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Grassroots empowerment for the next generation :

Grassroots empowerment for the next generation :. moving marginalized youth to the center of community change. Dr. Vajra Watson Director of Research and Policy for Equity UC Davis School of Education Cress Center. Youth Voice By: Yusef Campbell.

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Grassroots empowerment for the next generation :

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  1. Grassroots empowerment for the next generation: moving marginalized youth to the center of community change Dr. Vajra Watson Director of Research and Policy for Equity UC Davis School of Education Cress Center

  2. Youth Voice By: Yusef Campbell What are the youth to accomplish when they don’t have a voice? And what do they acquire when they don’t have a choice? Who asks the children, the youth what they need? Who gives them the chance, to say what they mean? Who takes the time out to answer their questions? Who looks deep inside their anger and aggression? Who gives them their love, support, and their trust? Who gives them the courage to keep going when stuck? Who gives them the voice when the voice is too weak to be heard? Who picks up the voice and not kick it to the curb? What, you don’t see violence and you don’t see rage? That’s all the voices yellin, cuz they’ve yet to see change And when the yellin gets loud, y’all cover your ears Instead of hearing the words in the eyes behind tears They beggin for quality, not quantity hear But instead of getting books, they get cases and years.

  3. CrisisSolutioncrisisSolution • What is the crisis? • Who is helping young people improve their lives? • How do we understand and replicate best practices within and beyond the walls of schools?

  4. Crisis: youth violence In 2007, 16 youth were murdered each day in this country. And for every person who gets shot and dies, another 4 get shot and survive. In 2009, homicide was the leading cause of death among African-American youth; the second leading cause of death among Chicano/Latinos; and the third leading cause of death among Natives. For youth between the ages of 15-24, the homicide death rate is more than 19 times higher for young Black men than young white men. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2006; 2009)

  5. Crisis: education vs. incarceration College participation by race/ethnicity: Percentage of men ages 20-34 incarcerated in 2008 based on race/ethnicity & education. - US Census, 2000 - Pettit, Sykes, & Western Harvard University, 2009

  6. CRISIS: education is a gateway to survival (but marginalization is man-made, intergenerational, and systemic) • California public schools produce 1drop-out for every 3 graduates. • Compared to high school graduates, research shows that over a lifetime dropoutshaveincreased dependenceon public assistance, lower earnings, poorer health, and higher rates of unemployment, mortality, criminal behavior, and incarceration. • - California Dropout Research Project

  7. SOLUTION: who is helping young people break the cycle of marginalization, violence, and failure? Rudy Corpuz: it takes a thug to save a thug • Founder & Executive Director of United Playaz (UP). • Started at Balboa High School in San Francisco in 1994. • UP is an education, violence prevention, and leadership development family (program). • UP is youth-centered and directed: from organizing carwashes to basketball tournaments to a play about gun violence. • Rudy wants students to learn that community-service is life-changing and empowering. This is prevention at its best. Pedagogy of Community

  8. SOLUTION:from social reproduction to social resistance AGENCY love CULTURAL CAPITAL SOCIAL CAPITAL liberation listening leadership learning HUMAN CAPITAL RESISTANCE CAPITAL

  9. SOLUTION:how do we bring apedagogy of community into our schools, universities, and neighborhoods? • Examples from the field: • University of Washington’s unique teacher credential program. • Chicago’s Grown Your Own grassroots teacher credential program. • UC Davis’ Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS) Program

  10. SOLUTION:bringing the community into classrooms SAYS is a hip-hop literacy innovation that pairs trained poet-mentor educators and classroom teachers to develop a grassroots pedagogy that is student-centered, community-based, standards-driven, culturally relevant, and empowering.

  11. Our “problem” young people are central to the solution. Is it possible? College to Consciousness Pipeline Courageous and Creative Leadership Challenge is to be(come) solution-oriented in both research and practice Kareem Partnerships with a Purpose Schools and Communities of Control vs. Care

  12. Dr. Vajra WatsonDirector of Research and Policy for EquityUC Davis School of Education Cress Center vmwatson@ucdavis.edu says.ucdavis.edu education.ucdavis.edu/equity-summit

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