Ben Kirshner: Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality

Excerpt

In Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality, Ben Kirshner provides a well-organized, thought provoking analysis of the effects of sociopolitical development on youth in a time of inequality. The purpose of his book is to provide the reader with insight as to how youth development effects societal change. Kirshner expresses the dire need to provide youth with a voice and how this voice becomes a catalyst for change. The text provides narratives of students who participated in youth led organizations that began to make societal changes in their schools. In addition to these narratives, the reader gets the privilege of learning about many different youth led campaigns that came about from the inability of youth to have a voice. The book particularly examines ways in which fostering sociopolitical development in youth brings about societal change. This text delivers exactly what it is supposed to. The reader is able to understand exactly what the author wants them to. There is a clear distinction between what youth are able to do, and what youth should be able to do. With the help of adult figures in the schools, youth are able to come together and create societal change based on their sociopolitical development and self-autonomy. …