Teen Thursdays at Brooklyn Historical Society

Teen Thursdays is a partnership between the New York City Department of Education and various cultural institutions throughout the city. This program will engage 7th and 8th grade students from New York City middle schools in a series of rich, experiential, afterschool sessions that are focused on American History. This blog will follow the journey of students as they visit the Brooklyn Historical Society to learn about Brooklyn's past, present and gain insights into its future. 

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Coming soon!

Thank you MS for Art and Philosophy for working us! We begin Teen Thursdays this Spring. Check back soon!

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Last words . . .

Would you recommend Teen Thursdays to other 7th and 8th graders? Why?

“I would. They would get a head start [at] history and be one step ahead.”

“Yes. I would because it is a good idea to learn about the area you live in through history.”

“I would recommend Teen Thursdays to others because you will learn things you didn’t know about history.”

“Yes. It [is] a chance to share and body judge you about it.”

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A few more words from our students . . .

Who will you bring to the Cultural Institution and what will you show them?

“I would bring my dad. I would show him the library because he loves things like this.”

“I would bring my cousin . . . so that way next year when she’s in 8th grade, she could have a head start [at learning] history.”

“I would bring my mom and my sister. I would show them the IPOF [In Pursuit of Freedom exhibition].”

“I would bring my family and show them what we were shown for the past weeks.”

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A few words from our students . . .

What did you learn from participating in Teen Thursdays?

“I learned about activist and how everyone can be an activist. Some activist are subversive. And, how they would have mock actions [Henry Ward Beecher and Mock Slave Auctions].”

“I learned about different activist and what they have done from Brooklyn.”

“I learned that there was a lot of activist outside of M.L.K.”

“I had learn new thing about the past and how it can connects to the current day.”

“I learn that many of the abolitionist were really like secretive and abolitionist is also a new word.”

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During the course of seven weeks, we learned about activists of the past in Brooklyn, and current activists throughout the United States. We wrote letters to activists of the past and present. Here are some of our letters.

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As activist, we created signs regarding injustices we see today. 

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Our #Protest Signs

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Fall 2015: Brooklyn’s Young Activist

Seventh and eighth grade students from Middle School for Art & Philosophy are examining and tracing activism in Brooklyn from the Abolitionists of the 1700s and 1800s, to today’s #BlackLivesMatter movement. Visit us over the next seven Thursdays and watch their journey.