M I Z Z O U
N a t i o n a l
H o n o r S o c i e t y
EDUCATION FOR ALL
Mahree Lewis Mariana Lira & Camila Sastre
Catarina Silva e Meirelles, Eduarda Moreira Cordeiro Gomes, & Lucca Castellani Nahaïssi
& Luiza Lambert
EDUCATION INCLUSIVITY WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY
MAHREE LEWIS
DISABILITY INCLUSIVITY & EDUCATION
Helping individuals with disabilities to find productivity in community living!
***ALL NAMES AND FACES IN THIS ARTICLE HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO COMPLY WITH HIPAA GUIDELINES***
In America, over 6.5 million individuals live with an intellectual disability These individuals may struggle with feeling connected to a community and have difficulties making long-lasting connections and relationships With this In mind, I decided I would like to aid in integrating community building for people with IDs (intellectual disabilities).
For the past 3 years, I have been working with K K Is an Individual In my community that lives with an ID For this project, I specifically discussed with K’s family to come up with a plan to further her education on supported community living and fostering positive relationships within the community. Our main goal for K during this project was to educate her on safety and boundaries with community members For this, we spent a lot of time discussing and “roleplaying” community interactions Focusing on things like stranger danger, appropriate conversing, and setting boundaries with others. Of this project, this portion was the absolute most Important because It set the tone for how this project was going to go
“EDUCATING AND GUIDING K ON CONNECTING WITH OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY AND PRACTICING SAFETY IS SO IMPORTANT I HOPE THAT THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE LASTING IMPACTS ON HER THIS ISNT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE OVERNIGHT, BUT I DO THINK THAT AT LEAST MAKING AN IMPRESSION ON HER EDUCATION HAS HUGE BENEFITS"
-Mahree Lewis
APPROPRIATE CONVERSATIONS BOUNDARIES AND SAFETY
Educating K on appropriate conversations with community members was no easy task I collaborated with her social worker to understand her personal goals for K and devise a plan to tackle these goals
The most effective method we used was role-playing. I provided education on what an appropriate conversation looks like, and then we would engage in a role-play scenario I would pretend to be a community member, while K would be herself We would practice having appropriate conversations and then discuss what we learned This tactic proved to be highly effective, as K made significant progress towards her goals. It allowed her to practice what she was learning before bringing her new skills to a public setting
After practicing the conversation, we would go to a public space so K could apply what she had learned!
Conversations with K’s family and social worker showed that safety was the most important skill I would teach K Providing education on how to protect yourself In a public setting Is one of the most highstakes tasks I took on during this project Knowing this was the most important goal, we spent the most time working on it.
For this, we mostly focused on ‘stranger danger’ Because K is very trustworthy by nature, this unfortunately makes her an easy target for those with negative Intentions We spent a lot of time discussing what to do and say if she is approached by a stranger and what not to do and say. We worked on this goal for a long time, as I wanted to be sure the education and guidance were leaving an Impact It may have felt like chatting with a friend about a make-believe scenario with K However, to her family and social worker, educating K on stranger danger was crucial to her success long term
Individuals with Intellectual disabilities deserve to feel connected to a community Often, this can be difficult to accomplish I am eternally grateful for the Impact this project has made. In the future, I plan to continue my work with K and keep pushing her towards her goals This project has allowed me ample opportunity for change in my own direct community, and that is the greatest reward of them all!
I hope this project inspires more people to find ways to Include others and understand that Individuals living with IDs are capable of great things. Having the privilege of being a part of K’s education has given me a new perspective, and I hope It gives you one, too!
Thank you to K’s parents and social worker, but most of all, thank you to K for being such a hard worker while we strive for inclusivity within our community!
A sub-goal of the safety category was crossing the street K often forgets to look both ways before crossing the street, which can be very dangerous, depending on the situation To tackle this, we began by discussing how to cross the street I would repeatedly ask K, “What do we do before we cross?” and she would reply with her answer. Eventually, I wanted her to be able to look instinctively without being prompted. I made small flash cards to take with us on walks that prompted her With time, we were able to move away from having any prompt at all!
A solid education on safety practices Is critical to being successful In your community. I am so proud of K and her ability to absorb the education and apply It to her life
K and I at a community event practicing what she learned!
IT’S RAESHI !
RAESHI Education
BREAKING BARRIERS OF ROBOTICS EDUCATION
Mariana Lira & Camila
Sastre
The name of the kit is RAESHI (Raspberry Pi Electrical Shield) and it is composed of electronical sensors and motors, sustainable wooden pieces for building, and a least expensive programming board called Raspberry Pi. Priced at approximately R$ 600 ($120), our kits are designed with social entrepreneurship in mind, which means that the money we win from kit sales will be reinvested into providing free training courses for teachers in these institutions, empowering them with the necessary technological skills to enhance student learning experiences.
This initiative focuses primarily on young individuals aged 7 to 15, offering varying levels of difficulty to accommodate different skill levels For beginners in the field, the kits are a basic set of components, as students progress and acquire foundational skills, the more advanced kits can be acquired
Millions of Brazilians are deprived of access to technology. 46 million individuals lack this essential resource, with approximately 99% of public school’s technology labs out of basic equipments Most of the times, this occurs because the cost of robotic kits is extremely high (LEGO for example) and not everyone can afford it
Having known that, it is unfair that while some people have the opportunity to discover the future of technology, some children don’t even know how to use a computer. Therefore, Mariana and Camila from Colegio Dante Alighieri proposed the creation of a low-cost robotics kit to enable all kinds of people to have at least a basic introduction to the world of technology and logical thinking
In previous years, the kit was presented at IBMEC (brazilian institute of capital markets), and this year on March, it was presented and tested with students from 11 to 14 years during the robotics’ classes at Colegio Dante Alighieri. The comments about it were incredibly good! The children found our kit to be engaging, inspiring, and easy It sparked their curiosity and ignited their imaginations as they embarked on the exciting journey of building and programming their own robots
“VERY GOOD IDEA, IT'S CHALLENGING BUT IT MAKES US THINK AND DEVELOP VARIOUS SKILLS WE LIKE THAT THERE ISN'T A STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTION, SO YOU CAN ASSEMBLE IT IN DIFFERENT ORDERS AND BE CREATIVE "
-Luiz and Tomas, two students that tested RAESHI in robotics’ class.
ItisintendedthatthenextschooltotestRAESHIwill be the group “Escola Aberta de São Paulo”, and after that, the project will be patented and distributed throughout the state and hopefully the country to break allthebarriersofroboticseducation
As for the long-term future of RAESHI, we can just hope that the girls are able to reach students not only nationally but internationally, starting right now here at Mizzou National Honor Society. Mariana and Camila grew up near robotics, so RAESHI is more than just a project: it is an identity. After all, the idea is not just mitigatingthedigitalgapineducationbutaboutensuring that every individual can feel embraced by the power of technology,justastheydid
RAESHI was also presented at the Latin America “Future” Olympiad (known as Sapientia), where the girls were able to present their project to a diverse group of people from many states and even countries The bonds and networks made on the olympiad were unforgettable, and all the advice they recieved from other groups or judges are now being implemented to the prototype
“IT WAS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO COME THIS FAR WITH A PROJECT THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME USING TECHNOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE TO IMPACT THE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS IN MY COMMUNITY, COUNTRY, AND WORLD, IS SOMETHING I ALWAYS WANTED TO DO I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR EVERYONE THAT HELPED THIS PROJECT TO GROW AND FOR MIZZOU NHS-2024 COMMUNITY THAT ALLOWED ME TO SHARE THIS IDEA WITH MORE PEOPLE”
-Mariana Lira, creator of RAESHI
OUR YOUTH FOR THE CLIMATE CURRICULUM
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION BY THE YOUNG, FOR THE YOUNG
ISABELA ABBUD SILVA
EVEN THOUGH I’M PRIVILEGED AND STUDY IN A SCHOOL WITH GREAT CLIMATE EDUCATION, THAT’S NOT THE CASE OF MOST SÃO PAULO STUDENTS. ACCORDING TO AN ARTICLE BY UNIFESP, THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO, THE LACK OF INVESTMENTS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BRAZIL CREATES A GAP IN THE CURRICULUM GIVEN TO STUDENTS, LACKING BASIC CONTENT SUCH AS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION SO, THE BRAZILIAN YOUTH DOESN’T RECEIVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO TAKE PART IN CLIMATE ACTION, A SUBJECT THAT’S DIRECTLY AFFECTING THEIR LIVES WHILE TALKING TO A FRIEND OF MINE ABOUT WHICH ACTIONS I WAS TAKING, AS AN INDIVIDUAL, TO CONTRIBUTE TO THAT ACTION, SHE ASKED ME “WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE? I ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT IT, BUT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT MEANS” THIS MADE ME REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THAT EDUCATION IS, AND HOW LITTLE IS BEING DONE BY THE GOVERNMENT ABOUT IT AND, IF NOBODY’S PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE, IS UP TO US TO DO WHAT WE CAN AND TRY TO MITIGATE IT EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD, I WAS ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE MY PARENTS, AS JOURNALISTS, KEPT ME INFORMED ON THE SUBJECT, AND TAUGHT ME WHAT COULD BE DONE TO MITIGATE IT. WHEN I WAS IN SIXTH GRADE, I GAVE AN INTERVIEW ABOUT “HOW I HELPED REDUCE PLASTIC CUPS’ USE IN MY GYMNASTICS CLUB” BUT, AFTER TAKING AN ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY CLASS AS A FRESHMAN, WITH AN INCREDIBLY INFORMED TEACHER, I FINALLY REALIZED THAT THIS SUBJECT, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, IS WHAT MOVES ME
Since then, I started to come up with ideas to inform my community of the things I’ve learned, since they weren’t able to take the classes I did I wanted to have the influence that teacher had on me, on other people. So, I joined a global organization called “Our Youth For The Climate”, and helped create an international environmental curriculum, made by the young and for the young. Therefore, my proposal is to translate that curriculum and to present it to public schools’ headmasters, and people who work in the Educational Department in the Government, in order to implement it in those schools and create actual change I’d volunteer to present it to them, and later on to the teachers assigned to give the lessons, and answer any questions they might have, as well as present myself as available to help them throughout the entire process; as a “curriculum expert”, it would be a pleasure to talk to interested people and help them take part in this action and spread information for their students There are no drawbacks; only benefits So, I’m positive that Brazilian education will improve with this action, it’s only necessary to get influential people into it
A quote from our founder and executive director:
“I started this movement because I believed in the power of our youth’s voices and knew the impact we could have Systemic change needs to happen, and we are taking the necessary steps.”
These are some of the topics we discuss in our curriculum:
AN EXAMPLE OF A SLIDE MADE TO BE PRESENTED IN THE CURRICULUM, REGARDING CLIMATE
Project Consciencias
Catarina Silva e Meirelles, Eduarda Moreira
Cordeiro Gomes, and Lucca Castellani Nahaïssi
THE ISSUE:
The issue we've identified is the disparity of access and quality of education within the community. While some have great access to quality education, others struggle to grasp educational basics due to this reality. This matter affects many people, especially those who lack the financial means to afford private education That is because the public education system may periodically fail to provide infrastructure and materials to its schools, which impacts the service they provide As a consequence, the children and teenagers involved face inequality and difficulty in entering universities and the workforce itself Evidently, their whole lives are affected by this, since their professional opportunities face a decrease on account of their reduced access to education. It is important to remember that this problem is far from unrecognized, since the media has effectively promoted awareness for this issue across the globe. This means that the main challenge to its resolution isn’t its anonymity, but the lack of individual initiative and participation from each community's members As expected, projects from non-governmental and nonprofit organizations exist, but with little community outreach or support
EXPANDING ACCESS TO SUBJECTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR STUDENTS, BY STUDENTS.
E D U C A T I O N F O R A L L
OUR MOTIVATION:
We are passionate about this project due to our gratefulness towards our own educational access We wish to use our privileged experience to give back to the community The knowledge we have acquired through school subjects and extracurricular activities will be passed on by ourselves and other volunteers to students in public schools, which is our way of availing the resources we’ve had access to. We have established that the reduced access to quality education on regular subjects isn’t the only area we can work on improving, we can also work on developing other areas and skills that aren’t normally addressed by the schools We are motivated by that idea because we believe that the theoretical knowledge given by basic education and the skills we are planning on teaching are important and can lead to development. Education is the foundation of evolution and we look forward to fostering it in our community and possibly others!
As for our mascot, “Geraldo” was created to form a visual and affective appeal to the program as well, with owls usually being associated with knowledge in our culture, and the hat and tie contributing to the academic motif The fact that Geraldo lives in a forest and is usually depicted standing on a branch of the knowledge tree also acts as a parallel to our logo, making our branding cohesive and visually appealing
Project Logo, the lamp symbolizes knowledge, while the leaves intertwined with it represent how, just like a tree has branches and spreads out organically, “Consciencias” will grow and spread education through our volunteering program.
OUR PROPOSAL:
Given the problems related to education in Brazil and the world, our group's idea is to carry out and reinvent an old project in which we participated called Consciencias, created in 2021 However, as we participated in it last year, we observed many areas for improvement and expansion, as it was only aimed at volunteers from our school to help our city. Even so, we were amazed by its functioning: students from our school would prepare a class to teach at a public school in Barueri, that is indicated by the Department of Education of the city of Barueri. Based on our passion and contribution, the former leader decided to focus on other projects and nominated us to lead this project So we reformulated it entirely, without changing this basic structure. We used this concept to create a “teaching franchise”, where any students from all over Brazil can use our class model to teach any concept they know, including first aid classes, firefighting training classes and study techniques, as it has a great part of the students’ growth.
Based on this concept, we will start by maintaining the partnership with Barueri and do the same with the departments of education of Santana de Parnaiba, Osasco and even the state of São Paulo. We are optimistic about taking this project throughout Brazil, which is why we created a website where video lessons and instructions for implementing this model can be posted anywhere, as well as an Instagram for promotion of our project.
Having this structure in mind, the main benefits would be to reach any student in Brazil with all sorts of subjects, from literacy classes to methods for saving lives We are now waiting for approval from the Barueri education department and the future approval of the next departments As per our expansion plan, we will soon delegate some functions, but, as of now: Catarina is taking care of the website and social media posts; Lucca Castellani and Eduarda Cordeiro are working on Economics and Chemistry lessons
For students, bystudents!
Volunteering poster: created to gather more volunteers to help increase the range of the project, this was also used to set a standard for slides and templates that participants use, helping to build a solid visual identity
Digital Education for All A PROJECT THAT MEANS TO DEMOCRATIZE THE DIGITAL EDUCATION
Eduarda Bacellar Loureiro
Lambert Perez
THE ISSUE: OUR MOTIVATION:
Nowadays the internet is used by the whole world, with people accessing it continuously. The internet was an incredible invention that changed the world and human communication in many ways, for instance, people can do research without having to go to a library But even then, many don’t know how to be safe online and can become vulnerable to viruses and hackers, causing many kinds of dangers, such as robbing of personal information. For example, someone might be hacked when opening emails, such as spam. That is why it is important to know not to open an email without seeing who the sender is; this information for safety on the internet is important to know, and many aren’t aware of these easy tips to follow, and protect oneself. This topic is an important issue that needs to be solved, and a way of helping people protect themselves while on the internet is through education.
We decided on this topic because we want to help teenagers and children understand how the internet works and how they can protect themselves from viruses for example, especially in a world where the internet is very important and everyday becoming more relevant to the world. Furthermore, when we were younger we had a teacher who taught us how to dive safely on the internet, so she inspired us to do the same with the new generation. Furthermore, we wanted to democratize this knowledge even for those who are not so adept at technology After all, everyone has the right to be safe on the internet. Thus, we decided to unite the purpose of education with a topic that often does not have the space it should, especially because, during the project, we observed many gaps regarding the subject, so that digital security never suffers any future blows and more people learn about it.
Maria
Luiza
OUR PROPOSAL:
Our proposal took place around education in our community. As we were aware of the lack of dialogue on the topic, we decided to intervene and teach digital security classes to 7 Mizzou Global Scholars and 2 high school freshman classes. During our classes, we realized that most students had no idea about even the basics of digital security, so we started from there. Knowing all the dangers of online life, we gave several tips to teach and continue with our purpose of not letting anyone fall for a scam on the internet and lose their time, money, or even their online identity At the end of our classes, we did a Kahoot to test the students' knowledge and if they understood the presentation and we realized that they learned a lot and that now, with this new knowledge, they will not fall for digital scams, and will be able to use the internet safely.
The Kahoot score of a student In our digital security class
STEM GO GIRLS
THE GIRL FROM “RAESHI EDUCATION” PROJECT HAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT!
She just started a new instagram account to provide educational equality for women! Inspired by the NHS theme this year, She will start posting about educational opportunities and courses in the areas of STEM for girl from all around the world to see. This is one of the many possible pathways for society to stop stereotyping STEM Careers and for the girls in stem to rise surrounded by help and support to succeed in the field
LET’S HELP THE PROJECT! GO FOLLOW @STEMGOGIRLS AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE INITIATIVES
Mariana Junqueira Lira