Chapter 7: Doing Social Justice: The MYTI Program and Inner City Students

This chapter describes a small program initially developed to interest and recruit “minority” high school students into the education professions. The MYTI Program (Minority Youth Teaching Initiative) began with a small internal grant when participating students were freshmen at a New York City high school. A variety of activities included directly addressing racism and stereotypes in education and community through guest speakers, group discussions on timely topics, critical thinking activities, receiving tutoring, tutoring younger students, and preparing for college. While only a few students planned to enter education, results did reveal growth in students’ approach to their own education and learning, critical thinking, and social/emotional development.