A Good Idea

Props to Steve Henson, Managing Editor of the Pueblo (Colorado) Chieftain. He is implementing a new feature in the paper called “Teen Views”. This forum will feature a compilation of views by young people on a variety of topics.

The paper is creating a database of area youth who wish to be involved. Periodically, an email will be sent out with a question or concern, and any youth in the database is welcome to respond (or not). A sampling of the views of those who do respond will then be featured in the column.

Credit where credit is due, Mr. Henson got the idea after attending a conference and learning that the Janesville (Wisconsin) Gazette had already implemented a similar feature.

The InterNetwork for Youth strongly supports features like this, and hopes that many newspapers will follow in the footsteps of these two. Too often there are occasional nods to young people’s input, but ongoing attention to youth feedback is far too rare.

Interestingly, also far too rare are similar efforts by youth programs. I have had the opportunity to visit youth programs around the nation and I almost never see formal, ongoing efforts to gather and disseminate the views of the young people they work with. And I am not missing the irony that there is no such mechanism currently available at the InterNetwork for Youth. So, operating on the grand old principle of put up or shut up, a new feature is in the works to be rolled out in April. Any programs out there feel inspired to implement similar efforts?