[staff] Defending Student Voice
I recently attended a conference on youth development in which a debate emerged around pedagogical approaches to teaching young people about serious issues. I was asked whether using youth-designed games to talk about serious issues trivializes the lives of those effected by the issue. Later in the conversation, it was said that Tempest in Crescent City, the third Playing 4 Keeps game about local heroic efforts in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, is nothing short of offensive. While my gut reaction was to get defensive, I soon realized this was actually a good thing. And this is why:
The goal of Playing 4 Keeps is not about the games. It is not about determining what's reality and what's not, or whether games can ever be used for learning. Playing 4 Keeps, as I see it, is about student voice. The game serves as a platform for these young people to speak out on an issue they feel passionately about. Taking a step back, and reflecting on the backgrounds of these young people brings to light another point. Traditionally, the adult demographic, let alone high school students, from such ethnic and/or socioeconomic backgrounds have been a silenced part of the population when it comes to civic engagement.
So what happens when they, or anyone else, has the chance to have their voice heard? They may choose to speak out about issues that seem too personal or too uncomfortable. They may say things that are deemed offensive or perhaps even flat out wrong. But that's ok. Part of having a voice and speaking out with that voice, is about having others listen and being able to listen to them. Listening to feedback, both positive reinforcement and negative critiques, is not only a part of the learning process, but civic engagement as well.
While I initially wanted to defend the participants in Playing 4 Keeps, I know this is the wrong response. The young people at Canarsie High School who participated in Playing 4 Keeps, have indeed succeeded. We see this through the group of forty adults who spoke up and engaged in an emotional conversation about their experiences and reactions to our nation's response to Hurricane Katrina as a result of Tempest. And this is just one example of one group's reaction...no one knows where the conversation will spread from there. These young people should be proud of themselves for taking the risk to speak out and know that people are listening, even when they disagree.
My takeaway from this conversation is that as educators, when we work to create opportunities for student voice, we need to be mindful of also creating opportunities to listen, not only for the young people we work with but for ourselves as well.
