The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has seen a huge boom in population over the last 10 years, gaining over a million new residents and widening the wealth gap in the area significantly. This has been cause by several factors but predominantly by a long history of unbalanced public school funding that leaves many youth at a greater disadvantage . One non-profit is aiming to change that by allowing young minds to creatively learn in environments where opportunities are scarce, and children aren’t given all the tools they need to succeed. This organization is appropriately named Big Thought, and they are helping the children in Dallas thrive and live their dreams.
Big Thought knows the problem in Dallas is directly related to the opportunity gap many children face early in their lives. Many children are simply denied the opportunity participate in learning. According to Kevin Welner a Professor at the University of Colorado “Children learn when they have opportunities to learn. When denied those opportunities, they fall behind, and we get the devastating achievement gaps. But when they are provided with rich opportunities to learn, they thrive, and the achievement gaps close .” This problem starts as soon as the child is born and by the age of six many underprivileged children are at a six-thousand-hour learning disadvantage, by simply missing important parts of life such as pre-school, family reading time, or summer camp . So, by bringing the community and specialized learning partners together, Big Thought makes sure these communities without the resources are armed with the tools to help the kids in our marginalized communities succeed.
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While other organizations have been successfully tackling community issues around the opportunity gap what truly makes Big Thought different is their use of imagination and the belief that imagination isn’t an extra, it’s an integral part of learning and discovery for young minds. In fact, their whole mission is to “make imagination apart of everyday learning .” The Director of Program Design, Alli Lee states that “in order to really help these kids creativity is key! Finding new and innovative ways to express old foundational ideas helps to not only ensure understanding, but aids in a more connected learning experience and finds more diverse solutions to the problems this community faces .” This is what truly sets them apart from other organizations such as Education Opens Doors, a college prep program that gives middle school teacher’s a life map for college they can bring into their classrooms and supplement their lesson plans. Instead of just changing a child’s life inside the classroom, Big Though is truly doing more by engaging the whole child and making sure they are meeting the essential emotional and mental needs of the child. They accomplish this through a variety of programs all matched with highly skilled Learning Partners. These programs include: Participating in activism, Library-Out-Loud, Thriving Minds after school program, Summer and day camps, Open mic, and many other creative outlets all with the goal to close the opportunity gap with the true power of learning through imagination.
According to Ms. Lee one of the biggest issues the organization faces is society believing the American Dream is a reality for all, when in fact with all the obstacles many Americans face that dream just isn’t a reality. “We are here to break down the obstacles by shortening the opportunity gap, but we need the outside community to get behind us and work with us to make sure the gap not only shortens but to actively try to erase it .”
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Essay on Opportunity Gap.
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