Website and one of the videos that I saw caught my ears. If you listen to these children talk they talk about how small they feel and that being small makes them feel like an underdog. Children need to know that there words do matter! And in the video someone say that the youth maybe small but that it is a gift. I love that !
Below is the video that i just talked about
After looking through the Youth Media Project
I found another Website called Youth Speaks. It is a great organization that created poetry slams which they call brave new voices. Their mission statement is
"Youth Speaks creates safe spaces that empower the next generation of leaders, self-defined artists, and visionary activists through written and oral literacies. We challenge youth to find, develop, publicly present, and apply their voices as creators of societal change. Our vision is to shift the perception of youth by combating illiteracy, alienation, and silence, creating a global movement of brave new voices bringing the noise from the margins to the core."
This organization is awesome I like how they give youth a chance to
speak in a different way and I think that they are living up to their mission and making
a difference and giving the youth a voice !
I love what i've read about Youth Speaks. I think that one of the most important parts of Youth Development is empowering youth and allowing them to speak their mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment Jess. Youth should be empowered especially when it comes to their education. Teachers have lost their ability to have creativity in the classroom we as YDW will have the opportunity to create that environment they want and need.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post! I also like the idea of youth poetry slams (great creative and expressive spaces!). I heard the word "empowered" a lot today in class, and I see it up in Anthony's comment too. The word "empowered" is kind of jarring to me. This is probably just my association, but thought I'd see what you think: The word empowered makes it seem like youth are not powerful, and then adults or some other agent comes along to give them power (em-power). Can we just say something like "youth are powerful" or "to help youth recognize their own power?" I'm thinking aloud here, thoughts welcome!
ReplyDelete@Corinne- Wow. I never really thought about how the word empowered could shine such a negative light. I'm really glad you brought this up. It reminds me about our class discussion on discourse and how easily words can be translated in different ways. Instead of making it seem like adults give the youth power, I think we should express that instead, they help youth recognize their power.
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