CONNECT. EMPOWER. CHANGE. Using Youth Voice To Shift The Culture And Climate Of Your School Matt Gress Eric Johnson Jeannie Carr

WHAT IS YOUTH VOICE?

YOUTH VOICE Youth Voice is the perspectives, ideas, experiences, knowledge, and actions of young people. Youth voice doesn’t mean talking loudly or shouting to be heard, and it is not about drowning out other people's voices, including adults. Youth voice is about considering the perspectives and ideas of young people, respecting what everyone has to say, taking risks, listening, sharing, and working together.

CULTURE AND CLIMATE What defines the culture and climate in a school?

CULTURE AND CLIMATE Educators and students must work together.

What Is Current Reality?

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES The MAP This activity focuses on finding alternative routes to obstacles and breakdowns

LISTENING AND COMMUNICATING The BUG This activity is a listening/drawing exercise that illustrates how we listen/communicate from different perspectives and biases

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” ― Ernest Hemingway

How can you empower students to use youth voice?

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS / WORKING TOGETHER HumanMachines This activity illustrates that each individual is important to the vision. Each person is valuable.

“I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too.” -Hugo Cabret, Hugo

THE POWER OF 5

THE ULTIMATE TEAM MEMBER This activity will encourage students to explore their individual and collective strengths, examining how they will be useful in pursuing their goals for their school and community.

FIND YOUR Y

THE MASK “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is nobody else who is you-er than you.” -Dr Seuss “Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.” -Mother Theresa BE YOURSELF. EVERYONE ELSE IS ALREADY TAKEN.

LAY YOUR WEAPONS DOWN Empathy Empathy is the ability to vicariously feel what another person is feeling, to understand and connect to where that person is. In other words, it is the ability to “step into someone else’s shoes.” Empathy is not an emotion; it is a skill set that can be taught. Merriam-Webster Dictionary

IDEAS THAT WORK

MOVE2STAND is a highly interactive and experiential training that empowers student leaders to become part of the solution to end bullying and harassment in their schools and communities. MOVE2STAND is a one-day youth summit that challenges students to examine their attitudes toward bullying. It is an effort to create empathy and foster school connectedness by helping young leaders understand how bullying impacts school climate and their communities.

MORE IDEAS THAT WORK Examples: Student Leadership Clubs Lunch for Lunch Ladies Thoughts That Stick Mix It Up Thoughts That Stick Mix It Up Weeks of Kindness Locker Notes Weeks of Kindness Locker Notes Videos Flash Mobs Videos Flash Mobs Birthday Social Lunch Bunch Crew A New Student Welcome Pheack Welcome Committees Give Back to the Teachers Cross Age Mentoring/Presentations Cross Age Mentoring/Presentations Pay it Forward Pay it Forward You Make A Difference Cards Catch Someone's Kindness

WHAT WILL YOU BUILD?

THE RAINSTORM

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” -Robert F. Kennedy in South Africa in 1966

FIND US HERE Facebook.com/MOVE2STAND Connect. Spread The Word.