(0:09) Introduction to Cameron Samuels and his advocacy efforts

Cameron is an LGBTQ student activist. In this episode of the podcast, our guest talks about their advocacy efforts, why they became an activist and how adults and educators can support LGBTQ youth.

(1:12) Cameron spoke out against an internet filter that blocked LGBTQ content

Cameron is currently a college freshman, but their advocacy efforts started when they were a high school student in Katy, Texas. They rose to national prominence when they began advocating with other students in Nov. 2021 against the LGBTQ internet filter that their school district used that blocked LGBTQ websites like the Trevor Project. They also set up a book distribution program to give out hundreds of banned books to students.

(1:59) “School should support my wellbeing and success”

Cameron felt unsupported by their school district when they put a content filter in place that blocked LGBTQ resources and news sites, and removed books from the libraries that affirmed queer identity. Cameron decided to speak up.

(8:11) “The internet filter was dismantled in August this year” (2022)

It required 10 months of hard work to get this done, showing up and speaking at school board meetings, accumulating thousands of signatures and going through legal channels to make this happen.

(9:55) Book banning is happening nationwide and students are fighting back

“Student voices are powerful. A voice is powerful and it is because of our voices being heard that we are seeing these changes. We have to show up, we have to get involved in advocacy and stand up for ourselves and we will see changes be made. It could take a year which just shows you can't give up. You have to be persistent.”

(13:26) Dismantling barriers that prevent students from accessing mental health resources

Content filters like the one at Cameron’s school block LGBTQ students from accessing vital mental health resources online like The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth. When a student cannot access suicide prevention lifelines and affirming resources that are vital to navigating their queer identities, LGBTQ youth are at risk of suicide ideation.

(18:17) How teachers can show support for LGBTQ students

Educators can make sure that content and resources in the library are a reflection of the learners that attend the school. The library is the heart of knowledge and learning, and it benefits students to see themselves there. They can request to purchase books like this for the following school year. Cameron recounts how one teacher wore a rainbow pin to quietly show solidarity with students. Knowing that students can go to their teachers and that someone at school cares about their well being is a huge support. School should be a safe space.

(23:28) How schools can be more inclusive in the library

One issue in Cameron’s school is that the district sends a notification to parents when a child checks out a young adult fiction novel. That can be a violation of privacy for queer students who want to check out these books that affirm their identity. That has been a significant barrier.

(27:17) What’s next for Cameron?

Cameron is now a freshman at Brandeis University and was the youth honorary chair of Banned Books Week in 2022, and is currently advocating for the Right to Read Act in Congress. They continue to stand up to censorship across the country.

(28:42) We empowered ourselves

Looking back Cameron says they and their classmates empowered themselves to speak out, but they had many supportive adults along the way. They say students are the victims in all of this.

(29:38) It’s adults’ responsibility to help students and youth

It’s important to attend school board meetings and advocate for students. It can’t just be students, especially when they are struggling and afraid.

(30:10) Businesses are often the ones that have the chance to make the change

It's a business level decision. They need to make choices that are right for our youth.

(32:20) Find a supportive community

Find friends who support you and find trusted adults. Go to school board meetings. Continue to build a movement. You have to speak up. Cameron achieved policy change by showing up and speaking up.

(0:55) What is EnlightGenment?

Along with a couple of friends, Bella founded the nonprofit EnlightGenment to give young activists a platform to talk about issues that aren't widely discussed, such as the beauty standard and immigration.

(1:51) How did your school support you?

Bella and her friends started the movement on their own but then decided to make it a club within her school. Her school has lots of opportunities for students to participate in clubs as well as to form new ones.

(2:40) The harmful impact of unrealistic TV that targets teenagers

Bella shares that having adults play roles as teenagers is unrealistic and potentially harmful to teens because it glamorizes problems like drug addiction and dating violence. Bella felt like her school didn’t prioritize talking to students about the potential problems with this so she decided to create a platform to talk about issues like these.

(4:58) “Teachers need to be more open with their students.”

At Bella’s school she says that teachers are very personable and care about their students. She expresses gratitude and says that it’s not like that at other schools. In some schools, students are just people who come through the door and teachers don’t build relationships with them. Bella says that not only does having supportive teachers help her do better academically, but she thinks that it will help her develop positive relationships later on in life.

(6:04) Being intentional about highlighting student success matters

Teachers pointing out her strengths and giving her guidance has made a big difference in her life. She really likes getting to know her teachers. Kids really need validation from their teachers.

(7:24) What learning is like at Bella’s school

The school and the teachers offer a lot of programs and projects that encourage students to be open minded. Students feel seen and heard when they are allowed to openly express their opinions. Kids want to be heard. Growing up isn’t just about your age, but about maturity. Teachers at Bella’s school really allow students to formulate their own opinions and express them freely through facilitation of class discussions where they leave it up to students to decide what they think is right.

(10:12) What’s next for your organization EnlightGenment?

Growing the platform and inviting more students to participate is the primary goal right now. The members recently competed in the Believe Intellect Competition and became finalists. They plan to do more service projects in their communities like visiting the local children’s hospital, serving meals to the homeless and volunteering for the American Heart Association.

(11:10) A passion for service and activism

Bella has an innate desire to help her community, especially her generation so they can grow into a better society as a whole. She wants to be a lawyer and work directly with the community.

(12:08) What Gen Z needs

Older generations seem unwilling to accept that the world is changing and are defensive when Gen Z’s speak up about it and say, “This is something that you cannot change.” Bella implores older generations to give everyone the respect they deserve no matter their identity. Everyone’s opinions are relevant regardless of age. Bella is fighting for young people to be heard now, not when they “grow up.” Gen Z is a more open minded generation and is willing to talk about issues like gender identity and mental health.

(15:50) On the pandemic

Gen Z had a lot of time during the pandemic to think about social issues and talk about them out in the open.

(19:23) What teachers need to hear

Students want specific feedback and guidance, not just a pat on the back. Bella attributes a lot of her success to her strong relationships with her teachers and the supportive environment they have created for learning and growing. Bella says students need to be taken seriously regardless of their age. Be authentic with your students and find ways to connect with them.

(1:00) What school is like for Esme

Esme has attended the same private girls school for her entire K-12 education. She says that for most of her education it was a typical school and very traditional where teachers asked them to memorize things and copy notes from the board. A few years ago, her school underwent major changes implementing a makerspace and a whole new philosophy that encourages students to be more creative thinkers and problem solvers.

(2:52) Think outside the box

Teachers at Esme’s school encourage students to find their own answers and guide them along the way, rather than telling them something is right or wrong. Esme participates in a lot of project based learning and that’s how she came to work on creating an app to deter catfishing online as part of an extracurricular activity with her classmates.

(3:45) What is catfishing?

Catfishing is when someone tricks you into a relationship online by using a fictional or stolen persona.

(4:44) The process

Esme and her classmates defined the problem, researched existing possible solutions, and then got to work designing the app and trying to imagine what would be needed to solve this real-world problem.

(7:10) A supportive environment

It wasn’t just one teacher that helped Esme and her friends, but a group of dedicated educators that all worked together to support and mentor their students. They incorporated pretty much all of the academic disciplines into this one project.

(8:30) What’s next for Esme?

The classmates are still programming and testing the app and are hoping to get people to download it from the app store and give them feedback so they can keep improving it.

Esme is already dreaming up new projects to work on after this one. She plans to address the problem of girls being drugged at parties by creating a tool to test the pH of a drink.

She hopes to attend university in the United States next year and credits her creativity to her school and her teachers for always telling her that she can change the world.

Listen to Robert Bailey as he meets with Moss, a student from North Dakota who discusses their experience in school.

(0:54) What’s school like?

Robert opens up by asking Moss what school is like for them. They explain that school is interesting with a lot of great courses and teachers to experience. They also have many options when it comes to courses such as music or math classes. Moss’ school has counselors that help students decide which classes to take and the path forward. For example, because Moss took algebra in eighth grade, they had a set track for all of the math courses to take going forward that set them up for success.

(1:55) How teachers improve the learning experience for students like Moss

On the math side, Moss had an amazing geometry teacher who was patient and helpful. Moss felt like they could ask her anything and the teacher would take the time to run through every question without judgment. Many students might shy away from asking questions in class. So educators need to establish a safe environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and making mistakes. This type of environment helps learners build confidence both in the classroom and for the rest of their lives.

(2:46) Negative experiences with teachers

On the other hand, Moss did have a teacher they were afraid to interact with. They note that most students in their class also didn’t want to talk to or ask the teacher questions, so they banded together to support one another.

(3:41) Great teachers can make all the difference

Moss talks about their band and choir teachers and their impact on their lives. They go on to share that these teachers feel almost like second parents. The teachers notice when Moss is feeling down or needs to take a break. They note how caring the teachers are and how much they care about each and every student. Moss goes on to say, “It’s an amazing thing that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.”

Research by the Search Institute has found that young people who experience strong developmental relationships across different parts of their lives are more likely to show signs of positive development in many areas, including:

• Increased academic motivation;
• Increased social-emotional growth and learning;
• Increased sense of personal responsibility; and
• Reduced engagement in a variety of high-risk behaviors.

(4:43) Teacher relationships while learning at home

During Moss’ freshman year of high school, along with millions of other students around the world, experienced the difficulties that came with learning from home during the pandemic. They note that it was harder to make connections with teachers than before the pandemic. Moss also faced the disadvantage of being new to the high school and unfamiliar with the teachers. They felt that if learning at home happened now, they would be able to forge new or maintain relationships with teachers because there’s more familiarity.

(5:29) Current major frustrations as a student

For Moss, the musical season is a difficult time for them at school. They explain that teachers don’t take the busy period into consideration and how difficult it is to complete homework. Moss faced a particularly difficult situation with a teacher who dismissed athletes from deadlines while they recovered, but didn’t adjust expectations for those in the musical. They go on to explain how busy their lives are during the musical season while they’re constantly at school with little time for classwork and homework. Moss agrees with Robert that it’s a heavy burden to place on students’ shoulders– the expectation to manage it all.

(7:14) Keeping their mental health on track

Moss shares how they would take breaks to recharge and focus on their mental health. They wouldn’t always go to rehearsals. Instead, they would opt to go home, spend time with their pets, take a breather and then jump back into the daily demands of life. Moss admits that they haven’t completely gotten there yet and that it’s an ongoing process to work on their self-care.

(8:18) Teachers making the difference

Moss circles back to their math teacher and how he would work with the musical students to ensure they could succeed in the classroom and their extracurricular. He would give the students extensions and offer after-school support in person and online to help students. Moss explains that he was constantly available to support them and ready to answer questions at any time. No question felt too simple for Moss to ask.

Moss’ musical teacher also helped them and other students balance their workload. The musical teacher was also Moss’ band teacher. To help his students, he would let them work on homework during band, so that they could do well academically but also have time to dedicate to the musical. Moss also highlights that he treated all students equally. For example, he made the same allowances for the athletes as he did for the students in the musical. Moss found this amazing and noted how much it helped them and other students.

(10:08) Technology in the classroom

While some students have classes completely offline, Moss has mostly online classes. Their math course and book were both online and accessible to students. For band class, students had to be in class (for obvious reasons). Most of Moss’ teachers made learning accessible for students. Each student in Moss’ school has their own device and teachers post the class material on different platforms for students to access anytime. For example, if Moss was sick, they would call their teachers through Microsoft to listen to the lessons. While recovering from COVID-19, Moss was able to continue learning.

(11:29) Keeping students on task

Moss explains that most of the time it’s easy to tell when students are off-task. They explain that the tech department blocks most games on their Chromebooks, so it’s easier to stay on task. Most of Moss’ teachers also split their teaching. For half of the class, they would lecture about the material, and then during the other half, students had their own work time. Moss believed that this was helpful for students who were struggling to concentrate. It made the class more digestible for them.

(12:58) A message to teachers

For Moss, they believe that teachers are doing really great right now. They have noticed the immense amount of burnout that teachers are going through. Moss has witnessed firsthand the toll that burnout takes on teachers, and how bad it makes them feel. They believe that teachers should be able to take more time for themselves. As a teacher’s assistant for the band director, Moss has seen the pure exhaustion their teachers face. Moss also sees how poorly teachers are treated and believes this needs to change because they have such a huge impact on students.

Robert closes with the belief that “students need to be there for the teachers as much as teachers need to be there for the students.”

Host: Robert Bailey

Producers: Lindsay Dixon-Garcia and Joshua Rodriguez

Intro/Closing voice: Tessa Garcia

Intro/Closing music: "Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Listen to Robert Bailey as he speaks with Matt, a current high school student taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses and navigating the resulting stress and pressure. Matt covers the expectations and the mental health implications of students who take AP classes and how schools can work to support them.

A few statistics on students in AP classes

• Research has shown that students in Advanced Placement (AP) classes and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs experience higher levels of stress compared to students in general education classes. Elevated stress can serve as a risk factor for students' academic and mental health problems. (Source)
• AP students, including those with average scores of 1 or 2, are more likely to enroll in a four-year college compared to academically similar students who did not take AP in high school. (Source)
• AP students who earn a score of 1 or 2, or average a score of 1 or 2 across their AP Exams in high school, have better college outcomes than academically similar college students who did not take an AP course and exam. (Source)

(1:13) Issues facing students

Advanced Placement or AP classes are college-level courses students can take in high school that allow them to earn college credits and placements while helping them save money and stand out to colleges.

While these programs have many benefits, including notoriety on college applications, preparation for college-level courses and learning higher-level material, they also have negative implications for learners. Students face mental health issues such as stress, anxiety or depression and can burn out from taking these high-level courses. Many students take AP classes, which can open many doors for them, but they must learn how to manage their mental health and their class load. This action is complex since most schools don't have enough social-emotional support for their students.

(1:52) The negative effects of AP classes

In the quest for students to take AP classes, they can face peer or parental pressure. Many parents, often with good intentions, pressure their children to succeed in their AP classes or to take on more work without realizing it. Parents want their students to keep outshining themselves, so the pressure on learners to study and continuously improve is constant.

For example, Matt explains that even though his parents have their best intentions at heart, they pressure him quite a bit. While he notes that not all of the pressure is bad, it does result in stress and often creates anxiety. In addition, Matt brings up a good point because AP classes can foster overly competitive environments for students in school that can also trickle down to their home life.

(2:55) Teachers can help combat stress

Last year, Matt had an AP Euro teacher who he found extremely supportive when dealing with stress. Outside of school, she organized study and review sessions, which were helpful and thoughtful for students preparing for their tests. He mentions that she was also very positive and helped the learners get through the anxiety leading up to the actual AP tests. For example, a week before the AP test, Matt explains that his teacher positively reinforced them every day. She affirmed that they would do well and get a top score, which boosted morale and helped the students through mental roadblocks.

For Matt, having his teacher there supporting him was an important factor in his success. He goes on to say that while his class is taking college courses, they're still high school students, so they might not grasp everything they're learning and it's important to acknowledge that.

(4:27) Breaking down the information in AP classes

For more complex or vague subjects, Matt had teachers who would compare the information to real-life scenarios the students were familiar with. This method is one of the teachers' most powerful ways to connect students with the learning material. By using meaningful or relevant information with the students, they're more likely to care or be interested in what they're learning. Still, they're also more likely to understand and remember the information. It puts the information into an even playing field for the students by forging meaningful connections, making learning relevant and providing students with a sense of belonging. Matt explained how his teacher made learning these high-level topics relatable easier by tying in the material with pop culture.

(5:27) Mental health during remote learning and COVID-19

Matt explains that while he was learning remotely during this time, it was very "do it yourself" because they didn't have reliable meetings, and everyone was going at their own pace, among other factors. He said that it was very challenging and stressful to end the school year and then carry on that knowledge from middle to high school. Once he entered high school, they used Google Meets for class, which became more reliable for learning.

(6:51) Staying motivated during remote learning

During both times of remote learning, Matt mentions the constant distractions and lack of motivation. He said that his friends would text each other for motivation and direct the group to focus on the upcoming summer vacation or having a more normal next school year. Regarding distractions, Matt would set reminders and make notes for himself to stay on task. However, he did notice that other students weren't as lucky and some became very distracted or unmotivated during this time, whether it was from issues related to COVID-19 or learning at home.

(7:54) Navigating learning in class on a computer

In the transition from middle school to high school, Matt started using Google Chromebooks. At first, this change was a little weird for him, but he found it beneficial as it restored a sense of normality to the classroom and helped everyone get back on track for high school. For the first semester of school, the teachers gave students a transition phase where they didn't have hard deadlines and were more flexible. Then, in the second semester, everything returned to normal and to almost a pre-pandemic environment.

(10:10) What decisions would you make to have a big impact on students?

If Matt was in a leadership position, he explained that he would first focus on mental health issues due to taking higher academic level classes. Then, he would make students feel like they're not alone in their situation, provide resources, and the overall sentiment that things will get better. Matt would also set up programs or clubs to help students help each other and for the administration to provide resources to them. Providing these extra resources could also encourage students who may not think they're capable of taking AP classes to do so, which will further help their success in college.

About Matt

Matt is a high schooler and teen from Arizona and is currently in 11th grade. He loves listening to music, creating art and hanging out with friends. Aside from school, he participates in swim and dive, HOSA and Environmental Alliance. As an adult, he would also like to pursue medicine and become a cardiologist since he has a strong interest in medicine and all things bio-related. He chose to do the podcast since he wants to share his opinion and voice with the world and educate others about mental health and how it relates to the school system.

Host: Robert Bailey

Producers: Lindsay Dixon-Garcia and Joshua Rodriguez

Intro/Closing voice: Tessa Garcia

Intro/Closing music: "Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Listen to Sonya, a high school student from northwest Ohio, discuss her passion for dance and the performing arts. She shares with us how the arts are often an afterthought in the curriculum and lack the proper funding to provide more opportunities for students to explore their interests.

Facts about the arts in education:

• Students with high arts participation and low socioeconomic backgrounds have a 4 percent dropout rate—five times lower than their low socioeconomic status peers.
• Low-income students highly engaged in the arts are twice as likely to graduate college as their peers with no arts education.
• Two-thirds of public school teachers say that other subjects “get crowded out by extra attention being paid to math or language arts,” such as art, music, foreign language, and social studies.
• More information about the benefits of the arts in education.

(00:43) A little bit about Sonya

Sonya is a big supporter and active participant in the arts. For the last eight years, Sonya has been a dancer. In addition, she’s been a singer for two years and recently started acting. She’s looking to attend a performing arts school in the near future such as Juilliard or Michigan.

(1:18) The arts as an afterthought

While Sonya looked for a high school to attend, she found that many of them tended to think of the arts as an afterthought, or as something for students to do when they are bored. She notes how they don’t notice or understand that the arts provide a setting to teach students life skills. Sonya highlights that acting, in particular, has been helpful for men and women in the business world. She explains how former actors and actresses are able to better project and present themselves.

(2:13) Involvement in the arts outside of school

Robert notes that with the lack of arts opportunities in school, Sonya, among other students, have to seek outside sources, which can often be costly. When students are provided with opportunities to practice their singing, acting, dancing, painting or whatever else they enjoy in the arts in school, it’s one less barrier they have to overcome. They don’t have to look or pay for outside classes or clubs to meet this interest. While the arts do require funding to run successfully in a school, the benefits and skills they provide to learners are invaluable.

(2:44) Dance as a passion

Sonya explains that dance is helpful even for everyday life. Having practiced ballet for eight years, among other dances, she had other opportunities in the arts open up to her, including acting and singing. In regards to becoming a Broadway performer, she notes that many people get their start by doing ballet as it helps them branch out to other types of dances and skills. Ballet or dance also helps participants build confidence and skills such as time management, creativity, accountability and so much more.

(4:19) What are some of the ways that educators or schools can help support the artist?

Sonya suggests that educators intertwine their subjects with the arts more. For example, her social studies teachers ties art in through history, which makes learning more interesting for Sonya as she’s able to make connections between the two seemingly different subjects. Or the play Romeo and Juliet that many high school students read as a requirement connects with acting and dancing.

(5:02) Using project based learning to support arts in the classroom

In education, project based learning or PBL, encourages students to research something they are passionate about and tie it back to something else. Robert explains how Sonya could look at history through the lens of art to spark her interest in learning about it. Picking up off this idea, Sonya talks about all of the different subjects that connect to art such as music and math, and further dives into art supporting students in paying attention during class. Drawing can aid students in learning and remembering information.

(6:53) Multitasking for learners

Whether multitasking is a good thing or not, students today often experience this constantly. While these multitasking abilities are being established, children devote more of their newfound skills to the various digital technologies at their disposal. They have multiple devices to manage with multiple tabs, and that’s all while still interacting with the world around them. Sonya explains that she often multitasks at home, listening to music while studying or doing homework.

(7:49) Monitoring in the classroom

Robert poses the question to Sonya whether her teachers use any software in the classroom to see what the students are doing. Sonya explains that her school uses GoGuardian and that the experience is frustrating because the software will watch what they are doing and send them notifications. Sonya tends to draw during the class, which she believes helps her learn and stay on task, but mentions how the software flags that as an off-task activity. She uses drawing as a way to make connections to the information and refers back to that during tests.

(9:47) Who are the teachers that get you the most excited?

As educator Rita F. Pierson said during her TED Talk, "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.” During her presentation, she made an inspiring call to educators to “believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.” This idea is something that Sonya highlights. Being able to have an open dialogue between educators and learners creates a positive relationship, where the students feel more comfortable and supported. Sonya advises teachers to try and make those connections by having conversations with their learners.

About Sonya

Sonya is a high school student from northwest Ohio. She is a lover of the performing arts. Sonya shares her passion for dance and how the arts are often an afterthought in the curriculum and lack the proper funding to provide more opportunities for students to explore their interests.

Host: Robert Bailey

Producers: Lindsay Dixon-Garcia and Joshua Rodriguez

Intro/Closing voice: Tessa Garcia

Intro/Closing music: "Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Listen up to Daniel and Von as they share what it was like to attend a secure school for incarcerated youth in New Orleans. They talk about what helps them learn best, how the secure school was a wonderful environment for learning and their dreams for the future. It was a truly inspiring conversation with two young men that are starting a hopeful new chapter in their lives.

Host: Robert Bailey

Producers: Lindsay Dixon-Garcia and Joshua Rodriguez

Intro/Closing voice: Tessa Garcia

Intro/Closing music: "Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/