This article explores a model for school counselors to capitalize on the therapeutic, empowerment-oriented nature of hip-hop practices to engage in youth participatory action research (YPAR). Drawing from research that supports the use of hip-hop therapy and YPAR in schools, we propose a culturally sensitive group counseling process wherein…

In this article, the author talks about a summer program at the African American Adolescent Male Summer Literacy Institute which aims to improve literacy skills of black male teens. The African American Adolescent Male Summer Literacy Institute is now in its fourth year at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC). Alfred Tatum, director of the…

In "Streetsmart Schoolsmart", two respected scholars present original research on youth gangs and school success to explain why some boys become disengaged and join gangs while others do not. Chapters vividly describe how urban boys from different ethnic backgrounds (Asian, African American, and Latino) approach schooling and identify the…

The author of this document spent time as the Associate Artistic Director of The 52nd Street Project, a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to the creation and production of new plays for, and often by, kids between the ages of nine and eighteen that reside in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Through a series of unique…

Research conducted in nearly the last decade has drawn attention to the fact that adolescents often feel disconnected with schooling. Youth are described as bored, unmotivated, uninterested, not listening, and feeling averse to learning. In studies highlighting urban adolescents, feelings of disconnection, disaffection, and despair are noted.…

What does it mean to be young in El Alto, a Bolivian shantytown? Based on ethnographic research, this article looks at cultural resilience among young people in a vulnerable urban context. It emphasises how young people value informal youth groups as a tool to valorise their own indigenous culture. This is echoed in the world of adults, implying…

Our three-year inquiry at the Gulf Islands Film and Television School (GIFTS), a community-based media arts educational center, presents a practical model illustrating how urban youth explore their own strengths and connect themselves to a learning space in a rural environment within the context of filmmaking. It also offers pedagogical insights…

For the middle class and the affluent, local ties seem to matter less and less these days, but in the inner city, your life can be irrevocably shaped by what block you live on. "Living the Drama" takes a close look at three neighborhoods in Boston to analyze the many complex ways that the context of community shapes the daily lives and…

In this paper I focus on sequences of interaction among youth where the participants engage in classroom related activities (such as spelling, discussion of essays, etc.). My paper is based on interactional and ethnographic data collected among youth in two different leisure contexts. I discuss how the participants by employment of various…

For educators looking for new ways to engage their students, multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) offer a great opportunity for creative teaching and learning. MUVEs teach students social, technical, and practical life skills in a setting that is engaging and playful. One might be surprised how much these virtual environments teach students…

Throughout the first 157 years of The Children's Aid Society, the economy has cycled through highs and lows, some more severe than the recession individuals are still experiencing. And through them all, Children's Aid has remained strong. The society has always developed new and effective strategies to serve New York City's most vulnerable…

No child should be born into poverty, but as we know all too well, millions are. In New York City, nearly one out of every three children is poor. It is the city's highest rate of child poverty in three decades. Poverty is more complex than the lack of financial resources--the most vulnerable children often lack access to adequate food, shelter,…

Only 8 percent of children born into poverty graduate from college by the age of 25. Consider what that means for the estimated 500,000 New York City kids living in poverty. It is a fact: The better educated a person is, the better her chances of upward mobility. So when fewer than one in 10 children born into poverty reach their academic…

Traditional approaches to education and youth work were transformed by two psychologists who came to the United States as Hitler rose to power. Practical theorist Kurt Lewin challenged mechanistic ideas of behavior by studying children in their natural "life space." Theory practitioner Fritz Redl applied life space concepts to work with…

This paper describes Scratch, a visual, block-based programming language designed to facilitate media manipulation for novice programmers. We report on the Scratch programming experiences of urban youth ages 8-18 at a Computer Clubhouse--an after school center--over an 18-month period. Our analyses of 536 Scratch projects collected during this…