2008 is the Year of Education and YouthNoise is engaging California students by inviting them to share stories about experiences in school—and ideas for what needs to change—so they can graduate prepared for college and ready for life after high school: Right To Learn. The campaign on these pages features these stories—in writing, video, music or the visual arts. Use the FAQ below to learn more about Right To Learn.
Q: Is Right To Learn connected to a political or partisan organization?
Q: What is going to happen with my story?
Q: I’ve submitted my story; now what? What else can I do?
Q: How will all this make a difference?
Q: What if I have ideas to address obstacles? How can I be sure they are heard?
Q: Why should my youth-focused organization get involved with Right To Learn? How can we get involved?
Q: My company might want to sponsor Right To Learn? Why should we do it? Who do we contact?
Q: I don’t live in California. Can I participate? When will Right To Learn be coming to my state?
Q: What formats can I submit stories in?
Q: I'm having technical difficulties, how can I get help?
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Q: A: Right To Learn is a unique program focused on getting youth to impact education policy in the state of California. By collecting the stories of students' experiences in the education system, we hope to spark some new thinking in Sacramento. Beginning in January, students will be encouraged to connect with each other to learn more about education reform policies, advocate for their interests, and launch projects at the local level to tackle issues of concern. Funding will be provided for the top project ideas.
Q: Is Right To Learn connected to a political or partisan organization?
A: No. Right To Learn is affiliated with YouthNoise, which is proudly a nonpartisan, nonsectarian nonprofit organization. We do not have an organizational viewpoint as to how California's education system should be reformed. We just strongly stand behind the idea that youth have an important voice in this debate and they should be empowered to advocate for their interests, whatever those interests may be.
A: YouthNoise is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian, nonprofit organization that brings young people ages 16-22 together to form a global network for sharing and converting their ideas into action to improve the world around them. Featuring 100% youth-generated content, YouthNoise has registered more than 113,000 youth from all fifty states and more than 170 countries, and welcomes an average of 120,000 unique visitors per month. For more information on YouthNoise and its programs, visit YouthNoise.
A: If our stories are going to have an impact on what happens in Sacramento, we need to hear from everyone from San Francisco to San Diego, from the inner city of LA to the rural farmland of the Central Valley. The more young people that take the time to tell their story, the better chance we have of making a difference.
Q: What is going to happen with my story?
A: Your story will be accessible on the Right To Learn site for other users to view and comment and rate. In December, YouthNoise will create a report collecting the stories we’ve received and distribute it to key decision-makers in Sacramento, including Gov. Schwarzenegger, other legislators, advocacy groups and the media. The youth who submit the five most compelling stories will each receive a laptop and a trip to Sacramento to meet with key education decision-makers.
Q: I’ve submitted my story; now what?
A: If you’ve submitted a story, you can do a few things:
- Promote Your Story: Use our tools to pass along the word to your friends that you’ve participated in this movement, and invite them to do the same. You can get to these tools here.
- View, Comment on and Rate Other Stories: You can see what stories others are telling, comment on the ones that you like (or don’t like), and rate those which you think are the best here.
- Explore the Issues: Learn more about the important issues surrounding education in California. There’s a list of topics here. Know something else about one of these issues? There’s a place to add your own info too!
- Take Action: Start making a difference about the education issues you care about. You'll find projects for local or national activism, and you can submit your own ideas too.
Q: How will all this make a difference?
A: All movements begin with a belief that things need to change. Your stories will help raise awareness about the issues facing students in California. We will distribute copies of your stories to the governor, legislators, advocacy groups, and the media in December. From there, we will ask users from around the state to use their imaginations to come up with potential solutions to the challenges identified in the stories. Finally, action: When you identify a solution that you think would make a big difference, you will have the opportunity to organize your friends and classmates to take action in support of that idea. YouthNoise and Right To Learn will even help out, providing you with the tools, connections and resources you need to make your vision a reality. As Margaret Mead said, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Q: What if I have ideas to address obstacles? How can I be sure they are heard?
A: Beginning in December, we will have a more formal way of identifying solutions. But for now, feel free to either submit your ideas as part of your original story or submit a comment to your or someone else's story with your idea for a solution. Tag your story with "solution" if it contains a possible idea about how to address a challenge in your school.
Q: How can my youth-focused organization get involved with Right To Learn?
A: YouthNoise is looking for partner organizations involved in youth development, community-based activities, political organizing and similar efforts to help us gather the largest number of stories from a diverse population of students. We have a number of incentives available to assist organizations in their efforts. For more information, visit www.RightToLearnCA.org/orgs or contact Cristina Mitra, Right To Learn Community Outreach Manager, at cristina@youthnoise.org or 415-375-3096.
Q: I’m a teacher. How can I get my students involved to participate in Right To Learn?
A: Right To Learn is the perfect complement to your existing lessons in creative writing, technology/digital arts, social studies, fine arts, leadership or student government. Helping your students craft their personal stories for an effort that will impact an issue so close to them can be an empowering experience both for you and for them. For more specific ideas about how you can integrate Right To Learn into your lessons, visit www.RightToLearnCA.org/schools. We also have some special incentives available for teachers to help get the program off the ground in your classroom and at your school. To learn more about those incentives, please contact Cristina Mitra, Right To Learn Community Outreach Manager, at cristina@youthnoise.org or 415-346-4433.
Q: My company wants to sponsor the Right To Learn. Who do we contact?
A: YouthNoise is very interested in partnering with socially-responsible, forward-thinking companies that are interested in California education. There are a variety of sponsorship and partnership opportunities available. For more information contact Angie Bush, YouthNoise Development Director, at angie@youthnoise.org or 415-375-3098.
Q: I don’t live in California. Can I participate? Will Right To Learn be coming to my state?
A: Right To Learn is currently a California initiative. If you’re from out of state, you’re still welcome to browse the stories, learn more about the issues, or even submit your own story. The nice folks that provided the awards, however, tell us that we can only give awards to California residents. We hope to extend this movement in the near future, so if you think this type of thing is really needed where you live, please let us know by e-mailing trey@youthnoise.org.
Q: In what formats can I submit stories?
A: Stories can be submitted in video, text, audio or images. Supported file formats are JPG or GIF for images, MPG, MOV, FLV or WMV for video, or MP3 for audio. Text can be copied and pasted and then formatted directly on the Right To Learn site. We encourage you to use as many of these formats as you want in the same story. Be creative!
Q: I'm having technical difficulties, how can I get help?
Send an email to help@RightToLearnCA.org and describe your difficulties in detail. We're out changing the world, so it may take us a couple days to respond to your question(s).
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