BOYLE HEIGHTS THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS YOUTH
by Barbara Cervone and Cathryn Berger Kaye
BOYLE HEIGHTS, CA—What can high school students in an urban neighborhood on the East Side of Los Angeles learn from young people almost 10,000 miles away, in a rural village in Tanzania? Plenty.
A transformative experience began for a group of Roosevelt High School teenagers when collaborative teacher Steve Mereu at the School of Law and Government suggested to two of his teaching colleagues that they introduce their senior classes to In Our Village: Kambi Ya Simba through the Eyes of Its Youth, a photo essay book in which East African youth documented their everyday lives—and then create their own book.
Mereu, teachers Jeff Matsumura and Monica Yoo and their students were joining an extraordinary grass-roots movement of teachers and students across the globe to show their communities—from Philadelphia to the smallest village in Japan, from Estonia’s capital city to the small town of Albion, New York—from the perspective of young people.
A journey
“I can’t simply call our project an ‘experience,’ because that’s not an accurate description,” said Ruby, a Boyle Heights student. “It’s been a journey.”
Last November, Mereu, Yoo, and Matsumura asked more than a 100 senior students what stories and images their own “In Our Village” book might contain. What does daily life in Boyle Heights look, feel, and sound like?