Summer in the City Week 3

Students displayed genuine development in their social skills, confidence, and executive functioning during the final week of Summer in the City session 2!

On Monday, students visited the Museum of Natural History and explored three floors of exhibits dating back to the earliest of times. Walking around the museum helped the students continue to build relationships with each other. The lesson of the day focused around leadership, what qualities and characteristics it takes to become one, and how students can incorporate these traits in their everyday lives.

Students visited the Museum of the City of New York on Tuesday where they learned about the history, diversity, and transformation of the city. Afterwards, the day’s lesson focused on budgeting, and highlighted the costs of independent living.  Students discussed the different costs and savings one has to balance on a set income and outlined how to manage spending during daily life. 

Wednesday was an emotional trip as we explored the National September 11 Memorial Museum. This activity showcased the implications of the events of 9/11, exhibited the documented impact of the events, and highlighted the significance of this day in history. At the office, self-advocacy was the lesson topic for the day, and students discussed the concept and principles behind it, as well as created their own goals to encourage their own self-advocacy development.

Students had a blast at the Museum of the Moving image on Thursday, where they had the opportunity to explore various movie and video game artifacts. This interactive experience kept students interested to learn more of the process of making movies and video games. For the lesson, we read the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. Afterwards, each student shared their interpretation of the story and discussed the themes.

On Friday, students took to The Whitney Museum of American Art. Through the Jeff Koons exhibition, students were able to embrace and critique the work of a controversial and popular contemporary artist.  Students observed how an artist could test the boundaries of traditional art by utilizing ready-made objects and industrial goods. Students also saw how an artist could be raised to the status of celebrity and become so immersed in the global market, redefining and expanding the meaning of an 'artist'. After going out to lunch as a group, students took time to share some of the valuable lessons and experiences they learned in Summer in the City. Each student identified growth within themselves during their time here, and discussed how other students helped make his or her own experience better.  This was great as it highlighted the growth of each student during the session and the amazing relationships that were made.

We are looking forward to session 3 starting soon – stay tuned!