I went to this awesome session at AERA two weeks ago that featured the work of youth activists. It was very similar to a session I went to last year at AERA, except that this year's room was about five times the size of last year's. Both years, the session was packed.
The kids were doing some pretty brilliantly innovative work, and they were employing some pretty tired narratives. One girl, for example, introduced herself with "I don't have a father figure in my life." As if that's the one thing that defines her. Come on. It made me want to be in a classroom with them without all the other ogling grown-ups -- to push-back on that internalized deficit-thinking and to let her push back on my inexperience with her reality.
I wanted real badly to check in with them on what it was like to have so many adults gushing over them. Affirming? Condescending? Both?
Last year, I got to spend a lot of time with some smart people thinking about what the hell "youth" even means. I'm grateful for that.
Where I'd start that conversation? I'd write on the board, "Youth are the future," and ask them what they make of that cliche.
Alas, I quit, so I can't.
What I could do is write it on the board in the classroom I do frequent, one that fills up with students who are, some of them, twice my age. If because youth are the future is a main thrust of argument as to why they deserve excellent education, where does that leave those of us working toward excellent education for old folks in prison, old folks in prison who are never going to be released, even?
Are people who aren't the future still worthy of our energies? A lower priority?
The kids were doing some pretty brilliantly innovative work, and they were employing some pretty tired narratives. One girl, for example, introduced herself with "I don't have a father figure in my life." As if that's the one thing that defines her. Come on. It made me want to be in a classroom with them without all the other ogling grown-ups -- to push-back on that internalized deficit-thinking and to let her push back on my inexperience with her reality.
I wanted real badly to check in with them on what it was like to have so many adults gushing over them. Affirming? Condescending? Both?
Last year, I got to spend a lot of time with some smart people thinking about what the hell "youth" even means. I'm grateful for that.
Where I'd start that conversation? I'd write on the board, "Youth are the future," and ask them what they make of that cliche.
Alas, I quit, so I can't.
What I could do is write it on the board in the classroom I do frequent, one that fills up with students who are, some of them, twice my age. If because youth are the future is a main thrust of argument as to why they deserve excellent education, where does that leave those of us working toward excellent education for old folks in prison, old folks in prison who are never going to be released, even?
Are people who aren't the future still worthy of our energies? A lower priority?
No comments:
Post a Comment