Exploring Similarities and Differences with Student Question Bridge

When Media Arts Teacher Ms. Ellen Loflin stepped into the Teacher’s Institute at the Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture back in 2019, she had no idea she would leave with an idea for a project that would change the lives of a small group of Cannon students—as well as some of their peers at West Charlotte High School.

The idea began when Ms. Loflin caught sight of a video installation called “Question Bridge,” which promoted dialogue among Black males of various backgrounds through a question/answer format. “The way that I looked at it was that it was opening doors to difficult conversations among different people,” she said.

While watching, Ms. Loflin struck up a conversation with another teacher, Ms. Lynn Roach, who at the time taught at Harding High School. “We talked about how different our schools were, and how great it would be for our students to have meaningful conversations with those from different backgrounds,” she said. “It felt like we had an instant camaraderie and vision, so we said, ‘Let’s start a program.’” Ms. Loflin and Ms. Roach approached President and CEO of the Gantt Center, Mr. David Taylor, who happily agreed to sponsor the project.

How it Started

The endeavor began with the hope that the groups could come together for discussion, but March 2020 hit, and plans were put on hold until the beginning of the 2021 – 2022 school year. At that point, Ms. Roach had moved to West Charlotte High School, and a new group of Cannon students were able to participate. The two groups dove in again, talking to each other over Zoom.

Trading Places

In the spring, the Gantt Center welcomed the students from both schools to spend the day together, which included speakers, visits from teaching artists, and roundtable discussions. The two student groups ended the day creating a piece of collaborative artwork together.

Shortly after, the West Charlotte group spent a day here at Cannon, visiting and attending classes, and the Cannon students did the same. “These really cool friendships started to develop among the two groups,” recalls Ms. Loflin. “It’s been really amazing to watch our kids embrace their kids.”

One way our Cannon students did that was by helping West Charlotte students with their college application essays. “Here, we have five people in the college counseling department,” said Ms. Loflin. “At West Charlotte, they have one counselor (who is not even wholly focused on college counseling) for about 1,200 students.” Several of our Cannon Student Question Bridge members helped with ideas and proofreading.

Building a Larger Community

Of course, our students wound up reaping numerous other benefits from the experience.

“Student Question Bridge began as an innovative pilot program with weekly Zoom calls and literature discussions. However, during this past year, my involvement in the program has availed to me a vibrant community of friends from both Cannon and West Charlotte,” said Fen Cleveland ’23.

“Through frequent collaboration, I have built perennial friendships with my West Charlotte peers and have expanded my limited view on academic disparities. I have been a student of Cannon for most of my life, and am fully accustomed to the school’s supportive, safe, and inspiring learning environment. By hearing feedback from West Charlotte students during their Cannon visit and experiencing a day in the life at their public school, I have become even more grateful for my time at Cannon,” Fen continued.

Ms. Loflin echoed Fen’s sentiment. “I think the best thing to come out of Student Question Bridge for our kids was for them to see that, as different as we are, we are also very much like the kids from West Charlotte. We have similar interests and things in common, as well as some shared struggles that transcend socio-economic boundaries.”
 

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