Scholar  of  Change  –  Benjamin  Isaac   Scholar  of  Change  –    Benjamin  Isaac   Program  Transcript     BENJAMIN  ISAAC:  My  name  is  Benjamin  Isaac  and  I'm currently  a  Walden   University  student  pursuing  a  doctorate  degree  in  the  field  of  special  education.   Research  shows  that  students  with  special  learning  needs  who  feel  good  about   themselves  perform  better  academically  than  those  with  low  self-­concept.  A   Google  search  for  the  definition  of  the  word  special  reveals  an  adjective  that   means  better,  greater,  or  otherwise  different  from  what  is  usual.  But  far  too  often,   students  deemed  special  are  made  to  feel  like  they  are  inadequate,  subpar,  and   unintelligent.  That's why  I  am  attempting  to  effect  social  change  with  the  help  of  a   few  very  special  friends  of  mine.  I'd  like  to  introduce  you  to  Skeeter  Buzz,  and   Gigi.   SKEETER:  Hi.     BUZZ:  Hi.     GIGI: Hello.   BENJAMIN  ISAAC:  These  three  characters  were  initially  created  for  an   educational  children's cartoon  that  features  live  child  actors  mixed  with  3D   animation.  As  the  characters  began  to  develop,  however,  I  had  an  epiphany.  I   wondered  what  would  happen  if  I  gave  all  three  characters  special  needs.  And   what  if  these  special  needs  were  depicted  as  merely  mental  and  physical   conditions  and  not  definitive  characteristics  of  who  these  characters  were.  As  a   result,  Skeeter  was  developed  as  a  character  with  autism.  Buzz,  the  rapping  fly,   was  further  developed  as  a  character  with  attention  deficit  hyperactivity  disorder,   or  ADHD.  And  Gigi  was  modeled  after  my own  daughter,  who  has  cerebral  palsy.     To  add  authenticity  to  each  character,  I  decided  to  have  each  character  voiced   by  a  child  that  had  that  same  condition.  As  a  result,  Skeeter,  the  DJ,  was  voiced   by  Ian  and  Connor,  two  children  with  autism.  Buzz  was  voiced  by  my son  Truth,   and  Gigi  was  voiced  by  my daughter,  Kennedy.     The  purpose  of  the  show  was  not  to  elicit  sympathy  from  the  masses,  but  to   show  children  with  special  needs  in  a  very  normal  light.  As  a  result,  the  special   needs  will  more  than  likely  only  be  mentioned  in  the  opening  credits.  After  that   the  children  will  merely  be  who  they  are.     The  education  I  am  receiving  from  Walden  University  will  serve  to  provide   research-­based  teaching  strategies  and  information  about  students  with  special   learning  needs  that  will  be  incorporated  into  the  show's production  and  shared   with  the  viewers.  Through  this  show,  I  intend  to  leverage  the  power  of  teaching  in   technology  and  effect  positive  social  change  through  education.  It  is  my hope   that  the  characters  will  serve  to  inspire,  influence,  and  impact  all  children  with   special  needs.  But  beyond  that  it  is  my goal  to  show  the  world  that  students  with   ©2016  Laureate  Education,  Inc.   1 Scholar  of  Change  –  Benjamin  Isaac   special  needs  are  just  that,  special,  blessed  with  differences  that  force  them  to   interact  with  the  world  differently  because  they  view  it  from  a  different   perspective.     Walden  University  has  helped  me  develop  this  show  into  an  entertaining  piece  of   media  with  the  potential  to  educate  the  world  about  the  true  nature  of  children   with  special  needs.  We  thank  you  for  your  time  and  consideration.     ALL:  Goodbye.       ©2016  Laureate  Education,  Inc.   2 Scholar  of  Change  –  John  Anner   Scholar  of  Change  –  John Anner   Program  Transcript     JOHN  ANNER:  Hi,  my  name  is  John  Anner.  I  want  to  thank  you  for  this   opportunity  to  submit  this  video  to  the  Walden  Scholars  of  Change  Contest.  I'm submitting  for  this  contest  because  I  am  now  enrolled  in  a  PhD  program  at   Walden  in  Public  Policy  Administration,  with  a  focus  on  International  Non-­ governmental  Organizations.     INGOs,  International  Non-­governmental  Organizations,  are  non-­profits  that  are   set  up  specifically  to  address  problems  in  the  developing  world,  in  the  poorest   countries  of  Asia,  Latin  America,  Africa.  And  I've  been  in  this  field  almost  my   entire  career.  As  an  undergraduate  at  Tufts  University  in  Boston  in  the  late  1970s   and  early  '80s,  this  is  the  area  that  I  wanted  to  study.  I  focused  my  attention  on   agricultural  problems  in  Africa  and  the  Caribbean,  and  then  later  joined  the   Peace  Corps,  and  worked  as  a  Peace  Corps  volunteer  in  agriculture  in   Mauritania,  West  Africa-­-­  one  of  the  poorest  and  most  isolated,  most  remote   places  in  the  world.     And  throughout  my  entire  career,  my  focus  has  always  been  on  how  to  provide   solutions  to  problems  that  seem  so  difficult  and  so  large  that  it's almost   impossible  to  think  of  how  any  small  organization  can  solve  them.  But  the  truth  is   that  these  international  non-­governmental  organizations  that  I've  been  part  of  my   career  do  come  up  with  very  creative  solutions.  But  a  lot  of  times,  it's very  much   ad  hoc,  or  making  it  up  as  you  go  along.     So  my  goal  in  getting  a  PhD  at  Walden  is  to  start  to  bring  some  intellectual  and   academic  rigor  to  this  work,  or  at  least  the  work  that  I  do.  I  know  I'm following  in   the  path  of  many  other  people.  But  I've  been  a  practitioner  for  almost  30  years.     And  now,  to  be  able  to  bring  that  experience  and  connect  it  with  the  intellectual   work  that's been  done  over  the  years  in  the  field  of  international  development,  for   me  is  very  exciting.  It's already  changing  the  way  that  I  view  my  work.  For   example,  we  run  a  program  in  Southeast  Asia  called  Operation  Healthy  Heart   that  figures  out  how  to  build  the  capacity  and  provide  solutions  to  children  who   are  suffering  from  congenital  heart  defects.     Now  we've  got  a  whole  network  of  young  people  around  these  countries  who  are   involved  in  this  field.  What  I  feel  like  as  part  of  this  program  at  Walden,  I  can  now   bring  to  them  a  true  understanding  about  how  to  build  national  policy  networks   that  can  address  these  problems  not  only  on  palliative  basis-­-­  meaning  we  help   an  individual  child  get  heart  surgery  and  then  the  next,  and  the  next,  and  the   next-­-­  but  creating  national  policies  and  the  national  capacity  to  address  this   permanently  in  an  ongoing  way  so  that  we  can  take  care  of  all  the  future   generations  of  children  who  need  this  kind  of  surgery.     ©2016  Laureate  Education,  Inc.   1 Scholar  of  Change  –  John  Anner   So  what  I  see  this  PhD  at  Walden  offering  me,  and  offering  my  field,  is  an   opportunity  to  help  build  these  organizations  in  such  a  way  that  they  can  start  to   address  these  problems  with  a  lot  more  intellectual  capacity,  scientific  rigor,  and   an  approach  that  is  really  focused  on  solutions  and  results.  So  thank  you  very   much.  I'm very  excited  about  this  opportunity.       ©2016  Laureate  Education,  Inc.   2 Interview Guide Form NOTES 1. Can you tell me what program you are in at Walden? I am in PhD Nursing with specialization in Education. a. And what year did you start? I started in June 2015. 2. Was working for social change important to you before you came to Walden? Ha ha, I was working for social change. Yeah, I have a social change vision. a. Can you give me an example of what you did? I am a nurse and I wanted to be a nurse because I wanted to make a change in the lives of people. So, I became an instructor to make a change in the life of the students. b. Regarding an example of what you did for social change before you came to Walden, can you be more specific? The way I treat my students on daily basis showing with compassion on daily basis so they can go out and treat people with kindness and compassion. 3. Was social change mission important to you in making your choice to come to Walden? Honestly no. No because with or without that in their mission I will be able to do it. 4. From your perspective, what is social change? Hah, social change is either on a small scale or large scale. It does not have to be global as long as one person is making a difference to another person I a positive way, that’s social change. a. Can you give me some examples of what you mean by that? Sure, to me it can be somebody helping somebody else in the time of need or making a positive change in someone’s life so that they can make a positive influence in the life of others. Thank you for your answers. Do you have anything else you would like to share? No I think its ok.
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