Youthwise #1

The voices of young people matter. Especially when we make the time for them to be heard. They can possess the trenchancy of lived insight and authentic wisdom. Something our tests and assessments rarely yield. As educators we are often occupied with intervening, diagnosing, reporting, measuring, and organizing young people. Perhaps it is a moment in history when we decide to act with them. When we are wise and humble enough to let go of the need for control, and decide to co-define what it means to become an educated citizen in a world that urgently needs them.

These sound bytes were gathered and curated from interviews I conducted from 1993-96 with the first student cohort of Bank Street College’s Liberty Partnership Program (aka Liberty LEADS), which continues nearly 40 years and 1,700 lives latter. I was its founding Director.