Centering Youth Autonomy in Learning Spaces

As mentors, guardians or supervisors of young people, many of us inherently want to protect them and give them the best advice that we have. Much of the advice that we offer up often comes from our own lived experiences and are centered around how we navigated through the world, and rarely do we take into account how young people currently have to navigate it themselves. This can often lead to youth having self doubt of their own choices, taking away growing and learning opportunities or even space for new solutions.

In this course we will reflect on why our default when supporting young people often centers our experiences, rather than theirs, and how to move away from it, so we can support youth in their self determination journeys. We will also get to hear directly from young people how this default can be detrimental to their own ability to problem solve and find their own answers and choices when it comes to navigating the world. We hope that the conversations that take place in this space will help adults shift their perspective on how they can best support youth, and invite them to try out new practices when offering youth guidance.

This workshop is intended for people who work with youth ages 13-20.

Saturday, June 17
3-5 PM EST
In person

course details

This course is being offered for free with a suggested donation of $15-50. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

If you have access to wealth, please consider giving more to support our work.

When you submit the registration form, you will receive an email confirming your enrollment and providing additional details, including payment method, location/address, an overview of expectations, and any assigned pre-work. 

Space is limited! Once a course reaches maximum capacity, anyone who registers will be placed on a wait list.

Any questions? Please contact us at saturdaycooperative@gmail.com.

about the facilitator

Vania Galicia (she/her/they/them) is a 25 year old, brown, queer, UnDACAmented woman.

She is an urban farmer, educator, youth facilitator and community organizer.

Her family migrated to Willimantic when she was 3 years old, and she has resided there since. Throughout her life she has focused on advocating for immigrant’s rights and local food sovereignty.

Currently, she is the Community Farmer at Grow Windham.