come in contact with some very important people that would help us to get it off the ground. We have decided to get help from a local youth group and youth group minister so that we are able to relate to students from all over the city not just one particular school.
We have decided to implement this program through the youth ministry sessions held at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church. These youth group meetings are held every Wednesday night and the ages range from middle school children to high school students. Instead of visiting every single local school in New Orleans, we decided that this would probably be a better idea. This way, we not only get kids form one school, but from all over the city. Each student could then take back what they learned at the meeting about what is going on in the world and relay the message to their fellow students at their school. The word about this great project would then spread across the city, and maybe even across the state. I believe all teachers find it very disturbing when a child doesn’t even know what’s going on in the world, let alone the country they live in. Reading the newspaper is a great start to “freshen up” these kids’ minds.
We have spoken to the youth minister at St. Peter Claver Catholic church and he loved our idea and he thinks it would really be rewarding to the kids to know something about what’s going on in the world. Also, being a youth minister, he was excited to know that including a discussion about a particular newspaper article, could allow him to relate the article to a biblical story. Brittany and I decided that we would try and find newspaper clippings pertaining to the discussion of the night for the youth group. Or we even thought of the idea of letting them find the newspaper clippings and to tell us how the discussion topic is related to it. They would be split up into groups and after discussing for about 30-45 minutes, each group would give a short presentation on what article they found and how it related to the topic at hand. Hopefully, we will be starting this program very soon, but I do believe it will be a success. I really love the idea because it has the potential to be an ongoing program, not just a temporary program. With the help of the youth minister at St. Peter Claver, and fellow church members that help out with the youth group, this program can be nothing but successful. Also, because the youth group meetings are held at the church of St. Peter Claver, announcement can then be made every Sunday to remind the parents of these students the importance of knowing and understanding political and worldly issues. With the help of the parents, this program could be even more successful. They would then not only receive information from the youth group meetings, but at home. Maybe the parents could even incorporate a time where the student could watch the news so they would be more informative of issues pertaining to the world. Discussions at home about world news can really be beneficial to the child.
In the future, I plan on working in the medical field, particularly as a physician. I enjoy helping others and I plan on fulfilling that enjoyment for the rest of my life. What better way to help others than to enter the medical field? Although, there are many careers involving helping others, I enjoy medicine and I find it to be very stimulating. Although this class is a requirement for Xavier University, I plan to get much more than three credits from this course. I believe this course will help me get a better understanding as to what my role as a human being is and how to fulfill that role. I believe this course will also help me to become a better person and build up a strong and spiritual personality. This type of personality is what is needed in the medical field today. To be a doctor, one must be extra sensitive to one’s needs and have the ability to treat every single patient with the utmost respect and like it was their only patient. This course will teach me not only about the bible and what it is made up of, but how to relate the stories of the bible to everyday life experiences. Some of the stories in the bible are extremely harsh, but one must look between the lines of the stories and see the true message for God. Already, this course has allowed me to ask questions about why things are the way they are and how to change certain things about myself. The stories of the bible are very informative and helpful in everyday life situations. Becoming a better person now will allow me to be successful doctor in the future. This class also gives a reality check to the students of how it really is in the world today. Some people are unaware of how bad some things are in the world today and this class raises questions to understand why things might be in a bad manner. Being a good physician in the future will not only entitle me to be educated but to be a well-rounded individual; this means being a honest and loyal human being. Besides my professional living, I want to be happy and being happy means leading a good life and having a good spirit. I would like to raise a nice family, and passing down things I have learned to my children in past years would be beneficial. I plan to pass on things I have learned in this class, such as some of the bible stories. Personally, I really enjoy this class because this is first time I have heard some of these stories and relating the moral teachings to my life has made me really open my eyes. I hope to always have a good spirit because then I will not only be a successful physician, but a happy one.

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