YouthWise
What is YouthWise?
The human chorus is incomplete without the voices of young people, and this library is a step toward making sure these voices are heard and honored, and even when… [they] grow up, that what they thought and felt and believed as... [young people] is never forgotten.
Dave Eggars
YouthWise is a digital platform designed to spark dialogue and deep conversation. It draws on the authentic voices of young adolescents as catalysts for reflection among educators and students.
These voices come from the first cohort of Bank Street College of Education’s Liberty Partnership Program (1989–present). Though recorded nearly three decades ago, their insights remain strikingly timely—almost like a Greek chorus, illuminating truths about young people’s experiences in school and in life.
Themes
The voices have been categorized into themes. Themes that include reflections on language, identity, labels, hope, relationships, trust, belonging, and other components of how we grow as humans, but that are rarely examined in schools. In addition to the original recordings from 1997, the themes may also include those same voices, now middle aged adults, recorded in 2024. Each topic page contains an audio recording, a brief introduction and prompts for reflection and larger group discussion. Themes are always accessible from the menu on the right.
A Story of Voices
My intention was never to make this a personal narrative, but not embedding my voice in this story of voices seemed an impossibility. Liberty at Bank Street College has all the components of a love story for me. How often do we get to revisit the life journeys of our students, 28 years later? How often are we are able to answer the question, did we matter? Did we have impact?
These voices became a barometer which continues to surprise and replenish me with so many of the reasons that led me to become an educator, while at the same time, rekindling an impatient indignation as to why we don't have tens of thousands of liberty-like programs across this country at this very moment.
-David Penberg
