YR Media Launches “Teachable Moments” to Support Educators and Students in New Back-to-School Reality During COVID-19 Pandemic

“Teachable Moments” provides youth-centric content and teacher resources to encourage more engaged learning attuned to students’ social and emotional well-being

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To help teachers and students adjust to their new and challenging circumstances, YR Media is launching “Teachable Moments,” a rich collection of youth narratives and teacher toolkits designed to spotlight and encourage student-conceived and research-backed methods for engaged, emotionally-supportive learning. “Teachable Moments” was developed with funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed nearly every industry, the education system has been among the hardest hit, both for young people learning to navigate a new way of life on top of their regular curriculum, as well as for educators trying to navigate fully remote, hybrid or socially distant learning. In response to this new reality, YR Media is launching “Teachable Moments” to support students and educators.

“Teachable Moments” features 42 youth-produced stories covering topics ranging from use of technology, mental health and resilience during the pandemic. The “Teachable Moments” portal will also feature a “Zoomiversary” interactive project with a roundup of voices from pandemic-era classrooms presented as the all too familiar video meeting format.

“Teachable Moments” stories include:

• What We Wish Teachers Knew About Online Learning
• Distance Learning and ADHD
• How Can I Focus On School During a Pandemic
• Struggling to Connect
• Mental Health of Zoom School
• Tips for Navigating Remote Campus Life
• Innovative Ways Students Are Showing Resilience and Building Solutions During the Pandemic

In addition to the youth-led stories, YR Media is launching "Teachable Moments" toolkits for educators that offer lessons and practices teachers can incorporate into their classrooms to address the needs and opportunities young people are surfacing through their storytelling. These educator tools, such as “How to Use Letters to Boost Mental Health” and “How to Support Your Students’ Self Care,” are designed to support educators, including through social and emotional best practices for engaging with students, handling remote or hybrid teaching and self-care techniques during COVID-19.

“Everyone in the education community has had to re-imagine their approach to learning, and our hope is that Teachable Moments lets all the critical stakeholders have a voice in designing the best curriculum materials and facilitating student-teacher dialogues moving forward,” said Kyra Kyles, CEO of YR Media.

“Teachable Moments” will launch on March 17, 2021, at yr.media/teachable-moments/. For more information on YR Media, please visit yr.media.

For more information on the program, please visit Teachable Moments.

About YR Media
YR Media, formerly Youth Radio, is an award-winning national network of diverse young journalists and artists from underrepresented communities who create content for this generation. Headquartered in downtown Oakland, California, our non-profit has spent 25 years helping future generations build crucial skills in journalism, arts and media. We produce journalism, music, graphic design, podcasts and documentaries that disrupt and shape the mainstream narrative.

About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit www.chanzuckerberg.com.