YR Media’s “Teachable Moments” Educator Engagement Campaign Adds New Resources and Teacher Toolkits for Fall 2021 School Year

“‘Teachable Moments’ Back-to-School Meet & Greet” Also to Host Virtual Summit for Educators in September 2021

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Back-to-school season often stokes anxiety for students and teachers alike, and adding the uncertainty of an ever-evolving pandemic increases the anticipation exponentially. According to a new study by EdWeek, a wide majority of all students reported they are experiencing more problems now than they did in January 2020 (before the pandemic began), with 77% of Black and Latinx students reporting more struggles -- a full 9 percentage points higher than the percentage of White or Asian students.

In an effort to help both teachers and students adjust to these ongoing challenging circumstances, YR Media – a non-profit media organization investing in future generations by championing the voices of underrepresented youth, including the BIPOC and LGBQT+ community – is expanding “Teachable Moments,” a program built around a rich collection of youth narratives and teacher toolkits. “Teachable Moments'' is designed to spotlight and encourage student-conceived and research-backed methods for engaged, emotionally- supportive learning.

The initiative originally launched in the spring of 2021 and, to date, has featured 42 youth-produced stories about mental health and resilience during the pandemic. Those articles will now feature new unique and easy-to-use curriculum tools that integrate Mental Health & Wellbeing with online learning. These four new downloadable toolkits offer lessons and practices teachers can incorporate into their classrooms to address the needs and opportunities young people are surfacing through their storytelling. These include four new resources:

• How to Help Students Make Playlists that Promote Well-Being
• How to Write Pro/Con Listicles for Well-Being
• How to Promote Discussion and Critical Thinking by Making Videos
• How To Harness the Power of Public Records for Youth Voice & Advocacy

In addition to providing these resources to educators nationwide online, YR Media’s Teach YR team will host the “‘Teachable Moments’ Back-to-School Meet & Greet,” a virtual summit to bring instructors from all backgrounds together to share perspectives, explore the “Teachable Moments” toolkits and broader programs, and connect with the YR Media educator network as they head back to school this Fall.

The “Teach YR ‘Teachable Moments’ Back-to-School Meet & Greet” will be held Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 4 p.m. PST / 7 p.m. EST and will feature:

• An exploration of the Teach YR “Teachable Moments” learning resources that support media making, digital storytelling, and youth voices, as well as approaches and activities that bolster well-being and support for teens and young adults as they navigate pandemic-dictated learning conditions
• An exclusive share out and access to information from "Youth Media Beyond the Margins," a course taught by Dr. Cherise McBride in partnership with the Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP)
• A virtual goody bag featuring a collection of downloadable “Teachable Moments” curriculum tools, one customized “work in progress” curriculum tool, and invitations to become a member of the Teach YR virtual community and to join a teacher inquiry group that will continue the work collaboratively moving forward

“Everyone in the education community - from teachers to students to parents - has had to re-imagine and adjust their approach to learning for nearly 18 months now,” said Monica Clark, PhD, Director of Teach YR. “Our hope is that ‘Teachable Moments’ continues to lend a voice to all the critical stakeholders, helping them to design the best curriculum and facilitate essential teacher-student dialogues for successful learning - both now and in the future.”

“We are excited about the work our Teach YR team is doing to not only shine a light on the curriculum needs of students from underrepresented communities, but to empower educators during this critical time,” said Kyra Kyles, CEO of YR Media. “True to our mission, we want to ensure that any content focused on young people is created in direct partnership with them.”

“Teachable Moments” will launch with new toolkits and resources on September 1, 2021, at https://yr.media/teachable-moments/. Toolkits can be downloaded directly here.

This project has been made possible in part by a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

To register for the “YR ‘Teachable Moments’ Back-to-School Meet & Greet,” visit: https://yrmedia-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsdu2prD4sGN1y97nA3c9vQYz1-sLDU3a6

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.