Plenary Speaker: Annie Smith
Title: The Sun Has Not Touched You Yet
In this presentation I will recount my relationship with a group of refugee youth. Their experiences illustrate the ways immigrant adolescents cultivate identities that help them navigate the academic, cultural and social terrain they encounter in America. Their stories also illuminate and disrupt social assumptions of America’s promise of access to freedom, dignity and literacy. The insight I gained through these relationships and work in High Schools in New York City has informed the curriculum for SLIFE which I worked to develop with colleagues for the New York State Department of Education. |