By: Paige Adams
One of the greatest pleasures that I derived from being a teacher were those little light bulb moments. The ones where students get excited because they aced a test or figured out a difficult concept. Then there are other moments when their creativity begins to soar and they are overly excited. I experienced many moments like this, but one of the most defining is the Teen Summit that my community service class produced.
After narrowing down the topic to teen promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases, we went to work. I brought in people from my network of friends to show my students and me, how to create a story treatment, how to edit video, and everything else we needed to make this event successful. A few of the students even got to make their acting debut in our public service announcement.
Everyday, my students came in excited like little worker ants. They did so because they believed in their message and the need to educate their peers. The underlying theme was not to promote sex, but to alert teens to the possible consequences that comes with participating in adult acts. I managed to snag one of the popular local disc jockeys as our moderator. We compiled a panel of health professionals and one 19 year old guest speaker who had been living with HIV for a couple of years. This carried the most weight in helping them understand that being a teenager did not make them immune to STD’s.
We packed the 900 seat auditorium then the magic began. Our PSA did exactly what we wanted. It shocked, informed and left the students in awe. Next, came the panel discussion. Each panel member shared their expertise on the subject, then we opened the floor to questions. There was no evidence of anyone being embarrassed or shy. They were among their peers and the ignorance was universal, thus the questions came flooding in.
The event was such a success that many students left school immediately thereafter to get tested. At no time was ditching school promoted, but the students felt the urgency to have their health checked. In the following weeks many of my former students and those whom I never taught, expressed their appreciation to me. I was overwhelmed by their gratitude. I knew in the beginning that it was an important message, but I had no idea of the enormous impact it would have on the entire school.
As adults we are often guilty of shoving information into the minds of our children. This was a great example of what can happen when we create a space for them to learn on their own terms. In the end, the students were able to make wiser choices about their sexuality because they were armed with the knowledge.
***Today marks the 5th Monday in the month of May. Since I post Monday mornings, I have decided to share some of the lighter moments of my teaching career every 5th Monday. This is to give a balanced view of why teachers teach and how the profession leaves a positive mark on us. I hope you have enjoyed this posting and will look forward to these mental breaks of good that goes on in public education.
A Paige from my Book 