
This
past
summer,
Alessia
Matory,
ninth
grader
at
Woodbridge
High
School,
and
Zoe
Mendis,
ninth-grade
student
at
Forest
Park
High
School,
worked
with
Jenna
Conner-Harris,
their
former
gifted
education
teacher
at
Lake
Ridge
Middle
School,
on
a
project
with
National
Public
Radio
(NPR).
Conner-Harris
proposed
the
project
to
Matory
and
Mendis
after
the
students'
many
requests
to
remain
challenged
over
the
summer
break.
The
girls
worked
diligently
reading,
researching,
and
practicing
journalism
skills
to
prepare
for
an
author
interview
they
had
been
invited
to
conduct
with
NPR
reporter
and
editor,
Malaka
Gharib.
NPR
was
looking
for
"two
savvy
students
in
middle
school"
willing
to
read
a
new
book
on
a
short
deadline.
Matory
and
Mendis
then
interviewed
Charles
Kenny,
author
of
a
new
book
targeted
to
12-15
year
olds,
or
'Gen
Zers,'
as
the
article
calls
them.
"I
am
so
utterly
proud
of
them,"
said
Conner-Harris.
"Digging
deeply
into
a
fully
optional
assignment
within
days
of
school
being
out,
conquering
a
210-page
book,
writing
and
refining
and
cutting
down
questions,
working
with
a
professional
organization
like
NPR,
and
following
it
through
with
their
interview.
They
have
been
working
closely
with
me,
doing
a
crash
course
on
how
to
read,
write,
dress,
and
present
themselves
in
a
professional
manner."
Kenny
is
director
of
technology
and
development
and
a
senior
fellow
at
the
Center
for
Global
Development.
In
his
book,
"Your
World,
Better:
Global
Progress
and
What
You
Can
Do
About
it,"
Kenny
suggests
that,
with
the
exception
of
the
environment,
society
is
on
a
positive
trajectory,
moving
forward
and
evolving
for
the
better.
And
while
Gharib
had
final
editorial
rights
to
the
article,
she
indicated
that
the
students
wrote
and
asked
Kenny
tough,
challenging
questions
from
differing
points
of
view
and
research
perspectives,
leaving
very
little
left
for
her
to
do
except
write
the
article's
introduction
and
conclusion.
The
resulting
NPR
article,
"Two
14
year
olds
grill
an
author
about
the
future
of
humanity,"
demonstrates
the
passion
and
thoughtful
maturity
Matory
and
Mendis
put
into
their
project.
They
did
not
shy
away
from
direct
inquiry.
Their
questions
show
true
commitment
to
considering
author
motive
as
they
looked
at
how
topics
raised
in
the
book
may
impact
the
future
of
society
and
our
world.
For
example,
they
asked
Kenny
whether
he
sees
their
generation
as
too
sensitive
on
social
justice
issues,
and
if
he
thinks
people
are
"hardwired
to
assume
the
worst
when
it
comes
to
grand
social
issues."
Ultimately,
Kenny
demonstrates
that
it
is
students
like
his
interviewers
who
give
him
hope
for
the
future.
By
turning
the
tables
and
asking
them
what
issues
they
think
will
be
important
20
years
from
now,
he
points
to
Mendis'
reply
as
she
speculates
that,
in
the
future,
education,
and
history
in
particular,
will
likely
be
taught
from
a
variety
of
viewpoints,
rather
than
only
that
of
the
victor.