I aim to create a learning environment that fosters critical thinking and problem-solving. As an educator, it's important for my students to become engaged members of society, strive to understand and always question information that's presented. My goal is for students to value their own ability to think creatively and encourage them to use novel ways to demonstrate their knowledge.
Mi objetivo es crear un entorno de aprendizaje que fomente el pensamiento crítico y la resolución de problemas. Como educador, es importante que mis alumnos se conviertan en miembros comprometidos de la sociedad, se esfuercen por comprender y siempre cuestionen la información que se presenta. Mi objetivo es que los estudiantes valoren su propia capacidad de pensar de manera creativa y los anime a usar formas novedosas para demostrar su conocimiento.
Center For Urban Pedagogy.
The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of design and art to increase meaningful civic engagement. CUP collaborates with designers, educators, advocates, students, and communities to make educational tools that demystify complex policy and planning issues.
In the Streets!
In 2020, protests for racial justice swept through the country and around the world. What are protestors’ rights? What responsibility do police have to support or protect these rights? How can young people protest safely?
In the winter of 2020-2021, CUP, Teaching Artist Hugo Rojas, and students from the Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice collaborated to investigate the limits, purpose, and power of protest. Students created media, surveyed community members and interviewed key stakeholders working on the issue.
The team gathered what they learned and created In the Streets! – a documentary that teaches others how to protest safely for causes that matter most to them and their communities.
Watch the documentary below.
DataFace!
What is facial recognition technology? How does the use of facial recognition technology by the police impact New Yorkers? How do we balance public safety and privacy?
During the 2019-2020 school year, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Hugo Rojas and public high school students from the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice to explore the complicated world of facial recognition technology and its impact on local communities. To investigate, students got out of the classroom to survey members of their community, interview key stakeholders working on the issue, and create art to decode, rewire, and redesign the possibilities of facial recognition technology.
The group teamed up with Designer Stephanie Winarto to create this website to teach others what they learned about the effects of facial recognition technology on New Yorkers, present and future.
Check out the DataFace website here!
The Bronx is Blossoming
Who has access to nature in the city? Who decides?
In the summer of 2018,CUP, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), partnered with Teaching Artist Hugo Rojas and public high school students from around the South Bronx to investigate these questions.
Students photographed the neighborhood, created stop-motion animations, stenciled the area with spray chalk. They conducted community surveys, interviewed key stakeholders, and used WCS’s, Visionmaker.nyc to create digital renderings of what nature in the Bronx could look like in the future.
Blunt Conversations.
In the summer of 2018, the New York State Health Department issued a report recommending the legalization of marijuana. This report came after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would ticket people caught smoking marijuana rather than arrest them. How do NYC’s changing marijuana laws impact New Yorkers? Who profits? Who loses out?
During the 2018-2019 school year, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Hugo Rojas, Designer Hrudaya Yanamandala and public high school students from the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice (LGJ) to unpack New York City’s marijuana policies and the impact on local communities. To investigate, students surveyed members of their community, interviewed stakeholders working on the issue, and used moss to create artwork that explores different sides of the debate.
Students created a booklet to teach others what they learned about how the city’s marijuana policies impact New Yorkers, now and in the future.
Reel Works Filmmaking
Reel Works provides free, intensive in-school and after-school filmmaking workshops for over 800 at-risk youth. Ours is the only youth media program in the country that matches each teen participant one-on-one with a professional filmmaker-mentor. It's a powerful combination that unlocks young talents, unleashes young voices and changes young lives. At Reel Works, we believe when students are engaged - learning becomes effortless. The process of filmmaking contains the disciplines of storytelling, literacy, critical thinking, technology, teamwork and leadership that young people need to succeed. We empower young people to transform themselves from passive consumers to active creators of media.
PS284. The Gregory Jocko Jackson School of Sports, Art, and Technology. Brownsville, Brooklyn NY
When the Bullets Fall. Collaborative Documentary Project. ReelWorks, Barringer High School and Paramount Pictures
Urban Assembly School for Media Studies
UAM is focused on bringing out the best in all students’ thinking so that they are able to achieve at high levels. UAM graduates are able to respond to the world by making choices that maximize positive outcomes for themselves and others.
Studio Art Class
UAM is focused on bringing out the best in all students’ thinking so that they are able to achieve at high levels. UAM graduates are able to respond to the world by making choices that maximize positive outcomes for themselves and others.
Studio Art Class
Spanish Art Class
