Edges Magazine Issue 21: We Make Young People Believe In Themselves

EDGES MAGAZINE Issue 21

April 2000

We make young people BELIEVE in themselves

Anne Slater is part of our Reconcile Team.

In 1693 John Locke, an English philosopher, expressing his 'Thoughts Concerning Education' said that the natural curiosity of children is the instrument by which ignorance is removed. Without it,and unless their questions are answered intelligently and encouraged,they abandon themselves to silly sports and trifle away their time insipidly, becoming dull and useless. These views are just as true today as they were then.

Youngsters who are not encouraged and who are told often enough that they are useless soon begin to believe it. In many cases they give up, becoming alienated from society, often from family, truanting from school and any skills they have go unrecognised. They get caught in a downward spiral of low self-esteem which can lead to frustration,anger and sometimes tragedy.

Here at St.Anne's we meet many young people from various backgrounds,having different faiths and cultures,sharing one dream – to get their lives back on track. Many but by no means all of them are low achievers who failed miserably at school. "It was easy to get lost at school",said one young man," don't make a fuss and the teacher won't notice you". Some of them have the potential to do very well,but for whatever reasons,they get lost along the way.

Maybe it is that in a society which measures success by the number of status symbols we own and the lack of them is synonymous with failure, just as academic achievement is paramount and anything less being disastrous,the pressures become too much,and they give up.As one of a team of volunteers working with the 'Reconcile Project' we try to help these young people repair the mistakes of the past and to regain their self-esteem. The English program, by reading,creative writing and word exercises,helps them discover something they didn't have. At other times through discussions on history, politics,poetry and other subjects,they learn to express their own thoughts and voice their opinions. By doing so they will be encouraged to see that what they have to say is sufficiently important to be expressed and listened to . They will become increasingly more confident in articulating their ideas in public. Hopefully then their natural curiosity will be stimulated enough to discover for themselves other spheres of interest, with a new faith in their own ability, they will be encouraged to explore new avenues of thought, thus enabling them to learn new skills,to turn around their lives.

When this happens,as it has many times in the past,the team shares in their happiness. Not only has it been a learning experience for them but for us also.