The Breakthrough Years – Youth Infusion

Does hate seem louder and meaner to you? It’s flailing in all directions. Can we address this human frailty before it infects more of us?

This fever of hate worsens the lives of those who have long been targets—today, teenagers are among the most affected. As the most diverse generation in history, few teens escape this widespread antipathy.

Experiences of being denigrated or demonized often become internalized. Like other forms of abuse, feelings of inferiority and discrimination mutate and pass through generations.

Even unconscious negative attitudes toward teenagers are reinforced daily by the ongoing narrative vilifying “kids today.” Ellen Galinsky’s research in The Breakthrough Years reveals that only 14% of parents use positive words to describe teens. Additionally, just half of adults recall positive memories from their own teenage years, perpetuating a tradition of scapegoating.

Despite a growing emphasis on “youth voices,” the vast majority of teens don’t believe they are liked and their ideas are discarded.

Exclusion: Another Consequence

Hate also fosters exclusion. Many adults have limited interactions beyond their family circles, which reinforces stereotypes and limits opportunities for understanding and collaboration.

Adults often keep their distance from teenagers, attributing angst, ignorance, or arrogance to the entire group. While there appears to be a wealth of opportunities for young people, the reality is sobering.

Only 2% of high school students complete an internship each year, according to American Student Assistance.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates only about 10,000 16- to 18-year-olds start an apprenticeship each year.

The absence of intergenerational collaboration in the workplace hurts everyone.

The temptation to generalize based on generational labels is hard to resist. To address this issue, the Pew Research Center has opted to move away from rigid generational classifications.

“By choosing not to use the standard generational labels when they’re not appropriate, we can avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes or oversimplifying people’s complex lived experiences.”

Dare I Ask . . .

Many adults exhibit reprehensible speech including high-profile leaders like President Trump. I wince when hearing “Where are the adults in the room?” We all know young people-even those in elementary school-who are skilled in conflict resolution and restorative practices. Maybe the presence of young people would cause adults to behave better.

Strategies to Break the Hate Habit

Reducing this negativity requires intentional effort. Addie Lentzner, a mentor of mine, offers this perspective:

There is an entire community that makes up our world that is not being accurately included due to our internalized biases about what they are capable of. It is up to all of us to design organizations and structures WITH young people for the benefit of ALL.

Here’s what I strive to do daily: respond to sweeping generalizations with a light but firm touch.

> A friend complained about her babysitter being glued to her phone and lumped all young people together. I replied, “It sure seems that way but I know many teens who maintain great eye contact during conversations.”

> A colleague remarked that “kids have so much free time and waste it” I countered, “That’s true for some, but many work after school and also take care of their siblings.”

The goal is to coach adults to pause and watch out for their deeply conditioned thought patterns before falling into the hate trap.

After years of collaboration with teenagers, here are a few of their recommendations:

See me as an individual

Don’t stereotype

Don’t treat me like your child

Avoid insulting compliments

Be open-minded

Admit you don’t have all the answers

Feel the urgency we feel

Don’t judge

Talk with us, not at us

Keep unlearning and relearning

Laugh with us

Respect us

It’s oppressive to call us “children” and “kids” because it has a negative connotation that is not empowering to us so we’d like to be referred to as “youth.”

– Salina Shamsuddin, Bridges USA’s Youth Justice Council

Hate affects us all. Breaking this cycle starts with catching ourselves—and those around us—when negative comments arise. Respect for one breeds respect for all. Together, we create a culture that promotes curiosity and collaboration.

Get Schooled

On Election Day 2024, the Kentucky Student Voice Team played a crucial role in defeating a ballot amendment that sought to divert funding from public schools to private institutions. Imagine if only lobbyists and legislators had been active in this high stakes campaign . Two students interviewed highlighted how rural schools would be severely impacted, a perspective that carries significant weight—perhaps even more than that of the teachers’ union president or the legislator featured in this KSVT mini-series.

Baltimore Teens Persist!

This unforgettable episode of Code Switch delves into the fight against the $30 billion rail company CSX. Teens describe their reliance on their younger peers to bring “new ideas” and fresh tactics to this ongoing campaign, such as leaving bags of coal on policymakers’ doorsteps. These young citizen scientists combine hard evidence about coal dust with the lived experiences of elders, many battling cancer to make their case to state policy makers. . The co-host marvels at the “mutual respect” that emerges and admits she was initially concerned about exposing these youths to “grown-up cynicism.”

Why Adults Lose the ‘Beginner’s Mind’

I love “children are the R&D wing of our species” in this Ezra Klein podcast. I have experienced many aha moments when hearing a new idea that emerges from a group of teens that oxygenates my mind. Professor Alison Gopnik describes “this kind of rebirth of plasticity and flexibility in adolescence…[to] consider new kinds of social possibilities, and to take the information that they got from the people around them and say, ‘OK, given that that’s true, what’s something new that we could do? What’s something different from what we’ve done before?'”

How to Better Understand Teens

This episode on 1A flips the script by starting with insights from 15- and 16-year-olds, followed by Ellen Galinsky, author of “The Breakthrough Years.” She credits 40 teens across the U.S. as

“co-creators” who took my research in a completely different direction than if I had just looked at the literature or just talked to adults.

Galinsky quotes a 12-year-old’s advice to adults: “Listen with – when I was a child’s mind – as well as now – I’m an adult’s mind. In other words, understand our perspective, not just your perspective.” So much can be gained by this commitment to intergenerational interdependence.

Tag: The Breakthrough Years

Countering the Culture of Hate: Your Role Matters!