Scotland: Year of Young People

Scotland was the first worldwide to designate 2018 The Year of Young People (YOYP). As part of this initiative, young people were given opportunities to participate in cultural and sporting events and make decisions on issues affecting their lives, including co-designing the YOYP program with more than 500 signed up to volunteer as YOYP Ambassadors.

Celtic Connections continued this theme throughout its 2019 winter festival. I was most inspired by the work of Fèis Rois who performed opening night. According to their website,  Fèis Rois (2019) "aims to give young people and lifelong learners the opportunity to experience and enage with traditional music and Gaelic culture in a way that supports them in developing their social skills and inspires them to reach their full potential." They offer programming year-round in both formal and informal learning environments.

The project unveiled at Celtic Connections was a collaboration between two groups of young musicians from Ross-shire and acclaimed fiddler and composer Duncan Chisholm. Together they researched a local story, created a film, and composed the soundtrack. It is the kind of project I would like to bring to Juneau and JAMM where students take the lead in designing, composing and recording their work.

Another example of youth-led enquiry happened in a Health and Well-being course that I attended for preservice teachers at the Universiy of Strathclyde. The Scottish government defines health and well-being as not one single subject or class, but rather six areas integrated throughout a childʼs schooling:

• mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing
• planning for choices and changes
• physical education, physical activity and sport
• food and health
• substance misuse
  
• relationships, sexual health and parenthood

Space Unlimited visited our class to model the work they do in youth-led enquiry in schools. Their approach places students in roles of leadership where they identify their own needs, generate ideas and agree upon actionable solutions to answer the question, "How can we better support young peopleʼs health and well-being?" The studentsʼ solutions to their own health and wellbeing challenges are then integrated into school improvement objectives.This 3-day process supports Scotlandʼs National Health and Wellbeing Outcome 1: "People are able to look after and improve their own health and wellbeing and live in good health for longer."  Space Unlimited embeds these key principles and methodologies throughout the participatory process:

1. SPACE: students need time and space to figure things out on their own. This means taking a slower pace and leveling of the playing field so that students are in the lead and teachers can only ask questions.
   
2. RESPECT: all perspectives are of interest and heard. Teachers facilitate team activities that allow students to experience what this means and then reflect through discussion on what worked, what didnʼt and why. For example, our class divided into groups and devised a plan to lead a member of our group who was blindfolded to pick up sticky notes on the floor labeled 1 - 10 in number order. 
3. DIVERSITY: when the inquiry process seems chaotic and common ground unimaginable,  Space Unlimited calls this the Grown Zone because divergent thought is at play and the key to success of their youth-led inquiry.
4. PREPARATION IS KEY: make sure to create a safe space where all students feel safe to share their voice and that all involved understand their role and purpose.
5. EXPLORATION OF REALITY: Using role-play, drawing pictures, etc. students examine their school environment. For example, the students are asked, "If Harry Potter came to your school hidden in his invisibility cloak, what would he see that supports health and well-being and what would he see that hinders it?"
   
6. DESIRED FUTURE: Students brainstorm ideas and ways to make that change happen.
7. REFLECT: Students consider all ideas and decide on an actionable plan for the school to implement.
8. SPACE TO ACT: How will the school community ensure that students will stay involved and that this process was not in vain, but seriously considered with the intent to implement.
   

Education Scotland outlined what children should expect from a learning environment to support their health and well-being. The arts, like the Kin and Community Project above, can support many of them, including:

• develop my self-awareness, self-worth and respect for others
  
• meet challenges, manage change and build relationships
• experience personal achievement and build my resilience and confidence
  
• understand and develop my physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing and social skills
• participate in a wide range of activities which promote a healthy lifestyle
• understand that adults in my school community have a responsibility to look after me, listen to my concerns and involve others where necessary
• reflect on my strengths and skills to help me make informed choices when planning my next steps acknowledge diversity and understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge discrimination

Making a link to my community in Juneau, this Youtube video of Arias Hoyle, a high school student from Juneau, Alaska, demonstrates how music and culture can support well-being. For example, the lyrics of his rap include "Iʼm not smoking cannibis, this is just some salmon meat" (smoked salmon that is).