Listeners who dial up the KWNO 1230 AM radio station in Winona, Minn. and surrounding communities, are often transported to an entertaining, dramatic, and sometimes strange world.

"Do you have a bad smell in your life?" asks a hyper, yet slick, announcer.

"Well, this is your lucky day!" he answers.

"Make your life better with this amazing new product called Smellaway!"

Then, testimonials come rolling in: "I use that, uh, Smellaway on my, uh surfboard, and it, uh, like smells... good," says one dazed surfer dude.

A girl chimes in that she"s used the product on her boyfriend. "And he smells like flowers and lip gloss," she gushes.

"Jump on the smell-good bandwagon, and order your spray bottle today," prods the announcer. "For only 195 eeeeasy payments of $19.99. Shipping and handling not included."

Smellaway is not a real product. But the advertisement for it is. Creating ads for pseudo-products is just one part of the intense Brushfire Radio production and editing program at the Montessori Middle School in this town of 27,000 on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

The program began in 1999 as a way to not only teach kids about technology, but also to help them think creatively and give some thought to who they want to grow up to be. The philosophy of school leaders is that character formation cannot be taught. Rather, it comes from experience and not explanation.

In 2001, the School to Work organization awarded the program a small grant, which allowed for the purchase of a computer system and software for production of programs. Since then, students in seventh and eighth grades at the school have produced several shows per year for the local radio station. In addition to creating advertisements, they act out student-written plays, read stories and venture into the community to sell CD compilations of their work.

"To be honest, I didn't really listen to the radio much before,' reflects Jodi, 13, a theater enthusiast in the class. "Now, I really appreciate how much work goes into it."

Her classmate, Doug, 13, says he always knew he liked radio. But, before Brushfire, he never realized that his idea about an enemy named Dr. Snah could be entertainment on the radio.

Let's Get Audio

Simon Goodrich, an educational media consultant, says that even if learners have no desire to work in the radio media, the process of telling their stories is a great boost to their self-confidence and abilities.

He argues that more educators should encourage learning by experimenting with radio production.

"We are still shaped by 19th-century-based pedagogies of teaching, focusing on written outcomes and assessment," Goodrich writes in a recent column titled Switched On: Learning Through Audio. "However, we now live in a time when all of us need to become more literate in many different mediums."

"[For many years], the ability for people to create media and be creative in media has been beyond the grasp of the vast majority," reports Goodrich. "However, with the advent of technology—things are beginning to change."

"Where things have most progressed is in radio, which people consider to be one of the oldest of the technologies," he says. "Even though it has been in existence for 80 years, recent advances have made it a great tool to engage people within a learning context."

The Sounds of Brushfire

Educator Dave Hunt helps lead the Bluffview Montessori School Brushfire Radio program. He says that his childhood in the 1950s was rich with radio programs—and he's based the lessons for his classes on his own affinity for the medium. A classically trained French horn player, he's played in community orchestras and ensembles in the U.S. and Europe and has been improvising music and composing tunes for many years.

"I have insisted that Brushfire production teams make their own music for programs," says Hunt.

But music is just a part of the program.

The students work for hours upon hours creating characters. Then, they figure out what settings to put their creations in. Occasionally, Hunt nudges thoughts toward a moral or meaning, but he says those aspects are usually already imbedded in the productions.

"I see the truth of these observations in the productions of these young people," observes Hunt. "We've had stories of space-faring chipmunks, of a vain king moose, of drugs in a community of soccer playing cats in Havana, and a story examining the food chain from the point of view of a family of bovines, describing how they got to be in a family pack of ground beef in the meat market."

According to Hunt, he helps guide the process and attempts to keep imaginations steered from some of the "more grizzly tendencies" of the adolescent mind.

"I am continually amazed to see the great energy and fun these folks have while they search and stretch their imaginations and develop their ideas," he says. "And I see how very well they work together. There's something really important happening in this story-telling process."

"Then, of course, there is the business side of things," he adds, referring to the kids' attempts to sell their work on compilation CDs as a fundraiser. "It is a pleasure to see the poise and confidence these students develop and demonstrate in their dealings with the world of adults."

West Coast Radioheads

Organizers with the Youth Radio organization in Berkeley, California are also making strong connections between radio and education. The project, funded by a long list of foundations and corporate sponsors, supports youth reporting on topics, like One Woman on Rap and First Kiss, for the local KPFA 94.1FM, Internet broadcasts and a variety of other radio stations throughout the state.

The goal is to promote young people's intellectual, creative, and professional growth through training and access to media.

Through hands-on practice, working relationships with industry professionals, and production of award-winning programming, students from various schools throughout the region learn the basics of broadcasting and more about media-related careers.

Technical training is only part of the picture, according to organizers. Youth Radio students also learn about communication, writing, computer technology and critical thinking.

Expanding the Airwaves

Austin, 12, a Brushfire student who appreciates the technological side of radio producing says it's great when kids are able to work with experienced adults. When he had an idea about a chipmunk that wouldn't die, collaboration with his teacher and peers helped turn it into an actual performance that will soon air on the radio.

Since 1999, when Youth Radio launched the National Network, more and more students have been able to work side-by-side with adults at stations throughout the country.

The program works like this: Local stations offer studios to local students to record their material. Youth Radio staff and local partners work with these young reporters on voice coaching and microphone usage to facilitate quality recordings. Youth Radio staff then edit the materials in the Berkeley studios. The final product is aired first on local broadcasts and the best material makes it on to national broadcasts, like NPR's Morning Edition.

As these kinds of radio programs take root in educational settings nationwide, Hunt remains focused on searching for local support and on finding more funding through grants.

"I keep looking for this business to generate income from sale of our own product, which is, after all, radio programs," he says. "There is no reason we can't expand our view to selling scripts, even illustrated scripts. There is potential to make this a real business."

No doubt, imaginative Brushfire students have their work cut out for them.

Resources:

• Switched On: Learning Through Audio

Rob Capriccioso is a staff writer for Connect for Kids.