Elevating Youth Voice
in New Hampshire
An Interview with Mikva teacher Mallory Langkau
Mallory Langkau, a social studies teacher in New Hampshire, began her journey with Mikva Challenge after returning to her rural hometown of Groveton. Her own middle school social studies teacher had reached out, asking if she would be interested in taking his job when he retired.
Not long after she started the position she received an email from New Hampshire Civics, a Mikva partner, asking if she would be interested in trying Mikva’s curriculum. For Mallory, the curriculum helped her accomplish her professional goal of preparing her students for life beyond the classroom, while also providing her students with access to new information and diverse perspectives.
“The thing I liked about Mikva is that our students are learning from students around the country who are in different types of communities,” Mallory shared. “If we can provide students with opportunities to be a little bit more globally aware, and to hear perspectives of people other than their own, I think it can make them more accepting and open-minded individuals and I think that is crucial.”
“But in addition to that, simply having an understanding of how their participation matters is so important,” Mallory continued. “My students – eventually they're not going to be my students anymore. And so when they're no longer in the care of public education, they need to know how to function as a citizen.”
Of the Mikva curriculums that Mallory has used, Project Soapbox remains a favorite. As someone who works with multiple grade levels and ability levels, she finds the program's flexibility and adaptability to be invaluable.
“Soapbox is an opportunity for me as a teacher to give each and every student the opportunity to [speak about] something they actually, authentically care about, “ Mallory said. “It’s my favorite project due to the simplicity of it and how individualized it can be for all my students.”
She also pointed to the ways that Soapbox has fostered a connection between students and the broader community. She found this especially apparent at the New Hampshire Youth Voice Summit, which brought together students from across the state to discuss youth issues and share their Soapbox speeches. Also present at the Summit were educators, local leaders, and community advocates who provided students with feedback and support as they tackled important youth issues.
“What a meaningful program – it brings together community members and bridges connections with our schools,” Mallory said. “One of the big questions that community members and business owners have is, how can we bridge connections with young people? How can we get young people at the table?”
In Groveton and in Mallory’s classroom, Soapbox and Mikva’s action civics curriculum has helped build this bridge. The program has provided students both the opportunity to talk to local changemakers in their community and to become changemakers themselves.
Mallory’s advocacy for action civics – and her success implementing it in her classroom – led to an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio, during which Mallory shared how programs like Mikva can help civics flourish.
“One of the things I talked about is the action civics I do with Mikva Challenge and how we allow students to have some agency and use their voice to talk about things that matter to them,” Mallory recalled. “Mikva resources give students an experience connecting with their community and give them communication skills, leadership skills, opportunities to be advocates for things that matter to them.”