PLACE:
Teen radio
Key Club
4H Band
Summer Camp
Neighborhood Center
FEELING:
1. I never felt my connection to people as intensely as I did then…..I discovered, tapped something I kinda knew was there, but not sure.
2. People respected me and looked up to me. I love the way younger kids would hang on my every word. They seem to be “in tune” and look at me with awe.
3. I felt so bad this little girl had to live at the shelter, but she was so happy people were there helping out, being friendly and smiling.”
4. “The best part is seeing the results. I like seeing how happy people in nursing homes get. When you drop off food it’s not as meaningful.”
5. When I was in elementary school, I befriended a kid who was teased by everyone. He felt better knowing he had a friend, and he did.”
6. “I gave kids something to look forward to everyday.”
7. “I would see kids or their parents in my neighborhood and play with them. I just couldn’t get enough of it.”
8. “I liked my new self.”
SKILL CONTRIBUTION
1. “As a group, we created a space that was safe for Nick to “come out.” All of us contributed something.
2. “I shared patience because at first I wanted to complete the project on time and then I just wanted to keep her happy.”
3. “I listened to him and he told me his family problems. I worried about him and finally told a teacher. He left our school in 5th grade because his of family .”
4. “My voice, and asking a bunch of questions.”
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
1. Became more articulate
2. “not listening to or following my peers. That was a big step for me.”
3. “Compassion. I wanted to let him know it wouldn’t always be that way for him.”
4. “How not to be afraid of everything. I got beat up as a kid, and I stayed in my shell.”
5. “I didn’t have a lot of friends, so I went to things in the community to avoid going home. I learned a lot.”
BEST QUALITY:
1. “I’m straight up with people in a good way. I help people reach further to get to their potential, but I’m caring.”
2. Being able to listen, control my temper, and step back and assess the consequences of a situation.
3. I enjoy helping others
4. I don’t judge others.
5. I’m open to different ideas and opinions.
6. “People open up to me.”
7. “I’m not selfish. I give or do anything to help somebody.”
8. “I’ll tell people what they need to hear even if they don’t want to hear it.”
9. “I’m kind to everybody and I entertain people.”
10. “My humor. I can be so hilarious.”
11. “I entertain like a carpenter uses a hammer.”
MOST IMPORTANT ROLE:
1. “My most important role is my role in the theater in the community and making sure our community gets the arts. In my town we have really good theatre and really bad theatre. Making sure it stays alive is really important.
2. “As a daughter and sister because my parents were divorced three years ago and ever since, I have grown.”
3. “As a friend. Friends try to understand and other people and society will usually judge.”
4. “Just being myself because you can never tell what you can do.”
5. “I like making people feel better, especially younger kids.”
WHAT HELPS A YOUNG PERSON KNOW THEY ARE AN APPRECIATED PARTNER IN GETTING THE JOB DONE?
1. I didn’t like school because I felt like I had to learn from adults, and they didn’t learn from me (At the radio station) people validated what I did. They appreciated it and the respect I got from them validated what I thought was true about myself.”
2. “The end result. When you can physically see how you helped make things work.”
3. “When other people remark on it. It doesn’t have to be to me directly, but I hear it.”
4. “When your ideas are discussed. Being heard is more important that doing it my way.”
5. “When I am recruited to do something and they don’t want anyone else to do it.”
WHAT MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR A YOUNG PERSON TO ACT AS A LEADER WHILE WORKING WITH ADULTS:
1. “I didn’t let people tx me anyother way. People talk about how teens what to be treated, and I say it is like any other human being would like to be treated.”
2. “There was a fundraiser we were helping with and we carried golf bags. It seemed like the adults were just sitting there-I don’t even know what they were doing. Since noone took control, we just did what we thought was right. We just took it from nothing and orchestrated what to do.”
3. The participants treated us equally because we told them what to do and they said okay. We acted like we knew what to do when we didn’t.”
4. “I was a manager at a pizza shop, and one of our drivers was an older man. I’m a hard worker, and he wasn’t so I had to “manage” him. People assume all adults are competent and think it’s just young people screwing up, but they do too.”
5. “I was treated like an adult by adults. They trust what I do and don’t try and tell me every detail of something.”
WHEN YOUTH VOICE INSPIRED PEOPLE TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX?
1. When we were initially planning the coffee house, it used to be adults running the meeting, and we would have to attend. We finally told them we didn’t think their ideas would work. Now we run the place. There’s a manager, counter people, we all clean, and the adults sit around and read.”
2. “It happened recently with a fund raiser. Since Fall is “TP” season, someone thought up “TP Insurance.” You pay $5 and we clean up your yard if you’re “Tped” So everyone is happy and “TPING” isn’t a problem.”
3. “When we had a vote for officers, there was a constitutional crisis, and we had to rewrite the constitution which hadn’t even been looked at in 50 years. We are now more prepared for things we can’t foresee, and we have procedures to deal with it.”
4. “We were supposed to have a parents night, but one of the counselors had died in a car accident. The younger kids put a memorial together and brought a bunch of pictures in. It could have been a sad night, but they came up with the idea to celebrate her life.”
WHAT WAS MORE POSSIBLE AS A RESULT OF CONNECTING WITH YOUTH?
1. We designed the rules ourselves. You can be as involved or uninvolved as you want. Flexibility is youth friendly.”
2. We create a new fresh idea. We made more money and everyone was excited about working on the project.”
3. “We made decisions and took the initiative. It got done without a bunch of meetings.”
4. “I used to think the kids didn’t care, but then I realized how much they really cared about all of us, they just didn’t show it.”
CORE LIFE GIVING FORCES:
1. Good relationships between adults and kids
2. Respect both ways
3. The next step is to see people as people and not define them into groups they fit into
4. People that don’t follow. People acting as leaders, not followers.”
5. People need to be open to new things or everything stays the same, gets boring and goes downhill.
6. Everyone is heard and has a voice in decisions.
7. When we included more people, we got better ideas.
8. “If you don’t empower young people, they come out wrong.”
9.
WHAT CHANGED:
1. Anarchy-When we focus on the material we don’t think of peoples feelings
2. Mindshift away from an economic priority to a human priority.
3. Schools would be a place where teachers have the freedom to teach and learn in the same space with their students.
4. When young people do something good, it would be visible for everyone to see.
5. People were more open minded about what kids could do.
6. Even though adults may have doubts, they put that behind them and just try something different
7. People are more accepting of differences and see what we can gain from it.
8. Parents stop spoiling their kids and doing everything for them.
9. Mutual respect.
10. It won’t matter how old you are.
11. “Young people would know more about their futures so they didn’t become junkies or get killed.”
12. “People have access to the information about things that effect their lives.”
13. “Youth have proven themselves and work with adults.”
What would you do?
I would give a hand and volunteer.
I would publicize the good things kids do and volunteer with them
Pass my philosophies about respect and acceptance on to my children .
“Contribute my knowledge of right and wrong.