Research tells us that culturally responsive education not only acknowledges students’ experiences but welcomes them as an integral part of learning communities, ultimately resulting in greater academic success. Through reading and discussing true stories written by Youth Communication’s teen writers, educators will be given mirrors (stories that reflect their own experiences) and windows (stories that provide insight into another’s experiences) through which they can better understand themselves and the youth with whom they work.

In this interactive session, participants will reflect on their initial successes and challenges with YC SEL Programs. The emphasis in this reflection is on participants sharing resources, tips, and advice about what works for the school’s students. Additionally, participants will analyze the relationships and unwritten norms in their groups, with an eye toward helping students express empathy, work well together, and support one another.

While avoiding conflict can have useful short-term benefits, it is not teaching young people the skills to handle conflict among friends or family, or in their future academic or work pursuits. We will share practical self-management and communication tools facilitators can use to make the most out of the opportunity that disagreement and difference offer. Participants will walk away with the mindset that leaning into conflict with empathy and curiosity sets their students up for success.

Every young person has the ability to lead—we just need to give them the skills to do so. In this session, we will explore the connection between SEL and leadership, as well as the connection between implicit bias and who is seen as “a leader.” In this session, participants will practice assessing their students for what SEL skills they need improve their leadership abilities in and out of the YC group.

The unique youth-to-youth conversations about the YC writer’s experience builds a supportive community, allows for safe self-exploration, and strengthens SEL competencies. In this workshop, participants will learn facilitation and questioning techniques to put the voices of their group members at the center of the discussion. Together, we’ll ask: What makes a good question about social and emotional learning? How can we challenge students to think more critically? What kinds of questions address group members’ interests and needs?

For some youth, the idea of reading—no matter the content—seems daunting. By reading excerpts from teen-written stories about their experiences with reading and writing, we will explore how a positive relationship with literacy can support youths’ SEL growth. Once we are grounded in the rationale for wanting them to read, we will share best practices for gradually building students’ positive relationships with text. Depending on your student body, we will also discuss supporting English language learners and those with special needs, as well as how to engage all youth in writing their own personal narratives for self-discovery and healing.

For youth, writing is an excellent tool for self-discovery. It allows us to wrestle with difficult memories, ideas, and topics without a fear of how others will react. In this session, we will explore our own relationships with writing and how that impacts our students’ willingness to write. We will share best practices for repairing a broken relationship with the written word and supporting English language learners and those with individualized education plans.

Many of the YC stories make us question what we as adults can do about the problems raised in our sessions, how our students can advocate for themselves, and what role we collectively have in contributing to the solution. In this session, participants will discuss how to select stories from the curricula best suited for extending students’ learning into civic leadership projects. The group will practice coming up with their own project and extending the YC session beyond its initial activities and story-read.