Institute for Youth in Policy转发了
During my sophomore year of high school, I took an OnRamps statistics class. I didn't think much of the subject and I certainly didn't think it would come to offer me the sense of direction it has today. Last week I had the opportunity to co-present two SXSW EDU workshops alongside Eli Solomon and Isabel Epistelomogi, speaking with over 80 educators, parents, community leaders, and innovators on the topic of student-led civic education. During both presentations, I used many of the skills I learned in that statistics class to present our evidence that discourse-based, interactive civics education can help youth better understand and engage with today's most polarizing topics. Throughout high school, I saw teachers navigate the challenge of discussing current events while acknowledging diverse perspectives. These workshops aimed to help by: 1. Presenting research-backed strategies for implementing discussion-based civics education in classrooms. 2. Showcasing student-designed activities that facilitate conversations on topics like the Israel-Palestine conflict, gun policy, and affirmative action. I'm grateful to the Institute for Youth in Policy—especially my incredible teammates, Eli Solomon, Isabel Epistelomogi, Lalitaditya Akkaraju, Henry Tan, Rohit Kelkar, Manas Sinha—for providing me with a platform to contribute these skills to a mission that has grown to reach over 5,800 students. I am also grateful to my community for their encouragement throughout the past several weeks, and especially my sophomore-year statistics teacher who helped me understand the relevance of this subject outside of the classroom. Encourage the students you know, especially those in high school, to pursue unconventional opportunities because you never know the sense of direction it might offer them.