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The Diversity of Youth
Voice
By Adam Fletcher
Intro
Communities across the
United States and around the world are growing and
changing everyday. The diversity of young people
isn’t obvious just from looking across the room.
Each of the following considerations explore why
Youth Voice matters throughout many of the diverse
identities young people have. The concept of
acknowledging diversity was introduced in the first
chapter; here it is spelled out. Each of the
following sections explores the role diversity plays
in Youth Voice. The examples provided clearly
illustrate that Youth Voice is not just for
middle-class white teens; rather, they show that
Youth Voice is for all young people, with
particular regard for their identity.
Youth Voice is for Youth
from Distinct Cultures.
Many different
ethnic and cultural communities have different ways
of engaging young people. In mainstream American
culture youth are seen as a commodity: shoes, soda,
music, clothes, sports, movies, cars, and even
lifestyles are marketed using the ideal of Youth as
a selling point. By contrast some American Indian
communities see the period of being a youth as an
important passageway to responsibility – but not as
the end goal. Many communities of color and
immigrant communities have a long history of
promoting Youth Voice.
Youth Voice is for
Disengaged Youth.
Young people who
appear disengaged from youth programs or classes
often want very much for their voices to be heard.
Successful Youth Voice programs for disengaged youth
usually focus on the direct experiences in these
young peoples’ lives, such as improving disengaging
teaching methods or developing conflict meditation
skills. Youth Voice is
for Highly Motivated Youth.
Providing engaging and sustainable activities
for students who are academically and socially
successful is challenging to the most experienced
teacher and youth workers. By giving these young
people opportunities to lead “cascading voice”
experiences – where students encourage Youth Voice
from younger students – is a particularly successful
strategy for these young people.
Youth Voice is for Young
Women.
There are few
opportunities for young women to make their unique
experiences, voices, and actions heard throughout
our society. Deliberately engaging young women
strengthens their voices and engages their
communities in powerful change.
Resources on
Young Women's Youth Voice
Youth Voice is for Migrant
Youth.
Students who move
to different areas of the country or continent
throughout the school year face particular
challenges that can benefit from Youth Voice. Their
constant movement, which may follow the farm season
or other economic cycles, may conflict with the
intentions of adults who work with them. Teachers
may feel pressure to “catch up” migrant students to
regular classroom learning goals, and youth program
workers might feel discouraged at what they perceive
as their inability to support these students.
Youth Voice is for
Elementary Students.
Youth Voice is
often seen as the domain of teenagers, thus the name
Youth Voice. Young children are sometimes
seen as incapable of informing, making, challenging,
or reflecting on what is routinely done to
them, without their input. However, the
phrase “Youth Voice” applies to the energy of
children by encapsulating the potential of their
roles as active, meaningful, and significant
contributors in their lives. Everyday elementary-age
students contribute Youth Voice in service learning
activities. Elementary students begin to associate
their families within their larger communities, and
can strengthen their own voices by mapping their
influence and authority in their community.
Youth Voice is for Middle
School-Age Students.
When working with
young students, Youth Voice seems like a great idea
that inherently feels good. However, perhaps more
than any other age group, positive experiences with
Youth Voice are essential to middle school students.
Youth development relies on identity and belonging
during these years, and Youth Voice is central to
strengthening those traits. Positive experiences
with Youth Voice can help young people feel
empowered and purposeful, and create a pathway for
action throughout their teens. For others, Youth
Voice can make difficult experiences less
challenging, and make difficult adults less
alienating. In middle school young people can
strengthen their sense of community-belonging
through youth councils and advisory committees that
guide decision-making and improve services.
Youth Voice is for High
School-Age Students.
In high school
there are a lot of opportunities to connect young
people to change. That can mean opening the doors of
service learning, media-making, political action,
and other methods. In some communities that means
making new doors where none exist. Youth Voice makes
sense for high school-age students as a learning
tool, a community connection, and a lifelong
influence. High school students can conduct broad
examinations of social, educational, political,
legal, or cultural bias against young people, and
develop specific and concrete projects that respond
to their observations.
Youth Voice is for
Alternative School Students.
Students in
alternative schools across the state may be at these
schools because it is their “last stop” before
dropping out or being expelled. They may also see
their schools as a “last chance” to graduate
on-time. They generally have a high need for
ownership over their learning and belonging to a
community. By engaging young people in alternative
schools adults can foster and support feelings of
ownership, belonging, purpose, and empowerment among
students who desperately need – and want – those
experiences. Students can create classes, evaluate
their own performance, teach peers and train
teachers, as well as make decisions about every
facet of learning.
Youth Voice is for Youth
from Diverse Socio-Economic Backgrounds.
Class and economic
backgrounds make important differences in Youth
Voice. Many young people today are sedated by mass
media, culled into believing that the brands they
wear and the soda they drink are the most important
ways their voices can be heard. In many middle class
communities it has become a cultural norm for young
people to be habitually disengaged from the
decision-making that affects them most. Similarly,
young people in low-income areas may feel routinely
distrustful and angry towards adults, as their
interactions are regularly marked by negativity.
Young people from affluent areas may feel overly
influential and controlling of the situations in
which they are engaged. Each of these differences is
important to acknowledge.
Youth Voice is for
Out-of-School Youth.
Whether young
people homeschool, “unschool,” or dropout of school,
Youth Voice can provide an effective way to continue
learning, engaging, and interacting with the
communities they live in. By creating projects,
leading programs, or evaluating their own life
experiences, Youth Voice can become an expectation –
not an exception – in daily life and learning.
Youth Voice is for
Incarcerated Youth.
The situations that
incarcerated youth face are clearly different from
young people in the community – but their need to be
heard, acknowledged, and empowered is just as vital.
Youth Voice in juvenile justice programs can be
realized through reflective writing that simply
shares the stories of youth. By encouraging
incarcerated youth to critically examine their
experiences, adults can empower these young people
to learn from their mistakes. Then, by working with
supportive adults, incarcerated youth can be
successful contributors to their future by creating
a life plan based on their past experiences.
Freechild Project Resources on Juvenile Injustice.
Youth Voice is for Young
English Language Learners.
In many communities
where English is not the primary language, Youth
Voice can be a blurry phenomenon. Sometimes young
people are the main English translators for their
parents. This happens because parents do not have
the time to learn English, because they cannot
afford classes, or because schools or youth programs
do not have the financial ability to hire a
professional interpreter. The inevitable
misunderstandings sometimes lead to a distrust of
children and youth. Sometimes, the reverse happens:
youth workers and teachers can sometimes mistake
youth voice for the parents’ voice. Applying
newly-learned English language skills to their daily
lives through Youth Voice programs can help make
English more purposeful, enjoyable, and meaningful.
Youth Voice is for Homeless
Youth.
Physical, mental,
or emotional abuse, parental alcoholism, poverty,
multi-generational homelessness, and myriad other
factors drive children and youth onto the streets.
Programs designed to meet the needs of these young
people can actually do the greatest justice by
acknowledging youth. Meaningful decision-making,
skill-sharing, life planning, and reflection on
their lives can lead homeless youth to reengage as
community members. This sense of belonging has as
many positive affects as there are factors that make
youth homeless in the first place, if not more.
Freechild Project resources on Homeless Youth and
Social Change.
Youth Voice is for Foster
Youth.
Growing up in
unstable situations, sometimes being forcibly
removed from family, being thrust into the lives of
strangers… these aren’t ideal situations for
engaging young people. However, when young people
participate in the decision-making that affects them
most, they consistently report feeling empowered,
purposeful, and stronger. Research shows these
experiences build resilience and belonging. Foster
youth can be engaged in designing life plans,
informing system operations, and consulting their
learning and living situations, as well as many
other ways.
Freechild Project resources on Young People in
Foster Care and Social Change.
Youth Voice is for Diverse
Learners.
Another form of
diversity comes in the different ways that people
learn. Everyone has a different style of learning
that allows them to learn best. In 1983, researcher
Howard Gardner identified seven types of distinct
learning styles he called “Multiple Intelligences”
to show that different people learn in different
ways. The best Youth Voice programs reach each type,
and have young people identify where they are
themselves.
Linguistic
Intelligence – Learners focus on language
and how it is used. They might remember names,
places, and dates easily, and spell words
quickly. Youth Voice programs can focus on
words, sounds, and meanings, and spend a lot of
time reading and writing.
Musical
Intelligence – Learners focus on music,
rhythm, and pitch. They concentrate more when
music is played, sing to themselves a lot or
make up songs to remember details. Youth Voice
programs involve these learners in making music,
analyzing music, and teaching other people
music.
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence – Learners
focus on patterns, numbers, and logical
relationships. They are good at math problems,
puzzles, and mental challenges. Youth Voice
programs can use computers, graphic design, and
logic activities.
Spatial
Intelligence – Learners focus on shapes,
locations, and distances. They are good
designers and builders. Youth Voice programs can
focus on community planning, building design,
and creating charts and maps.
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence – Learners
focus on physical skills and movement. They are
good actors, athletes, and craftspeople who do
not like to sit still. Youth Voice programs
teach these young people through constant
activity.
Interpersonal
Intelligence – Learners focus on
understanding and dealing with other people.
They are very social, often trying to understand
peoples’ motives and feelings. Youth Voice
programs can focus on communication, and give
young people opportunities to organize their
communities.
Intrapersonal
Intelligence – Learners focus on
understanding themselves. They are
self-sufficient, confident, and opinionated, and
do things on their own. Youth Voice programs can
empower young people by giving them more control
of their surroundings and through self-driven
activities.
There are many ways
that young people identify themselves, and adults
often miss the mark. Rather than simple categories
or convenient definitions, trying seeing the
complexity in some of the following ways youth
identify themselves:
- Gender
- Race
- Culture
- Language
- “Street”
smarts
- Online
identity
- Peer
reputation
- Athletic
involvement
- Economics
- Neighborhood
- Grade level
and school
- Sexual
orientation
- Gangs and
clubs
- Music
preference
- Family make-up
-
Spiritual/religious beliefs
©
2010. Adam Fletcher owns the copyright
for this material on behalf of The Freechild
Project. You are welcome to print out
this material for educational purposes
only - you cannot make any financial
gain from them without the explicit
permission of the author. You may not
photocopy any part of this material
without explicit permission of the
author. For more
information write info [at] freechild.org
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