Unlearning adultism at Green Shoots: a reflexive ethnographic analysis of age inequality within an environmental education programme

Abstract

In 2010, I volunteered at Green Shoots, a service-learning educational non-profit school focused around environmental justice. While the school claimed to operate under an egalitarian, empowering ‘community of practice’ framework, the experiences of youth and myself revealed a hierarchal power dynamic that put unequal demands on youth and left them feeling disrespected. Blending ethnographic and reflexive statements, I examine this age inequality, called adultism, and how it affected the community of practice at Green Shoots as well as myself. Findings reveal that adultist expectations were placed on youth in conversations and in work demands. Adultism also intersected with other social locations such as race/gender/class and led youth to engage in resistance strategies against me, an adult they could control. Finally, I conclude that adultism must be addressed within educational settings and we as educators must reflect on our own adultism to truly educate for social and environmental justice.

Keywords:

• adultism
• age inequality
• community of practice
• ethnography
• reflexivity
• service learning

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr Sarah Becker for her course in ethnography, John Browne for letting me work with his ‘kids’ and the youth of Green Shoots for challenging my adultist assumptions and strengthening my determination to address inequality in all its forms.

Notes

1. The name of the school and all participants have been given pseudonyms.