Youth Voice: What’s It Worth?
FleetusMcGee posted in The F*-Word
I have been working with Teen Leadership Council for seven years. When TLC started, I was interested in bringing forth the authentic voices and perspectives of young people into our community. Not simply as an “exercise” to help them develop leadership skills, certainly not as a patronizing way of encouraging kids to parrot back what I or others wanted them to believe, but as a way to help young adults grapple with issues that are important to them in a safe environment and to present their points of view after careful consideration and critical reflection. And, more importantly, TLC was a way to expose adults and the community at large to the perceptions and outlooks of the younger generation—to the “truth” of how some kids feel and think. As one of my early mentors once urged me, youth voice must be part of the conversations of our times.
TLC is also a learning lab to help us explore how to have more open minded conversations. In our group, we have discussions about issues that stir up opposing perspectives. We work to listen to others’ ideas, not simply develop a way to shoot down a different point of view, but to truly understand where the person is coming from. To hear the “truth” in what the other person is saying. Oftentimes we fail miserably. But we keep talking. Imagine how difficult this kind of conversation is, with a group of impassioned adolescents. Imagine how different the debates of our times would be if we listened to one another in a way that provoked understanding instead of righteousness.
Throughout the last seven years, I have often been challenged by the question of whether or not to publish something that may “ruffle some feathers”. There have been times when a youth wanted to write about something that was controversial, and even offensive to some. When this arises, I’ve had to ask myself and the author, “Why is this important to publish and is this perspective worth the backlash it might provoke?” I often tell youth that anyone can provoke an argument, that’s easy. As we all know, arguments rarely open minds. Arguments only embed us deeper into our opposition. So, can you tell this story, or present this idea or attitude in a way that opens others’ minds to your point of view? Can you present it in a way that invites others to think about it differently? In the end, I simply ask them to give me a high quality submission that is worth me fighting for it to be published, uncensored.
I understand that I am an adult working with young people, and I take seriously my responsibility to guide them and help them make safe choices. I also recognize that if we adults want to have honest, open conversations with our youth, we must start with listening to them to understand their points of view. Only then will they listen to us and be open to our influence. The Platypus is one place where youth have an avenue to tell you what they’re thinking about, how they feel and what they believe about the world. We don’t pretend to be the only voice, or the comprehensive voice, but a voice for some young people. What kids think and how they feel and act reflects much information about the times we live in. Youth are an integral part of our community. The voices of young people represent a perspective that we must call forth—even when their words are hard to hear.
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