A thank you letter I wrote to the 110 magazine staff
So many times in the past couple of weeks I have been overwhelmed by the process the youth apprentices go through to get to the meat of their stories. As editors we keep pushing you to go deeper, to figure out the intricacies of your emotional connections to your stories, to relive those moments in your past that were the most intense, those moments that shaped you and from which you garnered wisdom from- and that, that wisdom, that’s what this whole thing is all about. We hire youth so that we can share their wisdom with all who will read it. It a service we’re doing for our readers for their personal educations. I want our readers to understand that ageism is a symptom of our society that needs to be remedied. I am challenged everyday to not propogate ageism, to shy away from condescending language and actions.
I am reminded every day here, in the newsroom, that personal truths have power. Even if we’re not going to publish every nitty gritty detail about the events that have gone on in our lives, we’re facing the facts that people in our lives make decisions that affect us very much- and not always in a positive way. For me, part of learning about what maturity and responsibility means is to be more aware of how my language and actions affect other people and to become more assertive in situations where I know I need to challenge other people’s decisions when they don’t seem to be the right ones. Part of what I’m seeing happen here, with this set of youth apprentices is, we’re formulating for ourselves these concepts of right and wrong and delving into the complexities of peoples’ opinions when things aren’t so black and white. If this is too abstract, consider that Erika’s tackling a story on why students self-segregate into groups that, upon first glance, seem to be ethnically/ culturally defined. Erika, like most people, understands that racism is a human affliction that has its roots in domination and oppression- but how does she go about investigating such a compicated situation? Like the rest of the youth staff does with their stories: by conducting interviews with those who appear to have knowledge on the subject, by exploring personal insights, by seeking advice from mentors and peers. This magazine is about the process by which we learn to think critically about those things that matter most to us: our families, neighborhoods, peers, schools, etc. We’re learning how to form educated opinions that will stand up to scrutiny.
Being a part of this staff is, for some of us, an investment in learning to communicate more openly than we ever have before, learning to trust our peers and editors enough to see our works in progress, learning to be humble enough accept constructive criticisms and being wise enough to know which pieces of our story we’ll fight tooth and nail for.
Being part of this magazine staff feels like an extended training in finding the kernels of truth in our own life stories that are universally human.
Reading over the first drafts these last couple of weeks has reminded me how intelligent and incredibly deep and wise young people ARE now. Thank you for reminding me. (I am also inspired by who you are becoming.)
I’m faithful that, if we all keep working hard, our readers with come to value youth voices the way we all should.
What your words are helping to create is a platform of respect for young people. Essays like the ones we’re developing at 110 are the kinds of essays our politicians need to be reading so that they can be reminded of the space youth NEED to have so that they are able to contribute to the dialog that shapes our society; if we are not allowed to vote before the age of 18, what are we supposed to do with our knowledge, our concern, our passion?
What tools have we been given to change the problems we see in our lives? Words? But where do we put them? In print, for all to see, for all to savor.
And to all our readers, when you read our stories in June, please read between the lines and understand that we all have so much more to say and that it’s your responsibility to ask us (and to listen to our needs, and to act with the tools that YOU have been given).
I am reminded every day here, in the newsroom, that personal truths have power. Even if we’re not going to publish every nitty gritty detail about the events that have gone on in our lives, we’re facing the facts that people in our lives make decisions that affect us very much- and not always in a positive way. For me, part of learning about what maturity and responsibility means is to be more aware of how my language and actions affect other people and to become more assertive in situations where I know I need to challenge other people’s decisions when they don’t seem to be the right ones. Part of what I’m seeing happen here, with this set of youth apprentices is, we’re formulating for ourselves these concepts of right and wrong and delving into the complexities of peoples’ opinions when things aren’t so black and white. If this is too abstract, consider that Erika’s tackling a story on why students self-segregate into groups that, upon first glance, seem to be ethnically/ culturally defined. Erika, like most people, understands that racism is a human affliction that has its roots in domination and oppression- but how does she go about investigating such a compicated situation? Like the rest of the youth staff does with their stories: by conducting interviews with those who appear to have knowledge on the subject, by exploring personal insights, by seeking advice from mentors and peers. This magazine is about the process by which we learn to think critically about those things that matter most to us: our families, neighborhoods, peers, schools, etc. We’re learning how to form educated opinions that will stand up to scrutiny.
Being a part of this staff is, for some of us, an investment in learning to communicate more openly than we ever have before, learning to trust our peers and editors enough to see our works in progress, learning to be humble enough accept constructive criticisms and being wise enough to know which pieces of our story we’ll fight tooth and nail for.
Being part of this magazine staff feels like an extended training in finding the kernels of truth in our own life stories that are universally human.
Reading over the first drafts these last couple of weeks has reminded me how intelligent and incredibly deep and wise young people ARE now. Thank you for reminding me. (I am also inspired by who you are becoming.)
I’m faithful that, if we all keep working hard, our readers with come to value youth voices the way we all should.
What your words are helping to create is a platform of respect for young people. Essays like the ones we’re developing at 110 are the kinds of essays our politicians need to be reading so that they can be reminded of the space youth NEED to have so that they are able to contribute to the dialog that shapes our society; if we are not allowed to vote before the age of 18, what are we supposed to do with our knowledge, our concern, our passion?
What tools have we been given to change the problems we see in our lives? Words? But where do we put them? In print, for all to see, for all to savor.
And to all our readers, when you read our stories in June, please read between the lines and understand that we all have so much more to say and that it’s your responsibility to ask us (and to listen to our needs, and to act with the tools that YOU have been given).