The reading from this week, by Kennelly and Youniss, discuss in detail the importance and ability for students to participate, engage in their community and stand up for their individual beliefs and for what is right. Throughout the term, we have come to learn of the importance of youth engagement and civic activism so learning how we as teachers can help foster students to speak up and become involved has become more and more important in my eyes.
In the paper by Youniss, we see that education does play a vital role in youth’s likelihood to become civically involved. This is seen at the secondary level, but even more so at the University and college level, as these institutions are often at the centre of political debates and encourage political discussion. Even at the elementary and high school level, when students are given the opportunity to participate politically in their community (whether that be through civics class, debates with their colleagues, forming class governments and committees, etc.) they are more likely to see the importance in democratic politics and how their personal views can make an impact. In Learning to Protest, Kennelly is able to delve deeper into how Canadian youth personal identities can shape the way youth are able to visualize themselves participating in political issues. In a sense, the political atmosphere has become sub-cultured, making it so certain people may feel less inclined to participate, or that their voices are not as important. Past histories and current situations all play into a youth’s experience and their ability or likelihood to contribute to their community in a political way. Not only does a person’s experience shape whether or not they feel they can participate in their community, but it also reflects what individuals find important to their own experience. For example, students may feel that racism is not an issue because they have not experienced it or been exposed to it in their own experience. In order to understand the significance of race in another’s experience, that student would then need to have an avenue where they are able to not only speak for what they know, but are also able to critically examine situations outside of their own. In the classroom, it is the teacher’s job to provide an atmosphere that allows students to feel comfortable expressing their opinions and talking about their own personal experiences and beliefs to allow the students to act on what they believe in, but also to learn about the democratic process. Even more importantly, teachers must remain unbiased in their treatment of students, and must be open to hearing what everyone in the classroom wishes to say. If a classroom is respectful of everyone’s voice, students can learn how to share their opinions in a way that allows issues to be resolved and for the community to move toward positive change. These skills will be able to move with students throughout their educational journey, and will provide students the experience and opportunity to participate more attentively with their communities in the future. From these reading, I have come to realize that focusing on civic engagement can benefit all students, regardless of the path they take. Classroom discussion, school governments, debates and other forms of civics in a school help students develop essential skills such as how to properly and respectfully debate or argue, turn-taking, rebutting, revising, persuading, collaborating and compromising and respect. All of these essential skills are critical in politics, but they are also applicable in many other subjects such as science, philosophy, religion and more. By giving students the opportunity to build these skills in an organized and inclusive class, students will be able to more easily and better apply these skills in other components of their life. On top of learning skills, civic engagement in the classroom will also allow students the opportunity to better understand what causes are important to them and to fight for these causes in a meaningful way. By working in a school setting where democratic practices and systems are in place, students are able to work toward sustaining the system for themselves and for others, thereby obtaining a better understanding of how politics, community evolvement and activism work outside the classroom.
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March 2017
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