Hear Me is opening a wonderful window into the world of youth experience, one story at a time. I work at the Community House in Pittsburgh. Daily I listen to and record children’s stories as they tell me their hopes for their lives and their dreams for their next educational step through the Pittsburgh Promise. I love this way of being with children learning from them while supporting and encouraging them to dream BIG.
Last week, Jeff Baron of Saturday Light Brigade invited me to accompany him to listen to stories of young adults at the Mon Valley High School in Jefferson, PA. I was excited about the invitation because it would allow me to become reacquainted with exceptional young adults with learning disabilities. A couple of years ago, through the Community House, we produced a film for Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, written and directed and acted by young adults with learning disabilities to guide others like them through the transition from high school into their next step in life. In the process of working with these young adults, I had the chance to learn from them - to see the world through their eyes, to imagine facing the challenges before someone with a learning disability as they make their way into the world of work. So, I grabbed the opportunity to renew those conversations through Jeff’s invitation.
Somehow through Jeff’s expert sense of direction we made it to the school on time. I confess even though I grew up in Pittsburgh I was lost, but the good news is Jeff not only knows Pittsburgh’s history, but its geography as well. If you drive with him, you are in good hands.
Schools like Mon Valley are such special environments for learning. I never fail to be amazed by the challenge special education teachers face in adapting what they know to meet their student’s needs. The teachers who were preparing their students for our interviews renewed my faith in teaching as a vocation. By the time Jeff and I arrived, the young adults 17-20 years of age were well prepared and ready to share their stories about their hopes for the new year in 2011.
As Jeff set up his equipment I had the rare opportunity to observe what was happening rather than being distracted or worrying about recording equipment and sound levels. Indeed, throughout the morning as I sat beside Jeff I felt blessed to be there – listening to these young people. Jeff in his welcoming manner engaged the young adults in such a way that they felt comfortable to disclose what was on their minds, what bothered them, and what they hoped to do and become in the upcoming year. It was fascinating to watch what can happen when in the midst of a conversation with a trusted adult a teenager opens up. Antwon, a 17 year old from Clairton told us of his concern for a friend, a fellow student who was shot, and his fear that this could happen again. Others told less dramatic but just as illuminating stories about where they are in their journeys to become themselves and find something meaningful and fun to do with their lives.
It struck me that HEAR ME events like these offer young adults a way to open up and validate their life experiences as they find their voice. The voices of children with learning disabilities do not easily find their way into mainstream conversations. HEAR ME can become a vehicle, a window, into the particulars of different kinds of youth experience. The question is whether we will listen and adapt our practices to meet special needs to propel all our children on their way.
- Wayne Peck, Executive Director, Community House Learning Center