Social Justice Youth Development (SJYD)

 Social Justice Youth Development (SJYD)

What is social justice youth development (SJYD) as described by Clemons, Ginwright and Cammarota? What does SJYD mean to you?

From the readings I have a better understanding of SJYD as a style of engaging and empowering youth to participate in democracy and create/be the change they want to see in the world. SJYD is youth led and as the adult, you are the facilitator and sometimes mentor, rather than the formal educator or teacher. This work is formed through mutual respect - treating youth as equal instead of "less than" adults. I relate much of this with the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programs I run, while we are not quite in the stage where all our sites are participating in SJYD work, quality STEM programs harbor a similar value and style. In STEM we encourage our youth to answer their own questions through research and experimentation. Our programs allow adults to learn along side their group, rather than know all the answers to an activity. 

I believe the key word when talking about SJYD is "with". Planning, learning, supporting and leading WITH youth seems to be the most important element to social justice youth development work. No one has all the answers to the social challenges we, especially BIPOC youth, are faced with everyday. Whether you are an adult or a youth, there is no one answer to the inequities we are trying to change, and therefore, we must work together for social justice. For our STEM programs, this means having a bigger focus on facilitation and youth voice and choice. I believe this also means we need to take the model we have started in Cranston and support our other sites into student led projects around social/environmental justice. In Cranston, youth have led many clean ups, studies and fundraisers towards the environmental issues they care most about, which include no litter and supporting organizations that match their values.

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