EVERYdae and Mary Oliver

In this mini episode a.m. bhatt discusses the startling metric about the disengagement of upwards of 119,000 students in Connecticut alone! He also introduces a new initiative called 'EVERYdae' to provide a space in New Haven for student engagement.
This initiative is open to all New Haven Public School students. 

He also mentions a fundraising campaign to help DAE deliver this program and a request for sharing this 'EVERYdae' info by our audience.  

He also recites a poem by Mary Oliver, compelling listeners to take action and make a difference in the world.

You can find a.m. on Instagram and TikTok at @absurdwisdom. We are produced and distributed by DAE Presents, the production arm of DAE (@dae.community on Instagram and online at mydae.org).

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent. While we make every effort to ensure that the information shared is accurate, we welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors.

You can contact us at daepresents@mydae.org.

Transcript

a.m.: 1:32

Hey everyone, so we're not going to do a full podcast today for a couple of reasons. Instead, I want to want to take a few minutes to tell you about something. Um, Back in October of last year, the Dalio Foundation released a study. The headline of which was that there are 119, 000 Let me say that number again, 119, 000 disengaged students in Connecticut. I believe the age group that they looked at was 14 to 24. 119, 000. I'll say for a third time. We do programs here As you you know, likely have heard so this podcast this podcast is not a dae produces it we produce other forms of media, you know with students etc. And so dae produces this for me. This is my personal podcast just to disclaim that to say that you know all opinions expressed and all that But at dae, you know, which we talk about a lot certainly on here and i've some of my faculty come on regularly you know, at DAE. We run programs for high school students. Some middle school programs. Junior high school programs and then adult programs. But the primary focus is high school. So right in the sweet spot of that 14 to 24 And you know, they're year long programs are the three week programs six week programs and we get a very high level of engagement on them. But it's a drop in the bucket, right? I mean we've we've last number I saw we've had 580 students pass through here It Sounds like a lot. It's a drop in the bucket And so one of the things that i've decided that we've decided as a leadership team Is I don't know how the hell we're funding it, but We're we're launching something next week called every Day. We like to get cute with the dae name day, you know, we're full day and partial day. This is every Day. and If you follow our socials or on our mailing list, you'll get details about it But the idea is we're going to open up our doors to every single new haven student on a drop in basis in essence if if you haven't, you know a new haven, public school I. D. card that's sort of like a version of a library card to get into here after school, not to participate in the full year long program, So we just again that that we can't figure out how to do financially, but as a place to come and work and study and be engaged. Maybe casually play with some software engineering casually play with some robots, maybe just play play with some virtual reality headsets or just a, a, a really kind of cool place to come and hang out and feel safe and where you feel, you know, like you belonged and and all of that. so Along with that, we're you know, we're tying again. I have no clue how we're funding that that does require some staff time and some, you know other stuff so we're also rolling out a sort of fundraising campaign on that I've always sort of wondered we've had people who've wanted to do micro donations to us and we've never had a vehicle to take that in and An ability to rationalize what would be we'd be using that for, you know it's amazing that people want to contribute and and as everything I tend to be kind of slow, conservative and thoughtful as much as possible on the financial side of business. And so you know, we have great funding partners for our big programs. And then so we're thinking as we hatch this EVERYdae idea that maybe that's where folks can contribute, you know, kind of who want to make micro donations. So that's all going to roll out next week. I, I am not asking you to donate. What I'm asking you to do Is a couple of things. One, just sit with the fact that there are 119, 000 fucking kids in this state that are disengaged and how Criminal it is. That we have so much affluence and so much interesting things going on in the world and so much creative. Access points and tools and and all that and and we've let 119 000 kids be disengaged So that's one thing, just if nothing else, sit with that. And then and then wherever you're listening from, you know It'll say if it's 119, 000 in Connecticut. I, guarantee you wherever you are if you're out of state You got a big number as well. And so, so the first thing is just sit with that number second is if you feel like, you know Like like working on something locally. Amen. Go to it. Happy to share anything we got that might help you. And then the third is, sort of, you know, specifically for us You know, if you do follow us on socials, or if you would be willing to follow us on socials, it's dae. community you can also sign up for the kind of monthly newsletter there as well is just to socialize that. Like I said, don't, don't. I know most of the folks who listen on here or know one two, maybe three rings out from, from from my community historically and so the ask is not of you to throw money at my nonprofit but to, but to socialize that message and help us get some reach on that So that's what I wanted to tell you about. I wanted to tell you about that number. I wanted to tell you about what tiny little bit we're doing beyond the tiny little bit we've already been doing to try to create a space for, for at least, you know, those percentage of the 119, 000 that are in our backyard. and then to make a request of you to starting next week, like I said, you'll, you'll see A campaign what a horrible word that is a campaign rolling out in support of this on social media and and the like and if you'd be willing to to share that among any and all of your communities. That would be just freaking amazing The last thing I'm going to do is because I know you listened in for all the kind of groovy philosophical shit and so I want to read something for you and then maybe tie it into what i've just said. This is from, from What I want to say is my dear friend, Mary Oliver, I never got to meet Mary Oliver. I don't think I was ever within like 20 miles of Mary Oliver unless it was like accidentally, I didn't know it. Right. And yet I consider her a dear friend. It's fascinating how, when people make work that is so personal and intimate and vulnerable, that you can actually have a deep friendship and relationship with them without ever needing to meet. Right. So this is, this, and if you know Mary Oliver's work This is a poem you likely know but it's still cool to hear. So it's called When Death Comes. When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn When death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse to buy me And snaps the purse shut When death comes like the measle pucks When death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades I want to step through the door full of curiosity Wondering What is it going to be like? That cottage of darkness And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood and I look upon time as no more than an idea And I consider eternity as another possibility And I think of each life as a flower As common as a field daisy And a singular. And each name a comfortable music in the mouth Tending us all music does Toward silence and each body a lion of courage and something precious to the earth. When it's over I want to say all my life. I was a bride married to amazement I was a bridegroom taking the world into my arms When it's over, I don't want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular and real I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened or full of argument I don't want to end up simply having visited this world. In the hustle and grind culture we live in, you can, you can listen to that and hear it as an invitation to go DO SOMETHING. And Make something, and be something. And the person who wrote that spent her days tending a garden and walking in the forest and Writing in her journal. That's it. Yeah. So in part I want to read that to you because that's with everything I talk about. I just want to read it to myself. You know, I'm always just talking to myself. I want to read it to you because you need to hear it. And it connects to what I started this thing with, with every day and, and, and with DAE. We have enough credibility now and enough traction and enough people proactively knocking on our door that I can start being a bit more transparent about what we're actually up to, right? We are developing world class technologists, right? We got, we got stories of kids doing stuff after nine months with us and competing at MIT and, and, and at Python con with Lockheed Martin and, and really crazy stuff on the tech side. But that's not what we're doing The thing is an incubator a garden of a type to help young people in particular young people who were sort of in a narrow story to find a place where they can start engaging with life in a way where they don't wind up just simply having visited the world But actually have experienced it and experienced other people in it and have experienced The finding of their own voice in it and the expressing of their own voice in it and that may well lead to you know, launching a billion dollar company or it may lead to just you know Walking in the woods and writing poetry So that's it That's our little mini podcast for today dae. community is the social mydae. org is the website where you can sign up for newsletter The website's being redone. It's a little outdated in some of its content though Certainly still factually accurate And and and spread the word if you're willing and able and if not, at minimum go buy some books of mary oliver's poetry and and Sit under a tree and read it this beautiful day That's it. I'm going back to work.