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Many students don't realize just how well they already use language.  From conversations with friends and family to social media posts to filming short dance videos, today's students are continually engaged in communication across a wide variety of genres.

One problem with traditional English courses is the focus on two very limited modes of expression: essays and "literary" novels.  For students who struggle with school, these genres can feel entirely foreign — when they attempt to "write persuasively" or to "identify symbolism" based on academic expectations, they end up receiving negative feedback that reinforces the idea that they "can't write."  For some students, this experience often destroys their desire to engage in any type of formal communication — rather than learning to find the joy in reading and writing, they begin avoid writing papers and reading books.

To counter this, I focus on three key elements in my YouthBuild courses:

1. Students are allowed to read and write about any topic they're interested in.  Rather than assign specific books or essay topics, I encourage students to focus on their personal interests wherever they lead.

2. I don't require any specific format for student writing.  Some students are more comfortable writing by hand, and others prefer typing — a few even use voice-to-text.  Rather than limit students based on their relative typings skills, my aim to develop their ability to engage with the written word in whatever form that takes.

3. As students develop confidence, I build in more complex assignments with digital skills that can directly apply to their personal interests.  We need to prepare our students for a society that's increasingly dependent upon digital platforms for both employment and interpersonal connections. 

Naturally, this system is far from perfect.  It sacrifices many of the formal grammar and literary lessons that form the core of many traditional English courses.  However, this method allows far more writing than students might otherwise accomplish.  For each YouthBuild course I teach, students complete between 25 and 50 pages of writing, depending upon the reading load of the course.  Many students have chosen to write extensive works about their personal lives, some of begun novels and collections of short stories, and still others have assembled short essay collections across a breadth of topics I couldn't have imagined.

In addition to fostering these skills of self-expression, it's important that students be introduced to outside perspectives.  At YBMC, we have Literary Circles three times a week, during which students meet in small reading groups with staff from across the school.  Students and staff choose popular books they're interested in and read these works together, and then students write personal thoughts about the works.  Because we incorporate a wide cross-section of the YouthBuild staff, this shows students that the reading isn't simply a joy reserved for English teachers.