Change Starts With Youth

Damage Control: Higher Education Higher education is an education beyond high school. It is often seen as a necessity to advance in the job market, however this is hard to do when university tuition continues to become more and more unaffordable. Today a student came up to me, frustrated and confused. She recently got accepted into University of the Pacific and told me she received her financial aid package. "Why the f*** do they want me to pay $27,000 to go to this school? I told them my parental contribution would be $0 and they told me that I can do monthly payments. What was the point of them accepting me if I can't even afford it? F*** UOP, man." Meanwhile, another student today told me all excited that she got into Sac State. "I'm gonna have to live at home, but yo, check me out! I'm going to be all college educated!" Lack of Affordability for Students  For a while now, students in high school are expected to achieve a college degree fro

Good morning! Since last Monday was a holiday, I had the whole day to myself... meaning a trip to the used bookstore! My favorite bookstore in Stockton is the Friends of the Library. I've been going there since I was small and my mom would take me, and now I still go when I have the chance. There is such an array of books there for very cheap. I think the most I ever spent on a book there was $5. They also don't just have books there- they have VHS tapes, records, DVDs, and more! I left this weekend with a box filled with books and VHS tapes as I hobbled to my car. Some key finds on this haul: Jane Austen Collection, American Graffiti, David Sedaris Texts, Maya Angelou Poem Collection from 1966, and some books on gardening! I was also able to score my little brother, some Goosebumps books.  If you are ever looking to buy some books, come check this place out, especially if you need books for students! Why spend $20 on one book, when you can spend $20 on four+? 

This week I started my fieldwork at a middle school in Stockton. There is a requirement for my education program at University of the Pacific that I must put in so many hours observing a classroom, and this semester I will eventually have to record my own lesson. I did something similar to this last semester, but it was for English CP 12 at a high school. Very different settings. I chose to observe a middle school classroom because I have decided last semester that I want that to be my focus when I get my credential. Working with my team of middle schoolers at Changeist, I have decided THIS is my age group to work with.  My Cooperating Teacher (CT) is in her mid-twenties. She is spunky, has a bunch of strings of lights hanging around her classroom, and there are a lot of posters on the walls- some to help her students with their writing, and others that are political and low-key callout the education system. On the second day I was in her class, a student said that they left th

Howdy, Do you feel yourself falling behind with the different LGBTQ+ identities? Are you wondering why different gender identities and sexualities matter? Do you ever find yourself saying "Kids are too young to know about that LGBTQ+ stuff?" Then in that case, the San Joaquin County Pride Center has just the thing for you!  From February to early June, the San Joaquin Pride Center will be hosting workshops for parents to help them navigate their children who are in the LGBTQ+ community. This workshop can also apply to educators who's students are in the community. If you don't know, or think you will ever know (unlikely) a young person in the LGBTQ+ community, then this serves as a good learning opportunity to become a strong ally.  Since people, especially in California, are becoming more comfortable with identifying and/or exploring different identities, more and more people are being more adamant about letting people know who they are. Especially

Good morning, Changemakers! On Thursday, I headed to a small winery town in Southern California with some friends. As we all got situated into the house we're staying in, I opened up my Facebook app. I saw that one of my old friends from high school posted ABC10's article, Stockton Ranked 4th Worst Place to Raise Children in the Country.  She commented on the post "I didn't turn out that bad." Of course, she didn't turn out "that bad" because she grew up on the north side of town with both of her parents making a significant income. The article's information came from Diversity Data Kids in their 2020 report. According to the data, about half of Stockton's children live in low-opportunity areas. There are not enough programs for children, the air quality is bad, and most importantly, there is severe wealth inequality. How are people going to prosper when they don't have opportunities coming their ways? Of course, since the Youth De

A colleague once shared on Facebook a graphic that said, "Students have to Maslow before the can Bloom." This is in reference to the Bloom's Taxonomy of Verbs learning model and the theory of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If you are unfamiliar with these two terms, Bloom's Taxonomy is a hierarchal model used to create learning objectives for students. Maslow's Hierarchy is also a hierarchal model, but is used to build up a child's worth and confidence within the classroom. This graphic resonated with me strongly because it is something that I believed in before I had the vocabulary to describe my approach to educating youth. From my experience with children, and even with people in a work setting, people need to feel secure and supported before they can be properly challenged. If a student is having struggles at home, they are more likely to be less in tune with the lesson, as well as act out. It is our goal as educators, and leaders of youth, tha

What’s happenin’, y’all?  Today was Opening Ceremony for Changeist , which meant that friends and families of the youth, as well as anyone who supports the organization, were invited to discover what Changeist really is.  Changeist is an organization founded by Mario Fedelin in Los Angeles almost ten years ago. The mission of the organization is to get youth involved with social issues. The foundation graphic of the organization can be found below. The youth involved, or the Changeists, end up completing over 100 hours of community service through the program. They are encouraged to make their city a better place. Last year, a friend of mine from Stockton who went to UCLA, gave Mr. Fedelin the idea to move the organization to Stockton- a diverse city with severe wealth inequality.  During the ceremony today, youth and team leaders were able to give dedications of the next seven months with Changeist. Most of the youth ended up dedicating their time with Changeist to the

Howdy! Now, more than ever, youth need to become more involved with their communities.  While youth involvement has increased in Stockton, we need more.  When youth are more involved with their communities, they are able to help in improving their town, as well as make a change.  Stockton has recently begun receiving AmeriCorps members to improve youth development, and the community leaders have worked to form the “Youth Development Manifesto” in 2019.  When youth get involved with their communities, they are more likely to return to their hometown after they graduate, they college.  Volunteering can also help youth find a career that they may be interested in and may also serve as a hobby. I have personally selected three different volunteer organizations that youth, or anyone, can volunteer with in town.  Boggs Tract Community Farm Operated through PUENTES whose mission is to “share opportunities in sustainable agriculture to enable urban families to improve health, well-being a