Who am I?
Hi, I'm Leila. That's me
My name has two syllables: Lei-la.
The words that feel good when you're talking about me are she, her and hers.
(Sometimes people call these words pronouns.)
I enjoy
swimming,
hiking,
long walks on the beach,
drawing,
art projects,
reading book
and
making messes
because it usually means I'm
doing something fun.
I also enjoy the work I do as a student (most of the time).
I am a PhD student at the UW Madison School of Education.
A "PhD student" is a fancy name for a student who is learning to be a researcher. Often, doing research means learning to ask and answer questions. I am learning to do research with kids, families, and grown ups who help kids!
I do research, which means I ask questions about what works well, and what doesn't. I hope that this can help adults learn more about how research with kids like you and the community can help us find and create joy while building a more just future.
Why should I care?
For a long time, lots of communities around the world have been working to imagine more just futures, because they see injustices around them.
Injustices happen when not all people have the things they need to be safe and healthy, or when groups or people are treated unfairly.
For example, some people might be given more resources (like money) because of some part of who they are (their identity) - like the color of their skin, what gender they feel like, what language(s) they speak, what side of a border (lines on a map someone drew to say what land belongs to who) they live on or are born on, what papers they have to say they can be in a certain country, how old they are (their age), who they love, or how much money or other things their family has had over time.
Luckily, communities have been resisting (standing up against or working against) injustice for a long time. A lot of these communities have done two things
The first is allowing people who are experiencing an injustice to say what would help to fix the injustice, and for those people to be a part of changing whatever action, idea or way of doing things that is creating or upholding the injustice. (If they want that!) That means the people who are experiencing an injustice aren't just listened to, but they are the people making decisions
about issues that are affecting them (things that are happening to them).
A second thing that has been important in resisting injustice is that people who aren't experiencing an injustice stand in solidarity (that means stand together) with people who are experiencing injustice. The people who aren't experiencing that injustice listen to what the people experiencing an injustice have to say, and make sure that any decisions that are made to address that injustice are made with the people who are being hurt.
To do both of those things it can be helpful to know what injustices are happening in our communities so that we can work together to work towards justice.
Research can
help us do that!
That's why I'm doing my PhD in Education! I'm exploring something called Participatory Research Projects, which means working together with people to solve problems in a fun and creative way. I love using the skills I've learned in art, like drawing, painting, and sculpting, to connect with people like you. Together, we can bring joy to learning and work on making the world a better place, especially for those who may feel left out. While we enjoy creating and growing together, we're also helping build a brighter future!