Listening to What Teens Have to Say

A study called, "Teen Voice 2009" explores three interlocking concepts:

1. “Sparks” are individual talents, passions or gifts teens say give them energy and motivation to do well in life;

2. the Teen Voice Index (TVI) measures how much teens think their voices are heard on key issues that matter to them; and

3. the Relationship and Opportunities Index (ROI) tracks the access teens say they have to high-quality resources and relationships that help them nurture their strengths.

Teens that score high on all three of these concepts are more likely to have a sense of purpose and hope for their individual futures, than those who don’t.

Based on these three concepts, the Teen Voice 2009 survey found that:

• Although 66 percent of teens are able to identify at least one spark, less than half get support for their sparks beyond their families;

• Only 18 percent of teens are actively engaged in social issues, indicating significant opportunities to help young people find their voice and contribute to their communities; and

• Teens with high ROI scores (only 12 percent of those surveyed) are three times as likely as those with low scores to have a sense of hopeful purpose, express caring values, be actively engaged in school and take on leadership roles.

How would the students at our high schools respond? What would they say about their sparks, voice and relationship & opportunities?

What school-wide interventions would boost their capacity to recognize their "sparks," and promote their feeling supported for their sparks at school?

What would happen if thousands of students walked around our campus knowing what they were good at - their passions, talents and gifts?

What kind of contagion effect would that create? What kind of new social norms would that foster?

How would our school community be different as a result?

What would have to change for this to happen?

Wouldn't you love to experiment with this and find out?