TI Teens at the State House

TI Teens VIsIT The MassachuseTTs sTaTe house

This winter, one of our Tent classes turned their course of learning into a course of action.

Our Tikkun class (led by Rabbi Dan Slipakoff and Ari Zimmet, TI’s Developer of Youth Justice Programs and Education) focused on empowering our students with the tools to pursue social justice in our society and acquire the know-how to repair civic brokenness by using their personal stories to help enact change within our government. The research and lobbying skills learned in this class will no doubt serve these students well as they encounter opportunities to use their voices to make an impact throughout their lives.

The class culminated on March 7th at the Massachusetts State House, as we were among the first visitors to enter the building in over two years!

Our students (Jack Babson, Isaac Morris, and Jane Robinson) met with their state senators and representatives to lobby for bills which they found meaningful. They shared their views on nuclear power safety standards, support for students with diabetes, and addressing biases within the education system, respectively. We commend our students for their diligent research and their impassioned presentations, and we thank their representatives for their time and engaging dialogue around these important topics.

PHOTOS: Ari Zimmet, Rabbi Dan Slipakoff, Jack Babson, Isaac Morris, and Jane Robinson