Change Starts... Anywhere! The Service-Learning and Online Programs Team Up to Launch a New Hybrid Course

By Mishal Qureshi

Young people and intergenerational groups that empower youth to be changemakers in their communities have been at the forefront of social movements throughout history. Recently, we have seen young people lead the charge with local organizations such as the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, as well as national movements like the March for Our Lives. Center for Talent Development’s (CTD) new hybrid course, Human Rights & Youth Advocacy, is built with the understanding that young people are leaders and need avenues to develop a critical understanding of issues they care about, while honing their collaboration and problem solving skills.

Human Rights & Youth Advocacy is a partnership between CTD’s online program and service-learning program, the Civic Education Project. The nine week course will blend flexible online learning with a three day, in-person, hands-on service experience in Chicago, where students will have the opportunity to meet and learn from their peers, community members, and local leaders.

In the online classroom, students will learn through case studies of youth advocacy movements, which will help students to understand the connection between historical struggles and current on-the-ground work. Students will build a community with their peers in advance of meeting in-person. Afterwards, students will participate in an in-depth discussion, reflection, and analysis of the literature on the issues most significantly affecting human rights nationally. Weekly units will be centered on a particular issue, such as housing, food security, or education, which will allow students to gain a holistic understanding of its complexities. Like all of our online courses, students will have the flexibility to complete coursework at their own pace.

In-person, students will contribute to the work of community organizations centered on issues they are learning about in the virtual classroom. Service sites may include advocacy organizations, where students will learn about how organizations work to support particular causes pertaining to human rights and create change, or homeless shelters, where students may serve meals and speak with clients. Students will explore an “asset-based” community development framework focused on identifying strength and resources within communities and leveraging them to create change. Service-learning is hard and challenging work, but our award-winning programs have finely-tuned models which we employ to ensure service is meaningful, safe, and impactful for students and our community partners. All service experiences will be facilitated by CTD staff members trained in service-learning and experiential education.

The Human Rights & Youth Advocacy course will prepare students to take the first step as leaders in their own communities with the knowledge and experience they’ve gained from the course. Students will work in small groups to develop their own action plan on an issue they have recognized in their own community. Students will prepare a TED Talk-like presentation, which will provide the theoretical background on the issue and how they propose to take action in response. 

Human Rights & Youth Advocacy is offered for students in grades 7 through 10. The online course will run from January 7 to March 8, 2019. The in-person weekend will take place in Chicago on January 19 through 21, 2019. Visit the hybrid webpage for additional program information, including details on eligibility and the application process. The application deadline is December 15.