Send your personal highlight to hrc-contact@bburg.bev.net
or our PO BOX 315, Blacksburg, VA 24063 and
we will post it below!
One highlight of the Community Convocation for me was being in open
dialogue session groups with the youth. They bravely brought topics they
felt were important to the floor ("What to do for Troubled/confused
Teens," "Larger vs. Smaller Schools," and "Youth/Senior
Relationships") without hesitation. Then they facilitated groups as
if they had been managing people in crucial conversation for decades. I,
indeed, learned from them. In particular, I learned that listening and
caring are powerful tools. I learned that young people know they and many
of their peers are in crisis and they know how to get them out of crisis.
I learned that a smaller school environment makes them feel safer and builds
their self-esteem because of the more frequent adult-student interaction.
And, finally, I learned that youth miss their grandparents and elders in
general and that they need them in their lives on a regular basis. I was
deeply moved by their commitment to the workshop process and their interest
in working on the issues in follow-up action. --Irene
Lamb
