Detention and Demerits: Letting Youth Lead the Charge
Both "At Our Best: Building Youth-Adult Partnerships in Schools" by Gretchen Brion-Meisels et al. and Kristy Luk et al.'s article, "Why Couldn't That Have Been Me?: Reflections on Confronting Adultism in Education Organizing Spaces" stress the importance of youth voices and challenge adults to rethink their roles in education. However, they both miss the boat on addressing the systemic barriers that really hold us back. Both articles do a great job of highlighting how vital it is to empower young people. "At Our Best" emphasizes how youth-adult partnerships enhance engagement, showing that when students feel heard, they are more invested in their learning. Luk et al. tackle adultism—essentially how adults can stifle youth voices—and they make a strong case for genuine collaboration. This resonates with me because when youth and adults actually team up, learning gets way more interesting and impactful. That said, let’s talk about the elephant in the...