Teens Tackle Tourette’s hosts walk to raise awareness
Recently, Mr. Matthew Morone, an Honors English 2 teacher here at Pascack Valley, assigned “newsroom” projects to students from his period one, four, five, and seven classes. The mission for each class was to select an issue that is significant in today’s society. This is the third year that Morone has assigned his students to these newsroom projects. At the beginning of the year, each class voted on a cause that they were the most interested in.
Because there is a lot of work to be done for each class, Morone devised a system that applies to all newsroom groups which splits the students’ work up into the following four groups: organization, promotion, documentation, and production. Honors 2 students will be able to gage their success in following through on their original mission statement based off of how successful the event is.
Morone’s fifth period class is concentrating on Tourette’s Syndrome. The class founded the organization “Teen’s Tackle Tourette’s,” or “T3,” which looks to raise awareness for the disease and to raise money for the New Jersey Center for Tourette’s Syndrome, or the “NJCTS.”
Although the exact amount is not certain, it is estimated that there are about 138,000 people with Tourette’s in the U.S. alone. There are mild to very severe cases of Tourette Syndrome that include many involuntary motor and speech tics that usually occur before the age of eighteen for at least a year. Many people look at Tourette Syndrome as the “cursing syndrome,” but Tourette’s is a much more complicated than that concept.
This past Sunday, May 22, T3 held a one-mile walk at Pascack Valley from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. with food, activities, speakers, and the premiere of the documentary created by the class.
Sophomore Josh Ulin said, “I think the newsroom projects have been beneficial, not only to the students, but the community, as well.” He continued, “The efforts of the students that have raised awareness is not only impressive, but helpful to those uninformed and/or confused about the topic.”
In addition to the walk that they hosted, Morone’s students also learned more about Tourette’s through guest speakers. Sophomore Rima Kaddouh explained how podiatrist Doctor Levesque, who has Tourette’s, came to talk about his disease on February 9. Gina Jones, who is the NJCTS Education Outreach Coordinator, also spoke to their class on March 1.
“I think what Mr. Morone has done for this assignment is great and it has been successful,” Ulin said. “I hope other students experience cultivating on this project for years to come.”
For more information on Tourette Syndrome, visit the Teen’s Tackle Tourette’s or T3 website.
