Forums for Our Young People

Student publications are forums where students voices have been and are being heard. In them, students have communicated their thoughts and feelings about themselves and their lives, and we listen. On a visit to Vestal School in Portland, Chris Weber spoke at a school-wide assembly about the Treasures books that he made with the help of student editors. Upon finishing his talk, he introduced one of their fellow students who had been published in Treasures: Stories & Art by Students in Oregon. As the Vietnamese girl walked up to the podium and began reading her story, there wasnt a breath to be heard. No one moved nor said a word; all eyes were upon her. The auditorium came to a complete halt as if it were frozen in time. The students soft voice and strong story filled the auditorium that belonged to her. As she read her last word, closed the book, and bowed her head, the auditorium sprang to life with applause and cheering.

Rubenstein (2000) elaborates on the need to have our young peoples voices heard:

What I now believe is that publication of student work
is too often ignored, partly because teachers and students
are unaware of the many publication opportunities that
exist, and partly, I believe, because we do not recognize
how powerful our students words are. For both reader
and writer, the impact of words made public is tremendous,
and so today, in a new century informed by the events at
the end of the last, I am rethinking and reordering my
reasons for advocating the publication of student writing.
Each of these reasons matter, but for me right now, the
most significant reason to encourage our students to
publish is this: it gives them power, power of the most
positive kind.

It is hard to have a voice in the world today
hard for adults and certainly harder still for adolescents.
To make yourself heard in a world that grows steadily more
complex and confusing demands strong action, and, as
recent events across our country have shown us, all too
often this action, this cry of Listen to me! takes a tragic
form. Our children know too well how to arm themselves
with guns and ammunition, but we canand shouldteach
them that words are commanding weapons, too. Words
can pierce the heart and change a life, and to wield words
well is extraordinary power. Young people want to be heard. Rebellion, revolt, a shout of pay attention to me! have always been the trademark of youth. We see this cry for attention in the clothes adolescents wear, the music they play, the slang they speak, and sadly today, the violent actions some take. We can give young people another way to express themselves and the beliefs they hold, and that is through written language. Every time my students pick up a pen or press a computer key, I remind them, You are not writing for me. You are writing for the world. (10)

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