NYLC

Earlier this month, I attended the AchieveMpls annual Education Partners Luncheon, “High-Quality Public Schools for All: The Civil Rights Issue of Our Time.” The keynote speaker was former Minneapolis superintendent, Dr. Carol Johnson. Now the superintendent in Boston, Johnson spoke passionately and intelligently of the efforts to achieve equity in public education in the United States, and the causes and effects of persistent achievement disparities among different groups of students. more »

This past Saturday I attended the Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative’s Overcoming Racism Conference in Saint Paul more »

I was first introduced to the concept of service-learning in a sociology course I took in college. Having the opportunity then to see the readings and theories that were a part of the curriculum come alive in the community had a profound impact on my understanding of the course content. I’ve since carried that experience with me post-college to my current position on staff at the National Youth Leadership Council, which has given me the chance to share that understanding with others, particularly youth. more »

Think about the very first time you asked your parents for money so you could go to the movie/concert/you fill in the blank and they said you had to find your own money. You could have approached a solution in one of these four ways: Throw a tantrum, tell your friends your parents are mean and not go, beg your grandma for money, or finally, learn how to make your own money. The first three are of course easier to do but I found that learning how to make money, fundraising for myself, was much more rewarding and self-fulfilling. more »

Last April, four students excitedly sat in a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia and talked about their plans for our school’s service-learning program. They had just spent three days at the National Service-Learning Conference and were energized by the creative projects, great ideas, and enthusiasm of so many people, especially youth, who were engaged in helping to change the world through service-learning. Their enthusiasm was contagious and as we drove back to Missouri, I couldn’t wait to see their ideas become action.  more »

Arriving back at my dorm on Sunday afternoon, the silence was alarming. As a college freshman, I'm learning that Sundays on campus are typically quieter, as the designated study day. more »

Over the past several decades, many voices have expressed their opinion on how young people contribute to society. Parents, educators, community members, elected officials, and youth themselves have weighed in on this issue. Given that these opinions are so diverse, the issues so large, and the impact incalculable, the need to represent these voices in one place has never been greater. more »