By Annie Makela, Director of the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship
Last spring, during the culminating celebration of two groups’ our Reach Beyond Week learning, I sat down in the WeWork collaborative space to hear a 5-minute pitch from two then 6th grade boys, Jude and Kyle. “We walked for almost an hour and half one day [in San Jose] and never saw a park or playground.” The two went on to explain that, in their vision of the “Future of San Jose,” there would be access to public play spaces like basketball courts and soccer fields for anyone to use. “We think everyone would be healthier and happier* if they could just go outside and easily play a game of pick-up.” On a post-it I scribbled, SPORTS = UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE? and glued this to the front of my notebook. Little did they know, these two had inspired what would become a future Reach Beyond Block focused on using sports as a tool for social impact.
This fall, alongside collaborators Mark Silver, Head of Middle School Christina Pak and Director of Athletics Scott Sweeney, we launched two six-week cycles of a Reach Beyond Block we called “Soccer Beyond Borders,” inspired by a great organization using soccer as a tool for social change. We each brought a unique lens and background to this class. As we began to hit our stride, we settled on three guiding questions for the block: What role does athletics play in your life? How has the history of sports shaped communities? Is soccer a universal language?
Instead of sharing my own stories from the experience, I decided to invite a few students into the Hillbrook Podcast Studio to share their reflections and ideas. Listen to the podcast episode here** featuring three of this year’s “Reach Beyond Block: Soccer Beyond Borders” students, Kaelen, Dhyana and Jude.
I imagine their thoughts and ideas might inspire your next movie night, push you to visit San Jose State University, or remind you of some exciting and impactful moments in the history of sports.
Resources:
Want to know more about organizations focused on using sports as a tool for social change?
*The Aspen Institute reports that “just one-quarter of children are active at a healthy level, defined as 151+ sports activities per year.”
***https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hillbrook-center-for-teaching-excellence/id991446073?mt=2