Where Youth Hold power

Main Ideas

Youth in Action started in 1997 in Providence, Rhode Island. Youth in Action was created to give youth a voice in in their communities, school, religion, politics, and their own personal issues. One of the strong points in the article, is youth can feel powerful or powerless and YIA wants all youth to feel they have the power to help change their community or just for the youth's opinions to be heard. The youth can be heard without being spoken down to or be judged for their own opinions. Youth and adults are working together to help create a better tomorrow for the youth. Also it is a safe place where everyone wants to hear your voice and actually listen to help make a better tomorrow. 

How does YIA resonate (or not) with own experience as a youth? 
 As I was reading about YIA I realized I never had a place like this growing up to be able to speak my own opinions and voice my concerns about my community and what I needed to change. Although at the same time I grew up loving my community. I attended Catholic School from kindergarten all the way through high school. During those years I participated in my community playing sports, voulenteering my time, and paricipating in clubs. As I participated in those activities I could always voice new ideas and opinions within those activities, but looking back I did not have a program where I felt I had power to put my own thoughts and ideas in like the program YIA. 

How does YIA model the notion "with not to"?
 YIA models the with not to because they let the youth run programs and they have free debates where everyone feels safe to voice their own opinions without feeling like someone is going to tear you down.  I loved reading about Giovannis experience and how she felt about youth and action. Giovanni perfered YIA's model of developing skills over the schools. In school she felt she couldn't voice her opinion versus at YIA it was not normal to not voice your opinion.She also mentions how in school teachers tell you what to think instead of letting the students do their own critical thinking. I completly agree with her. Reading the article and seeing how YIA works I think that model should be incorporated in schools. Youths voices should be heard outside and insede the classroom. Letting students voice their opinions on topics being discussed in school or debate on differences will welcome a more open and safe classroom, where students feel they can speak out and be heard.