Philadelphia

Just got back from Michele Jackson’s home - it was a long day! Today, Adeniyi and I met with a cartoonist whom we hope to have illustrate a cartoon for our piece on Ryan and Michele. This afternoon I hung out with the Jacksons at home taking pictures. Spending time with them is wonderful, and probably one of the reasons I ended up staying so late (last time we were there, we didn’t leave till 12!) Michele Jackson and her son Ryan are the subjects of one of our in-depth stories from Philadelphia. They are a mother and son who have used technology to get through a lot of tough times. We’re excited to tell their story - Ryan is a friendly, techie, extremely bright teenager and his mom is one of the nicest people we’ve met in all our travels. The short version of their story is that Ryan used to get teased quite a lot at his old schools because he was so smart and eager to learn. When you go to a rough, inner city school, sometimes you’re forced to keep your intelligence to yourself and try not to stand out. Otherwise, other kids may come down hard on you for not being like the rest. But Ryan (and Michele) didn’t let that keep him back! They used technology - texting - to keep in touch while Ryan was at school, so he could always keep Michele posted on how he was doing and feeling. The Internet was also an outlet for Ryan, who found friends and ways to pursue his interests online.

Anyway, it’s late and it’s been a long day. Good night!