"Voices of Youth Today" T2P

1. Prison, AKA High School

This video made me laugh--the young man in it is so self-deprecating and witty. I felt that this video showed the importance of social grouping, belonging, and identity during the high school years. I always thought of myself as a "floater" in high school, but just as he has an "epiphany" at the end of the video, over the years I've come to realize that I was actually a music geek. ;)

(side note: I've watched some of Kevin's other videos and they're all equally funny! check out his one about his first semester of college!)



Hypothesis:

If students find their niche in the social environment of the school, then they will have a stronger sense of identity and feelings of belonging in their affinity groups. For example, he talks about the different cliques in the school and how they group together (doing this satirically by using stereotypes to define the groups). He also self-describes himself as both a senior (as opposed to the underclassmen, particularly freshmen) and Asian (SAT's and class rank..."all your typical Asian shit"). The funniest part of the video comes at the end, when he first makes fun of the "nerds" and then he himself is classified as one, as he protests, "What? I'm popular!" As he says earlier in the video, the hardest part of high school isn't the classes or grades, but "just trying to fit in." As Duncan-Andrade and others would say, the social aspects of school cannot be removed from the academics. Youth culture is extremely important, and social affinity grouping (whether it be based on age, ethnicity, clubs, etc.) is a large part of high school culture. This can also coincide with Phinney's model of ethnic identity development. This is total speculation, but I would guess that this young man is at stage 3 (Identity Achieved). He is certainly very self-aware of his identity (much moreso than I was at that age) and seems comfortable enough with his identity to joke about it. He also seems fairly laid-back and accepting about the other groups in school that he is not a part of. Teachers should foster this kind of positive identity development and also (much as we deplore exclusive cliques) recognize the reality of social grouping in high school. Teachers should also discourage stereotyping and labeling, but at the same time empower students to take ownership of labeling (as he does through humor in the video) and see how they as individuals are so much more. This will make school less of a "prison" and more of an inclusive, safe space for both social and academic growth and learning.

2. Is Anybody Listening? One teacher was.

This video really moved me. These students struggle with so much in their lives, and I could tell that they are finding the balance between achieving academic success in high school and supporting their families difficult. I was glad that their teacher gave them the chance to speak and let their voices be heard, because each one had a powerful story to share. I admire all of them for speaking out about what they are going through.



Hypothesis:

If students are struggling with financial, emotional, health-related, or other problems in their home environments, then they will find it much more difficult to be fully present and engaged at school. For example, one young woman named Maritssa says, "I see [my mom] struggling, and I can’t do anything about it. And I want to help her, but she just wants me to focus on school. But I can’t focus on school when I know that she’s struggling, and it’s just really hard." Another student named Ana says, "I have lots of stress, I’m getting sick of it. I can’t even concentrate in school anymore." Students will find it hard to care about schoolwork when their parents are out of work and unable to pay rent, or if they are evicted from their homes. They will also feel more pressure to drop out of school and get a job to help the family survive. As Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory posits, if people lack the fundamental physiological and safety needs, they will not be able to fulfill higher levels of needs, such as esteem and self-actualization. At the same time, however, with the support of their teacher these students are coming together as a school community and sharing their experiences in positive ways. If teachers give students the autonomy to create projects that are meaningful to their own lives, and if they care about the students as whole people (and not simply as "history students"), then the students will be able to better cope. This is fundamental to Nodding's pedagogy of care. As Michael Steinman says, "As a community, we have to come together and work to solve these problems. We're all in this...we can build a better world." Teachers, therefore, need to understand the varied issues kids deal with outside of school (a Vygotskian idea) and give them opportunities to speak out against these social and economic systems. This empowers students and gives them greater agency and purpose.

3. The real High School yearbook

This video spoke to my own high school (and, to a lesser extent, college) experience the most. High school went by in a flash for me, too, and I didn't really appreciate it until it was gone. I also probably spent far too much time worrying about my academics and not enough time just hanging out with friends, so I definitely understand what she means by "this nostalgic regretful feeling." But...c'est la vie!



Hypothesis:

If students are reflective of their social and academic experiences in school, then they will be more fully aware of their development as they progress through each year of high school. As she says in the video, in every year students face a different set of concerns. In freshmen year, it's trying to fit in and finding your place in the school community. In sophomore year, there are relationship and dating issues. In junior year, everyone is obsessed with that traditional American rite of high school passage (prom), getting a license, and the "adolescent alcoholism" resulting from increasingly challenging academic work. By senior year, students are thinking about college or work, realizing "how different life is going to be in September" and about all the friends they'll be leaving. They also might have regrets and wish they had tried harder or had more fun. This ties in very nicely with Piaget's stages of development theory and theories of moral development. As each school year passes, students develop cognitively, emotionally, and (hopefully) morally. A senior will not have the same view of the world as a freshman, because there is a big age difference between a 17/18 year old and a 14/15 year old. As a hypothetical example, a freshman might be operating at a level of conventional morality, trying to maintain good social relationships (Kohlberg). A senior who has experienced more and is now facing the wider world might have more of a postconventional morality, taking into account society as a whole and universal principles. In any case, as this video humorously shows, students are at different stages throughout their high school careers and good teachers will take this into account and differentiate their instruction based off of the level the students are operating in. Being flexible enough to tailor the instruction to fit the needs of different kinds of learners is essential for learning to occur. Teachers should also encourage students to reflect on their growth each year, so that they do not take this unique part of their lives for granted.