Noble Impact Gives Students A Seat At The Table To Discuss The Opportunity Gap

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by Todd Jones ([email protected]) August 4, 2015 5:36 pm 159 views 

Last year when Noble Impact hosted Startup Weekend for students, they had a whole weekend to try to solve a problem with a new business. Saturday, July 25th, the Noble Impact students only had 90 minutes to try to solve a problem in their Civic Innovation Challenge.

Forty Noble Impact students showed up for the Opportunity Gap workshop on a Saturday morning without the event being required, impressing Impact’s CEO Eric Wilson. The event was held at the historic Mosaic Templars Culture Center.

Before the students tried to solve any problems, they heard from civil rights icon Minnijean Brown Trickey and her daughter Spirit Trickey. The two also served as a member of the panel of community leaders.

Other members of the panel included Jason D. Hamilton,Executive Director of the Arkansas Commitment Program, Angela Galvis Schnuerle Consulting Attorney for the Mexican Consulate in Arkansas and James L. “Skip” Rutherford, Dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School (UACS) of Public Service.

The students’ instructions were to choose a problem statement, research the information regarding the problem and present a story which highlights the issue.

Noble Impact students divided into eight teams and presented their findings to the panel. Members of the panel would then offer a question or feedback for the students to answer.

Noble Impact VP of Product, Erica Swallow recounted:

“Some of the problems students addressed in their talks included:

  • Unequal funding between schools in impoverished and wealthy neighborhoods based on zoning laws
  • Lack of mental health resources for students within schools
  • Lack of encouragement for students who face difficult home lives

The students were working from a list of statistics compiled for the Civic Innovation Challenge.

Some of the statistics used were:

  • According to University of Pennsylvania psychologists, 1/2 of all American children will witness their parents’ divorce.
  • According to the Hudson Institute, 2/5 kids are raised without their fathers present.
  • According to the Education Consumers Consultants Network, only 25% of secondary school students are motivated to learn, 50% are fine with just getting by, and 25% don’t care.

The event seemed to be a great experience for all. Wilson talked about the importance of students thinking about tough issues.

“There is an education debate going on,” he said, “Noble wants to give them (the students) a seat at the table.”

I believe Noble Impact has done just that with the Addressing the Education Opportunity Gap through Student Voice workshop.

You can learn more about students having a voice in their education process and the impact of Noble Impact with students in the video below.