Out of the Classroom
For generations, the classroom has been the central way we have seen education. It is the place where students sit in rows or circles, learn lessons from teachers, take notes on their own, and are assessed based on standardised testing. As a result of new forms of schooling (i.e., online), the rapid pace of technology, the pressure of mental health issues, and changing social norms, we need a new definition of education. As we begin to redefine what formal organised learning means, it's becoming clear that educational experiences can take several forms and that communities are taking on a new educational role; they're becoming the classroom. Grassroots, community-based youth work, in which local efforts are empowered/led by youth, is emerging into this educational space with enormous force. Youth centers, after-school programs, sports clubs, social enterprises, and youth mentoring programs, and many after-school and community-based youth work programs, not only assist youth in surviving. They can assist youth to thrive. They fill voids from overwhelmed schools and underfunded social service systems, and they teach youth knowledge, abilities, and leadership in ways that blackboards and textbooks have not.
In this blog, we will explore why youth-centered, community-based work should not exist as only a substitute for, or byproduct of, organised education, but as part of the education narratives that already exist in our communities.
The Crisis in Traditional Education
Despite the intent of a global education system to support youth, it continues to fall short of identifying the diverse and changing needs of young people today. Several interconnected circumstances that have come to light regarding the shortcomings of formal education include:
• Irrelevant curriculum, so much of what youth are taught at school does not reflect real-world challenges or even prepare them for life skills related to resilience, emotional intelligence, financial literacy, or conflict.
• Mental health, an alarming number of youths experience anxiety, depression, and stress, often unrecognised or unsupported within a formal institution.
• Inequitably and exclusion, disenfranchised youth, including youth of color, low socio-economic families, neurodivergent learners, and refugee learners, face systemic deterrents to their success in education.
• Teacher fatigue and limited resources for a multitude of reasons, teachers are overwhelmed by administrative work, too much to address in oversized classes, and not enough resources for the varied learners in their classrooms.
In the meantime, youth are not standing still. They are igniting their passions, struggling with social challenges, negotiating their identity, and confronted with real global challenges around climate change and economic instability. They need support now, and they need support that recognises they are not just students - they are people.
What is Local Youth Work?
Local youth work is a type of informal, community-based support, services, and programs for young people’s personal, social, and educational development. These supports can be:
- Youth centers and clubs
- Mentoring and peer support
- Sport and art engagement
- Social justice and advocacy
- Faith-based youth programs
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Volunteering and community service
Youth work is not a way to just occupy young people or "keep them busy". It is about empowering young people. Youth work encourages self-expression, critical thinking, civic responsibility, leadership, and compassion. It also connects generations, communities, and institutions.
The Community as Living Curriculum
In a model of community learning, the whole community, a living system, is the learning ecosystem.
What does that look like?
1. Real Learning
Young people learn most effectively when they can see the utility of the learning. Whether managing a community garden, facilitating a fundraiser, or creating a short documentary about local history, in a community learning system, authentic learning has authentic consequences. Here, the youth are learning collaboration, ingenuity, and problem-solving.
2. Inter-generational Learning
The community allows for intergenerational learning. This could be elders teaching storytelling, or local business people mentoring teens, to getting volunteers engaged with the school to add perspectives that teachers often do not see. This builds elements of respect and inclusive behaviors and cultivates a deeper sense of cultural identity.
3. Representing Diversity
Being and having diverse representation is important for two reasons. First, in community-based youth work, we hope to find mentors and leaders who represent the racial, cultural, gender, and economic realities of the youth being served. Representation then becomes a source of inspiration and support, something young people can relate to and access.
4. Life skills
School is primarily focused on academics, youth work is primarily focused on life literacy, being able to regulate emotions, communicate, collaborate, goal setting, and resist.
The Emotional Infrastructure of Youth Work
One of the most important contributions of youth work is the act of creating emotional safety and belonging. While many young people currently feel disconnected, judged, or neglected, youth centers and programs can offer a place of acceptance. Research from a 2023 UK Youth Organisation report shows that young people who attended local youth services were 78% more likely to report increased self-confidence, decreased tiredness, and feeling lonely. This isn't just about positive feelings. There is a proven correlation between emotional well-being and participation in school, school behavior, and academic performance. Moreover, youth workers, by developing rapport and relationships, providing continuity and stability, and supporting young people to take positive risks, act as a bridge between vulnerability and potential.
Challenges and Barriers
While there is a great deal of opportunity for youth work, it has many challenges, including:
• Inadequate funding: Many community-based programs are reliant on short-term funding (granted or donated) and lack certainty for long-term planning.
• Recognition and legitimacy: Youth workers do not have the same status or obvious credentialing as educators and are often not credited.
• Eventual burnout: Young people who work with therefore are at or near similar risk as teachers who experience emotional exhaustion, many working in community programs are doing this for long periods in high-need communities.
• Access and equity: Not all communities and/or regions have equivalent access to youth programs that foster quality and well-being, specifically rural or under-resourced areas.
An Invitation to Integrate, Not Compete
Youth work in a community context is not a competition with schools; it’s a supplement. Schools and governments are developing blended models of education that include the best of both:
1. Schools may have partnerships with youth organisations that support co-curricular learning.
2. Youth workers can be integrated into the school and planning for mental health.
3. Community projects could be assessed for academic credit.
4. Educators can help educators see informal learning as part of whole child development.
The home, the school, and the digital world are all influences on who the child becomes, and so is the neighborhood. If we consider the education of children to include the hours outside of school, and move into the corners of the community, we can help provide an experience of an even richer, more resilient future generation!
A New Perspective on Learning
Going forward, the framework for education must shift. While schools play a vital role in young people’s lives, they cannot (and should not) hold all the responsibility for young people’s positive development. This work is already being done by communities. We simply need to elevate, support, and amplify this work.
Local youth work is not an educational addition. It is an education revolution, slow, local, and highly effective. The community is not only a new classroom, it is an emerging classroom of tomorrow where every young person has a seat, a voice, and a belief that they matter.
Skiltrak: Your Seamless Placement Provider
At SkilTrak, we believe that learning encompasses so much more than the classroom, and by giving students real-life experience in industry, we can allow our youth to develop personally, gain life skills, and develop professionally. By bridging education and community, SkilTrak opens up future pathways for young people, enabling them to build a true understanding of the challenges and opportunities of accepted applications of the skills they are developing through hands-on placements and mentoring, and support. With and through SkilTrak, education is not simply being supplemented, it is being re-imagined in a way that youth will be SEEN, SUPPORTED, and PREPARED for the realities and opportunities that lie beyond formal schooling.
What Can You Do
Whether you are an educator, a policymaker, a parent, or a young person, there are some ways you can support the movement:
• Volunteer time at a local youth organisation.
• Advocate for funding for community programming.
• Develop a youth podcast or other project in your area.
• Develop the relationships between local organisations and schools.
• Celebrate and elevate youth as decision makers.
Because when we invest in youth as human beings, not just students, we are investing in the future of everyone.
