For my final project I had to create a memorial for the neighborhood of harlem so I chose to create one for Harlems teachers.
Marcus Garvey Park would be the location of the memorial
an example of moss graffiti
Paul Pinto
Memorial Proposal
12/12/17
Problems & Opportunities: Specify the problems or opportunities to be addressed, including existing conditions, relevant issues, and project site (if applicable). Clearly state how the project contributes to equity, belonging, and/or collective responsibility in New York City’s public sphere.
I want to construct a memorial to commemorate educators in the neighborhood of Harlem. Teachers are vital to the success of children and young adults in Harlem and across the country and they need to be appreciated more and treated better by all of us.
The Carl Schurz Memorial is located On Morningside Drive at 116th street. The monument is a bronze statue on a black granite base, there are large granite steps leading up to the statue where a figure of Schurz is standing on top of a pedestal. There are also carvings and text in the base of the pedestal. Schurz was born in 1829 and died in 1906. He was the commander of the 3rd division, l corp of the army of Virginia at the second Battle of Bull Run.
This memorial creates nostalgia partly because of when it was constructed and partly because it celebrates the commander of an army who fought in one of the most famous battles in U.S. history. The monument was built in 1913 as a collaboration between sculptor Karl Bitter and architect Henry Bacon.
This memorial is exactly what you think of when you hear the word memorial. It’s a old bronze statue in a park of a person who lived a hundred years ago. While these people may be important to american history, most memorials like this do not connect to people or issues that are occurring today.
Goals & Activities: Describe the goal of the project and how it addresses the problem or opportunity. What activities are required to attain the goal?
My memorial will commemorate teachers in Harlem and all teachers around the country. The job that teachers have is to important to the success of a young people and their community and they just aren’t recognized enough for what they do.
Outcomes: Describe the anticipated short- and long-term outcomes of the project (see the prior list of typical project outcomes as a guide). How do you see the project deliverables and the dissemination of project findings contributing to these results?
The monument will be constructed out of a living growing thing which will represent the growth and development of students. The monument will be a quote from Barack Obama “Become a teacher. Your country needs you.” This quote is simple, powerful and touches upon a major issue that schools in harlem are facing right now.
The quote will be written in moss graffiti. Moss graffiti is an all natural way of creating text and images on outdoor surfaces using moss. It’s made by blending live moss, water and buttermilk, this blend can then be brushed on to pretty much any surface and in a few weeks the moss will start to grow in the exact shape you drew.
Public space relevance: Describe the significance of the project for New York City’s public realm.
In some of new york’s poorer neighborhoods including Harlem schools are having a very hard time retaining teachers. New teachers will take jobs at these schools underestimating how much work is involved and and a lot of times they will leave to find a job somewhere else. The schools in these neighborhoods don’t have the same opportunities and funding as schools downtown do.
Timeliness: Why is your proposal timely? Why does it need to be undertaken at this moment?
The New York Times recently wrote an article where school officials said these neighborhoods are experiencing the largest teacher shortage in years. 45.7 percent of Harlem’s teachers have been teaching at there school for only two years or less. Which means a lot of teachers are leaving positions and either retiring or finding jobs elsewhere. An NYU study also found that over half of new york city’s teachers will leave their job with in their first three years.
There is a very clear problem in Harlem and New York City as a whole and I am hoping that this memorial will help to fix that problem.
Bibliography
“Harlem New York, NY.” Harlem New York, NY School Ratings & Facts | StartClass. Accessed December 12, 2017. http://education-places.startclass.com/l/38868/Harlem-New-York-NY.
Purnick, Joyce. “CITY’S POOR DISTRICTS ARE HIT HARD BY A SEVERE SHORTAGE OF TEACHERS.” The New York Times. February 28, 1984. Accessed December 12, 2017.
This source further reinforced my argument and showed that Harlem is having a major problem with retaining teachers.
Purnick, Joyce. “CITY’S POOR DISTRICTS ARE HIT HARD BY A SEVERE SHORTAGE OF TEACHERS.” The New York Times. February 28, 1984. Accessed December 13, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/29/nyregion/city-s-poor-districts-are-hit-hard-by-a-severe-shortage-of-teachers.html.
This is the article where I first learned about Harlem’s teacher shortage. It caused me to change my memorial from only respecting teachers to also encouraging people to become a teacher.
“The Research Alliance for New York City Schools.” Who Stays and Who Leaves? – Research Alliance for NYC Schools – NYU Steinhardt. Accessed December 12, 2017. https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/research_alliance/publications/ttp_synthesis.
I used this source to find data on the teacher retention rate in harlem’s schools. The study found that over half of new york city’s teachers will leave their job with in their first three years.
