A recent Harvard University freshman is forced to scam for tuition money after his grandma blows her money on bingo. This program was produced as a part of CCTV's 20 Hour Production Marathon, one of the many events to celebrate CCTV's 20th anniversary.

Being an advanced SMI student and a youth trainer, I think having two positions brings a whole different level to SMI. Last week, the first week of SMI the advanced group didn’t have to have any ice breaker games since we had all known each other from last years SMI or at school. So it was straight off to business, we sat down as a group and discussed our first project. Which has been assigned to us by the SMI staff, to make a documentary on the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program. So far we have gotten an interview with a Leigh Hardy, a counselor, and George Hinds, MSYEP Coordinator. read more...

This video was produced by Alex Ayabe, Andrew Wondafresh, Jordan Brazo, Treajha Hastings, Julie Pan, William Sheffield & Joshua Washington Smith in CCTV’s School Year Production Program, Spring 2008.

I’m angry. I’m very angry.

While googling the Amigos School to try to post a link to an Aaron Sorkin play being performed in both English and Spanish, I got a link to a post by Fred Baker on the Cambridge Republican City Committee’s blog suggesting that my daughter’s school be blown up. I’m not only angry, I’m stunned. How am I supposed to react to that? Is proposing a terrorist act of such magnitude even legal? I suspect it is given the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, but I’m appalled, disgusted and even scared.

Which of our children does he think should be murdered? Which of our teachers, friends, and city employees does he think should die for his racist fantasy? read more...

Summer Media Institute (SMI) 2008 kicked off yesterday at 9:30 in CCTV's studio. Twenty-three youth from the ages of 14 to 18 began their six week journey, but who will remain? ... everyone. The day started off with introductions followed by awkward silences as new and returning faces filed into the door and into the studio for an orientation. SMI was explained by the CCTV staff working as instructors and questions were answered about what working here would be like this summer.

The instructors explained that we were going to be split into three groups for the summer (or more like two and a half): beginners, advanced, and documentarians. The placements were made by prior experience or participation in the program, or for the two documentarians Julie Pan and myself, by the amount of time we are going to miss this summer. After the groups were explained and people found the right one, they split off to go talk about what was to come project-wise this summer. read more...

Peggy Kolm of Women in Science Blog posted about the video Minority Women In Science which was produced and screened at CCTV last year as part of the Cambridge Science Festival.

Jane Smillie Hirischi lights up when she talks about CitySprouts, a program that teaches children about plants. Inspired by the decades-long phenomenon of school gardens in California, Smillie Hirischi designed and wrote grants for teaching gardens to make their appearance in Cambridge. “Cambridge has a lot of unique things, but CitySprouts is a unique program in the country,” she says. CitySprouts is a program that is integrated with the schools, and the gardens are used by teachers as outdoor classrooms.

Youth interns numbered 34 last summer and 40 this summer. The school gardens are accessible after school to the students and families. Cambridge has 5 active gardens with 2 more in development. Last summer, thirty-four 11 to 14 year old participants assumed responsibility for caring for the gardens over the summer: watering, mulching, fertilizing, and weeding. They harvested food, learned how to prepare different delicious servings, and ate the fruits of their labor. And each participant earned $100 for their efforts, an appreciable sum to an 11 year old, and to some 14 year olds as well. read more...