Teen Voices Deserve an Ear

Whether they’re from Tennessee or Tarzana, teenagers are more alike than different--caught one and all in a confusing storm of hormones and expectations, often with too little to do. That was the consensus of the more than 50 teens from across the country who gathered last month in Burbank to bounce around ideas for keeping their peers safe and out of trouble. The three-day conference, sponsored by Save the Children, grappled with the kinds of questions adults ought to spend more time asking.

The 55 teens agreed that many of the problems facing young people--drugs, pregnancy, crime--stem from a lack of after-school activities that are safe and adequately supervised. They agreed that cities and counties must do more to keep teens busy than open a few park recreation centers in the afternoon. But with refreshing candor, they also admitted that they play a big role in keeping themselves occupied.

For instance, students from Arizona plan to undertake a class mural and community gardens--ideas they borrowed from Pacoima Middle School. Innovative, relatively inexpensive ideas like that engage teens and keep them thinking while they stay busy. And when the ideas come from young people they are more likely to gain acceptance from other teens, if not from the adults inevitably asked to foot the bill.

Meetings like the Save the Children gathering take shape because adults too often are too busy to address the very real needs of young people. So the kids take charge. That’s good. But it can only go so far without financial and logistical support from adults. When the report from the Save the Children conference is completed, school and community leaders ought to read it closely as tomorrow’s leaders outline what they need for a better future.