Earlier this month, Harvest of the Month hosted a vibrant webinar exploring Youth Empowerment in Education. While it’s clear that significant hurdles remain in creating equitable ways to elevate student voice, the conversation ended with inspiring hopes for the future. A group of students, teachers, and educational partners came together to identify clear steps toward progress — and that alone is something to celebrate.
Watch for yourself, especially to hear directly from the students from Leland and Gray High School who joined in the conversation. In the meantime, here’s a brief overview of the ideas explored.
Kicking Off: What Type of Learner Are You?
Starting with a simple but powerful question — one that deserves space in every educational setting: What type of learner are you?
This prompt surfaced a critical insight right away: classrooms are filled with diverse learning styles, yet most lessons are delivered in just one or two formats.
But that was just the beginning. A deeper question quickly emerged:
How can we help students understand how they learn, so they can take greater ownership of what they learn?
A Brief History: Voice in Education
At around the 11-minute mark, the group stepped back in time to explore the roots of student voice in American education.
How early educational reformers like John Dewey championed freedom of speech and experiential learning, and also how industrial-era educational models prioritize efficiency over individuality — viewing students as "human capital" and, in doing so, sidelining authentic learning experiences.
Zooming in on Vermont, historically the state has demonstrated progress through local alternative schools and how initiatives like Personalized Learning Plans and Flexible Pathways continue that work today, yet there is still much work to be done.
Student Voices: Interest vs. Checking the Boxes
At the 23-minute mark, the students speak for themselves.
Their message was clear: they crave learning that sparks genuine interest. But many feel that mandatory classes often exist just to check off graduation requirements.
This raised some big, timely questions:
How can we balance preparing students for life’s challenges with allowing space for their interests to guide the way?
How can we offer more opportunities for deep learning in areas students are truly passionate about?
And what does an education look like when interest drives the path, rather than just fulfilling requirements?
Purpose, Passion, and Empowerment
Naturally, this raised the question: How do we promote this sense of purpose in our students without overburdening our already dedicated, hardworking teachers?
At around the 32-minute mark, the group explored how empowerment might actually ease the load for educators in many respects. Empowered students tend to be more engaged, motivated, and self-directed — meaning there’s less pushing and pulling required from teachers.
Leland and Gray as an example utilizes project based learning throughout the year, taking students out of the classroom to learn from experts within a range of topics. The highschool even spearheaded a program titled Journey Away in which students last year traveled abroad to Vietnam, France and the southern U.S. studying cuisine and culture along the way.
On a more simple scale this could be as accessible as utilizing resources like the Maine Climate Hub and allowing students to research and explore topics that they find interesting with real world practical applications. When students are given meaningful choices, they begin to discover the joy of exploration and the power of ownership.
As one student panelist wisely pointed out, learning what you don’t want to do is just as valuable as discovering what you do want to do. Offering choice invites students to step out of their comfort zones — and in doing so, to embrace mistakes as a vital part of growth.
Setting the Tone for Empowerment
By the 44-minute mark, the conversation turned to the classroom environment itself.
Teachers reflected on the power of flipping the dynamic by asking students, “What do you want to do?” rather than dictating every step.
The themes that emerged — building ongoing relationships, leaving room for growth, and redefining success — were central to our dialogue. Rather than focusing solely on final products or grades, we explored the importance of valuing the learning journey itself.
Farm to School: A Catalyst for Choice
Although time was short, Farm to School programming came forward as a powerful vehicle for empowered learning.
With its emphasis on hands-on, land-based experiences, Farm to School curriculum consistently invites students to try new things — whether it's tasting a new food, participating in a new activity, or rethinking the food systems we depend on.
By employing the time-tested models that Farm to School is built upon, we create opportunities for students to learn side-by-side with community experts. These real-world experiences help build practical life skills and empower students to step into the world as informed, thoughtful citizens — with their communities at the heart of their actions.
And so, we circle back to our original question: How do we learn best?
While every learner differs in how they absorb information, our discussion pointed toward one overarching approach: purpose-driven learning.
When lessons are rooted in meaning and connection, students are naturally driven to ask, “How can I contribute?”
Then learning serves a greater purpose — beyond just earning a letter grade — it extends beyond the bell, and the potential for growth becomes limitless.
Written by Devan Monette
Photos feature Leland and Gray students at the 2024 FEAST conference.
Special thanks to Shelburne Farms and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture’s Food and Markets Vision grant for making Harvest of the Month work possible. If you are interested in learning more about hands-on, land-based educational practices, see the Shelburne Farms professional learning and resources for educators.
Curious to hear students speak on this firsthand? Scroll back to the top and watch the video!