See why teachers and organizers love IndyKids!

“IndyKids has transformed our teaching. Thank you so much for existing.” – Sharon Kramer, Sixth-grade teacher, New Jersey

“IndyKids is great for me because I want to learn about different things happening around the world. But every time I watch the news or read the newspaper the way that they explain it is so complicated. My favorite article is the one in issue #18 about a student who pretended to buy some land in Utah to save it from oil and gas industry.” -Julian Rocha, age 10, Vancouver, Canada

“I use IndyKids to present information to [my students] about issues affecting children worldwide that they haven’t heard of before. The students, especially middle schoolers, love to have a copy of a paper for themselves to use in class and behavior on the days the paper comes in is generally very good.” – Anne Bowles, Teacher, Harlem, New York

“My students look forward to IndyKids. They usually bug me about when the next issue will be out. IndyKids has really made teaching current events a lot easier. The kids are finally motivated to read, and more importantly, to discuss and get active.” – John Yanno, Sixth-grade teacher, Brooklyn, New York

“Your newspaper for young people is amazing! We were able to use this wonderful resource with our eighth grade students for the past two summers as they prepared to enter high school. … The newspaper articles were a source of high-level discussion, allowing the students to see that other young people were making a difference in their communities. The articles encouraged several of our student groups to actually implement their projects within the four, short weeks of our program. ” – Chris Johnson, Teacher, GEAR UP Chicago

“IndyKids is amongst the most important pieces of literature that I distribute.  Usually it is the only piece of educational material that is actually written with children in mind and the only substantive material that demonstrates our sincere interest in reaching out to young people.  Adults read it as much as young people.  … Through IndyKids, we are providing a way for the adults at our meetings to connect to the children and grand children in their own homes.  Often I hear people say how much the child in their life enjoyed an earlier issue and that the content of IndyKids was intergenerational dinner table conversation.”  – Kenneth Miller, co-founder of the Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance.

“IndyKids is an extremely valuable resource to me and my students as it is one of the only media sources that shows an alternative viewpoint to the mainstream that is readable for an elementary student. As an educator I believe it is important to expose young people to under-represented issues and voices, as it sets them up to view the world through a critical eye beyond the classroom. My colleagues and myself often use IndyKids as a jumping off point to launch full scale units on social justice issues or simply integrate it into mandated topics we have to teach to breath life into the curriculum. Teaching with a resource like IndyKids that highlights social justice issues allows young people to feel true ownership over what they are being asked to learn, because the issues of inequality, injustice, and human rights are relatable and meaningful to them. My students respond better to this type of resource and teaching than any other I have explored, which any educator knows is a testament of worth that cannot be ignored.” – Daniel Hildreth, Fifth-grade teacher, New York City

“The IndyKids election 2008 offerings were great; very helpful in the class I taught on media and electoral coverage.” – Judith Killen, Teacher, New York City

“[In my classroom] we do shared reading once a week. Students pick articles they think are interesting in the paper. One student reads the article aloud while the rest follow along. Then we discuss the article. Usually the kids are so excited that we only have time for one article in a 45 minute period.” – Stephanie Schwarz, Teacher, New York City

“Keep doing all you do–it continually brings new perspectives into my classroom!” – Cassandra Lyhus, Teacher, New York City

Even though IndyKids’ audience is young, with an average age of 10 and 11, they are still able to speak their minds and to become active in their communities. For example, Agnes Johnson, an IndyKids supporter and community activist in the Bronx, New York City, told IndyKids about how the 1st to 5th grade kids she works with in the Highbridge community, in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, have become active in response to reading articles in IndyKids.

Based on IndyKids’ coverage the 2008 election (late 2008) and of the incoming Obama administration (Jan/Feb 2009), the kids Agnes works with wrote letters to President Obama stating what they think he should do as president. They also took a greater interest in voting. They followed the November 2009 New York City mayoral election and got people of voting age in the community to make a pledge that they would vote.

Says Agnes, “I ask they kids how they feel about what they read in IndyKids. We read the cover story about children’s rights and the article about children working in agriculture [Jan/Feb 2010]. I ask ‘Imagine having to do that!’ They are amazed that this would be the life of the child. A lot of the kids, especially the girls, say, ‘Why is this going on?’ ‘We have to do something about this now!’” In this case, the kids created a petition directed at their elected officials to demand stronger laws to protect child farmworkers.

The story “Does Your Food Have Cooties?” (March 2009, about how lax government regulation has led to food contamination), inspired a group of six kids to become active in the Taqwa Community Farm in their neighborhood. The group has now grown to a dozen kids who participate in the project and work every Saturday from 2-4pm growing food.

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Do you use IndyKids as a teaching tool?

Tell us how by emailing info@indykids.org.