Karen Pittman's Youth Today Columns
Karen Pittman, Executive Director of the Forum, regularly writes a column for Youth Today, the newspaper on youth work. This archive includes articles from her entire stint writing for Youth Today and covers a variety of topics related to children and youth.
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| Youth Today: Out of the Inbox and Into the Streets |
May 2010 Column time: I reached for the “recent research” inbox and pulled out five studies – three national surveys, two major evaluations – and started to read, looking for common themes. Good stuff. |
05/07/2010 | |
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Youth Today: They Won’t Stay Outside Forever: Black Young Men and Unemployment |
On Saturday, Jan. 30, Washington, D.C., got its second snowstorm in six weeks. Not nearly as big as the first (only 4 to 5 inches) – but big enough that school openings were delayed the next Monday. |
03/08/2010 |
| Youth Today: Mandatory Free Choice Learning |
The Institute for Learning Innovation defines free choice learning as “learning that fulfills the lifelong human quest for knowledge, understanding and personal fulfillment.” Heady words. |
12/11/2009 | |
| Youth Today: One More Time: Don’t Pit Preschoolers Against Teens |
States are struggling. Children’s lives, too often, are truly in the balance as states and localities decide where to make cuts, often sacrificing long-term investments to achieve short-term cost savings. And a new National League of Cities report, City Fiscal Conditions 2009, suggests that the situation will worsen over the next two years. |
10/01/2009 | |
| Youth Today: Taking Risks for Transition-Age Youth |
On any given day, scores of young people with limited individual and social capital are simultaneously struggling to exit some systems and enter others: foster care, residential treatment centers, higher education, mental health programs, gainful employment. |
06/02/2009 | |
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Youth Today: a "5 Star" President Who Happens to be Bi-Racial |
On January 20, I joined millions of Americans and millions more around the world to watch the inauguration of our 44th president. Bad knees kept me out of the crowd, but I dutifully taped the day for family and friends who went out to be counted. I beamed at the image of the soon-to-be president, head back, eyes closed, breathing in the wonderful music played by Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. |
03/02/2009 |
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Youth Today: Ready for Life: Yes, That Means College |
By Karen Pittman, December 2008 The core belief here at the Forum for Youth Investment – that all young people should be Ready by 21 – ready for college, work and life – often provokes public criticism. The exchanges typically go like this: “Not every young person needs to go to college,” calls out one person from an audience. True, I say, but all should be ready to. |
12/01/2008 |
| Youth Today: Wanted: Youth Work Principles in Schools |
By Karen Pittman, July 2008 Seven students recently joined me for breakfast in a windowless conference room in Des Moines to talk about “the high school dropout crisis.” They were experts: Five had dropped out. Another had come very close. |
07/01/2008 | |
| Youth Today: Precision Engineering |
By Karen Pittman, May 2008 Creating sound bites that are not only memorable but communicate a message is a passion of mine. Every now and then I hit one out of the park. “Problem-free isn’t fully prepared” is still in use after more than 15 years. I think “bringing precision to our passion” may be the next one to stick. |
05/08/2008 | |
| Youth Today: Superintendents of Learning |
By Karen Pittman, March 2008 |
03/04/2008 |