What Do Our Youth Think?
At the beginning of the Pro-100 sessions, more than 100 youth completed a survey
to determine what issues youth think are important in their lives and communities.
There were four issues that were expressed by a majority of the youth participants.
Those issues were:
- Jobs, Money and Economy
- Family Communication and Single Parents
- Lack of Teen Activities
- Education and School Achievement
- Misconception of teens and ability to work in specific jobs
- Lack of work experience
- Age discrimination
- Teens have to compete with adults for jobs
- Employers think teens just play around
- Transportation
- Teens not taking things seriously
- Family connections lead to better chances of becoming employed
- Transportation
- Outsourcing and competing for limited jobs
- Available jobs to far away from where you live
- Company closed down or moved to another location
- Invest money in public transportation
- Decrease gas prices
- Bring more jobs to Indiana
- Enforce age discrimination
- Do something about inflation
- Legislators should create more jobs
- Lower age requirements for jobs
- Open discussions and communication in families
- Mentors for families
- Men need to step up their game
- Parents knowing when they are ready to have kids
- Opportunities in the community other than drugs
- Have family meetings
- Young open to communicating with parents
- More counselors to help families
- More drug and alcohol treatment programs
- Jobs for ex-felons
- Jobs allow for family time
- Mother and father help with parenting
- Court ordered counseling before getting a divorce
- More father programs and men for younger men to talk to
- Get a job to help out the family
- Stay out of trouble
- Don’t have a baby at a young age
- Be respectful and responsible for yourself
- Listen to others/authority figures
- Being helpful, considerate, and volunteering to help
- Initiate communication and understand compromise
- Set better examples for youth
- Assist in there being less weapons and decrease gangs
- Assume the parental role in the family
- Stay out of other people’s personal lives
- Set positive examples for kids
- Make time to talk and more family time
- Males held responsible
- Give youth something to do with anger at parents
- Higher salaries
- Communication/Education about teen parenting
- Drug/Alcohol awareness
- Teach defensive communication
- Find another caring adult to talk to
- Make family events affordable
- Know how to choose your partner
- Eating meals together
- Changes in the media
- Changes in the way people look at youth
- Community needs to be more supportive
- Affordable day care for younger children
- Free YMCA
- More available programs, such as community center/gym, sport activities, tutoring (College prep courses)
- Cash incentives to participate in programs
- Yes, because kids would be busy
- Depends also on home life
- Crime is universal for age groups
- Implement year long passes at local afterschool programs
- Need increased funds for transportation to and from afterschool programs
- Need to improve safety and access to available programs
- Community needs more activities and a better discount during school
- Free day (ex. At YMCA) one to two days per month
- More activities with more volunteers to assist
- Offer programs at times youth will be available
- More focused on students following the rules
- Push us harder
- Better training for teachers
- Better teaching practices/interesting classes
- More extracurriculars
- Different ways to learn material
- Make it illegal to drop out
- Better teachers
- Stricter policies
- More support from parents, teachers, community, and legislators
- More student choice
- Equal funding
- More career, technical classes, magnet programs
- Smaller classes
- More hands on and creative learning opportunities
- Don’t hire teachers that hate kids, rather hire teachers that youth can relate to
- Better listening
- Self responsibility
- Respect between teachers and students
- Talk to school personnel
- Seek outside tutoring
- Try harder and stay focused
- Take advantage of opportunity
- Provide leadership
- Get involved in school
- Listen and compromise
- Parent participation and training
- Set incentives and guidelines
- Talk with school officials
- Listen to students
- Parent engagement with school and youth
- Provide parents better resources
- Equality in student recognition
- Adults should vote on school issues
