From the time I convinced the public library to reverse its policy on nonprint loans to minors under 12 (so I could get my hands on the latest music), I knew I could make a difference. Other kids haven't been so lucky. Either faced with inflexible yet powerful institutions, or taught that political participation is not for children, many feel that they can't make a salient difference in the fabric of society, or even in the way their own minority is dealt with.Youth Involvement Day, sponsored by the Anchorage Kids Place Project and Partnership for a Healthy Community, was meant to change all that. Wednesday's event at the Egan Center offered student delegates (from all the elementary, Junior High and High schools in the district) a chance to engage community leaders and each other in a series of political discussions.
Mayor Rick Mystrom spoke during lunch, and I was nearly brought to tears. His message was that success isn't important, but rather the fact that one tried. Using the personal example of trying to bring the Winter Olympics to Anchorage, he said no one had called him a failure for not bringing them - they thanked him for trying. Likewise, Martin Luther King's vision may not have been realized within his lifetime, but he was certainly not a failure. It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail, Mystrom said, it just matters that you do something.
I asked around a bit to find out where the kids came from. There were a number of theories on the subject, ranging from the original intent, acording to Peggy Auth (Partnership for a Healthy Community), of bringing an almost-random collection of students, including those with bad grades and non-leaders. However, the impression I got was that these kids were pretty high-end students - some had connections to panelists/moderators, some served on student government, and most said they were selected because they knew an influential teacher well. How could it be much different, given the design of present institutional mechanisms?
Academic excellence aside, this was a great group of about 400 kids. The topics were based on a similar evet last year, The Anchorage Youth Summit, which resulted in a qualitative survey of student concerns. The focus centered on perceptions that drugs and crime are becoming more of a problem, that the playgrounds are not safe, and on issues of empowerment and participation. I had the pleasure of co-moderating two empowerment/speech seminars and two local (West Anchorage) seminars.
- These students are not mysterious hoodlums, and they're not inexperienced yahoos. As the leaders of our grandchildren's future, they have already embraced the discourse of our society and begun to alter it.
Indeed, the surveys and the tenor of discussion demonstrated that Anchorage youth in general reject alcohol and illegal drug use, fear violence in their communities, and want school to be more challenging. The curfew was a pervasive topic of discussion, as were drugs, sex and crime. These kids are tired of teen pregnancy, but want to see condoms distributed in the schools. They fear crime, but they're not willing to subject themselves to the indignity of a curfew.
Throughout, their solution was one of higher-quality education, including longer gym hours to give kids something to do after school. "We've already got the resources, and the money's there," said one fifth-grader in support of after-hours facilities use.
Many were skeptical of the project's mission, however. "Why should we think this will make any difference," said one student, "We tried to get condoms distributed in the schools before, and they wouldn't allow it - they said it just encouraged sex." The crowd of students deftly pointed out that condoms instead send a message of safe sex and birth control, crucial public health concerns that must be addressed soon.
But this time, says Auth, things are going to be different. Every discussion session had a notetaker. The notes will be compiled into a report, which will be sent to the mayor and school board, and be made available to students and the general public. This way, she argues, students will have a voice.
And I think they will. Half qualitative social research and half political networking forum, Youth Involvement Day generated a lot of ideas, and clearly demonstrated the ability of these students to handle themselves in modern society.
If anything was clear from the discussions, it was the intellect and maturity of the minors involved. Listening to them, I couldn't help wondering why they can't vote, a topic they're universally pretty sore about. Their knowledge of municipal and school budgets is formidable; their goals lofty yet attainable.
These students are not mysterious hoodlums, and they're not inexperienced yahoos. As the leaders of our grandchildren's future, they have already embraced the discourse of our society and begun to alter it.
I like what I see, and I think you will, too. Like most of us, they seek a drug-free, intellectually stimulating, non-violent community, with a few extra fun things to do. As many pointed out in the forum, these children will be the ones creating and nurturing this community in the near future, unless they have their will to participate drilled out of them. Why not give them a hand, if not the ability to vote?