It is finished! With great joy the final touches were completed on Hartley Elementary’s playground, ending a summer long journey. Looking back to the first weeks of June when our process of creating a community project began, it really is amazing and wonderful to see possibilities become reality. It is encouraging to me as a facilitator of the process to know experientially that what I have always believed is in fact true; young people have amazing potential and fantastic ideas. They are capable of far more than I suspect most adults believe they are. Though this may sound silly to some, I am honored that I was a part of what Teen Job Club did this summer.
On a recent trip to a conference on service learning I was struck in the realization that what our young people did this summer was a truly unique experience. I realized that most service learning projects, while desiring to create youth voice, seem to fall short in genuinely allowing it. I realize that this is partially a byproduct of working within curriculums and schedules, but I believe our approach, one modeled on appreciative inquiry, truly gave opportunity for not only a voice to be heard, but gave the voice authority. These young people searched themselves for an idea, decided which idea they liked the most, and pursued the idea into a tangible and doable project. When it came right down to putting paint on the cement (and removing it when necessary), it was all them.
I am very excited that our young people, while greatly benefiting from the experience, were able to provide a greater blessing than they themselves received. Ultimately, the recipients of service learning projects should benefit the most from the experience and I feel certain that their labors did just that. There are many, many children and teachers who will, through this coming year and into the next, enjoy the beauty that the teens in Job Club created for them.
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