Life Lines: Finding Family through Musical Improv in Sunset Park

By the time the bus packed with teenagers from Brooklyn’s Sunset Park reached their weekend retreat in Hudson Valley, everyone knew the rule: no one could use the “T” word. (T stood for “tired.”) For the next three days, these 65 middle and high school students would be wearing themselves out, body and soul, in the best tradition of rehearsing musical theater. Then they would go back to perform in Sunset Park, the immigrant community they call home.

It would be easy to think that the retreat’s main goal was to create a finely polished theater production. But on this unseasonably cool spring morning, Life Lines staff had their eyes on another prize: knitting this diverse group of adolescents into a community of care, where everyone mattered, everyone had a voice, and no one gave up. “Connections—that’s what this show and Life Lines is all about,” said the program's founder, Julia Stein Brockway. “It recognizes the deep human need to feel accepted and to belong.”

WKCD's 2016 Summer Bucket List, by and for Teens

We're often asked if we have a "summer bucket list" for teens that we could share. For the past three years, we've searched the web for lists posted by young people across the country. This year's looks like last year's: the ideas, more than 90, stand the test of time. We invite you to share the list with kids you know and to use it as a spring(summer) board to come up with your own ideas—perhaps ideas more suited to your own circumstances—and to try some of the ideas yourself.

Go an entire day (two days?) without technology. Do something that scares you. Interview someone you don't know and learn their life story; write it up and give it to them. Stand up for something you believe in. Eat five things you haven't eaten before. Visit a museum. Read five books.

Short Workouts for Social-Emotional Learning | December 2015 - May 2016

In an era when test scores consume much of the oxygen around student success, we welcome the turn to social-emotional development as a key factor in a young person’s education. In December 2015, WKCD introduced a new, monthly feature called Short Workouts for Social-Emotional Learning, geared towards middle and high school students. Each "collection" includes ten 10-15 minute workouts—quotations, questions, video clips, and photographs—suitable as a bell ringer, warm up, or advisory activity. There is no formula for using these workouts with students (just as there are no right or wrong answers). Mix them up and sprinkle them into your ongoing work, knowing that your students will embrace the chance to flex their social-emotional muscles.

May 2016 | April 2016 | March 2016 | February 2016 | January 2016 | December 2015

2 Valedictorians in Texas Declare Undocumented Status, and Outrage Ensues

When Mayte Lara Ibarra, the valedictorian of her high school’s graduating class, revealed her plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin on a scholarship, she did what any graduate would do: She shared her excitement on social media. Ms. Lara also declared, proudly, that she is undocumented.

Kids Talk about Segregation

It's been 62 years since Brown v. Board of Education, but the percentage of racially segregated schools in the United States has been growing steadily over the past 15 years. New York has the most segregated schools in the country. New York’s WNYC asked these Bronx 5th graders what segregation looks like today.

Shining a Spotlight on Black Girls

This infographic from the Schott Foundation focuses on the barriers facing Black girls in our public schools. Unfair discipline practices. Disinvestment from curriculum. Lack of supports for girls who face familial responsibilities. High rates of exposure to sexual harassment and violence. Lack of resources for counseling and addressing trauma.

From Activism to ‘Zowie!’: 10 Articles From the Times Archives on Life as a 20th-Century Teenager

Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll—and feminism, fashion, war protests, first driver’s licenses and the hottest slang of 1943. In this piece, members of our Learning Network's teenage Student Council chose 10 gems from the Times archives about the lives of young people in the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

Sisterhood on Wheels: Bushwick’s Rugged Roller Derby Girls

Blossom Bettles is a petite 12 year old who lives on a tree-lined street in Brooklyn. Her father, who is British, is a photographer; her mother is a meditation and mindfulness teacher from New Zealand. Blossom’s name seems to suit her perfectly, until she straps on skates, dons her gear and becomes Dark Pixie, a fierce competitor in a gritty junior roller derby league in Bushwick.

8th-Grader Nails Impersonations Of Trump, Clinton, Obama, Sanders

Maybe we're all just taking politics too seriously these days. Eighth-grader Jack Aiello used his 8-minute graduation speech to impersonate Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Aiello, speaking as Sanders, said his school had the best cinnamon rolls he'd ever tasted, but "I do have one improvement for them, though: We need to make them free."