How (not) to talk to teens: a college student believes teens really do want to know about their government and what it's like being a legislator.As a legislator LEGISLATOR. One who makes laws. 2. In order to make good laws, it is necessary to understand those which are in force; the legislator ought therefore, to be thoroughly imbued with a knowledge of the laws of his country, their advantages and defects; to you may receive many invitations to talk to high school and college-aged constituents about the legislative process. These opportunities can be more than a civics civics, branch of learning that treats of the relationship between citizens and their society and state, originally called civil government. With the large immigration into the United States in the latter half of the 19th cent. lesson for a bunch of teenagers. They can be a civics lesson for you, as well. Teenagers are always trying to figure out what is going to be the next big thing, whether it is a policy issue or just a really cool thing you can plug into an iPod A family of extremely popular digital media players from Apple, introduced in 2001 for the Mac and 2002 for Windows. iPods are noted for their well-designed, simple user interfaces that employ either a click wheel or touch screen (see click wheel and iPod touch). . Remember that Facebook.com wasn't invented in Silicon Valley, but was a class assignment for a college student. Teens aren't all that scary scar·y adj. scar·i·er, scar·i·est 1. Causing fright or alarm. 2. Easily scared; very timid. scar . We can be pretty nice and helpful people when we are treated like adults. Here are some tips on how to talk to teens. -1- Don't talk down to us. Remember how grown-up grown-up adj. 1. Of, characteristic of, or intended for adults: grown-up movies; a grown-up discussion. 2. you felt when you were a teenager Teenager See also Adolescence. Ah, Wilderness! high-school senior has problems with girls and his father. [Am. Drama: O’Neill Ah, Wilderness! in Sobel, 15] Aldrich, Henry teenaged film character of the 1940s. [Am. ? We don't like being treated like babies. Don't try to water it down for us. Tell us the facts. If we really know what is going on in our government then we are more likely to take a stand than to sit down and watch as policy passes us by. -2- Talk about issues that we care about. Many of us are either approaching or are already in the years when we have to figure out what comes next. We have finished high school, but not all of us are going to college. And those who are going to college have to figure out how to pay for it. Tell us what you're doing to make our transition into reality an easier one. Education is a big issue for all of us, but we also care about other national issues. When you talk to us include many of the topics you would when talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to adults at a town meeting. We might not think that Medicare Medicare, national health insurance program in the United States for persons aged 65 and over and the disabled. It was established in 1965 with passage of the Social Security Amendments and is now run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. and Social Security are important to us now, but we do know that actions you take today will affect our future. -3- Ask us our opinions. We have questions for you. We're constantly wondering. This is mostly because at this age we begin to question why government is the way it is--a big bureaucracy seemingly seem·ing adj. Apparent; ostensible. n. Outward appearance; semblance. seem  ing·ly adv. filled with scandals. It is important you answer our questions honestly,
but along with that, please ask us questions as well. Everyone, no
matter their age, likes to feel important. Asking us for our own
thoughts on issues will make us understand that you are listening to us
and not just to our parents.
-4- Be yourself. If you have a ridiculous story of something you did when you were in high school or college, find a way to include it in your speech. It makes us feel like we are on the same level, so we will be comfortable getting in contact with you and letting you know what issues our age group is facing. -5- Make sure we understand. It is important that we know you care about the needs of all of your constituents, regardless of their age or interests. Make it clear to us that even though Rebecca Sunshine is a journalism student at the University of Colorado University of Colorado may refer to:
in·tern or in·terne n. at NCSL NCSL National Conference of State Legislatures NCSL National College for School Leadership NCSL National Conference of Standards Laboratories NCSL National Council of State Legislators NCSL National Computer Systems Laboratory (NIST) . you may not be a member of the political party that we belong to, you still represent us and are taking into account everyone's viewpoints before making a policy decision. Make it clear that it is crucial to our democracy that citizens write to their representatives and senators. Finally, when we do write to you, make sure you write back. We don't want to see a formatted letter that you send to everyone, we want to see proof that you actually heard what we said. Whenever you go to speak with teenagers make sure to bring business cards so we know where to send our comments. -6- Get online, now! You would be surprised how many times a day teenagers check their e-mail, mySpace.com and Facebook.com. Both Facebook.com and mySpace.com are easy to use, but if you need help ask the interns  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . around your office. They are almost guaranteed to have a profile on at least one of the sites. By using these sources you will have a direct connection to youth and what is important to them. Facebook.com has a section in each profile where you can enter the political issues that are important to you. By getting yourself a profile and "friending" younger people, you will be able to get the word out on policy to this portion of your constituency. -7- Go back to school. Particularly around election time, teens are interested in what is going on in their government. Go to a local high school and hold a legislative simulation. Civic education teaches us all about what happens in government, but few of us actually get to see it work. Before elections, go to college campuses and hold town meetings with some of your legislative friends from both sides of the aisle. Give the students an opportunity to learn more about you and the issues that they will be voting on within the next few weeks. All these tips are opportunities for you to get your name out to an often overlooked population and an opportunity to find out what this constituency of yours deems important. MEETING YOUNG CONSTITUENTS [check] TREAT TEENS LIKE ADULTS. [check] TALK ABOUT ISSUES THEY CARE ABOUT. [check] LISTEN TO THEIR QUESTIONS. [check] BE YOURSELF. [check] MAKE SURE YOU ARE UNDERSTOOD. [check] GET ONLINE. [check] GO BACK TO SCHOOL. |
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