TEENS WANT MORE ACTIVITIES, CARING SCHOOLS

Teen-agers care about the community. Just ask those who attended the Teen Summit 2000 Youth Conference in Cape Girardeau last week. The summit was a great opportunity to bring young people and city movers and shakers together to focus on community betterment.

What do teens want? Those at the summit spoke about the importance of additional activities geared toward young people. They want school personnel to be more caring. They want police to listen.

Teen-agers had an opportunity to share what was on their minds. Some adults may disagree with their perceptions, but let's face it. That's how some of these young people feel. Those in authority certainly don't mean to shut off youngsters, but sometimes it's perceived that way.

A face-to-face meeting often can help to open the lines of communication.

The ideas raised were not new. But the fact these ideas are coming from the youngsters themselves should give them weight. Ultimately, these ideas could help young people get involved in the community.

A theme among the speakers and participants was planning for the future. Dwayne Bryant of Chicago was on target with this observation: If teens don't plan for the future, they might not have a future.

The advent of computers may actually make things harder for some youngsters. If today's young people don't receive the proper technological training, they may find good jobs hard to come by.

The meeting also sent this proactive message to young participants: They have a huge role to play in a successful future. Young people were encouraged to set goals and find what they need to reach those goals. With firm goals in mind, it youngsters will be better equipped to say no to drugs, unwanted pregnancy or peer pressure.

The Teen Summit 2000 Youth Conference attracted young people ages 12 to 19. It grew out of the Community Leadership Group that formed to address the needs of South Cape Girardeau and the community at whole.

Adults have a lot of ideas on how to make things better for teen-agers. But when the teens themselves are actively involved in the process, the success rate can only improve.