How to have a workshop with youth (and not lose sanity)
Being a volunteer or doing a job related to volunteering offers a large scale of activities in any imaginable area. Most of the volunteers will probably at one point have to do something connected with working with youth.
Usually that means lot of fun and unforgettable experiences. But sometimes, especially when you have to do something with the group we can call “wild youth” or teenagers, things can get a bit tricky. Why? Because there are a lot of things going on when you are a teenager. This emotional / relationship / growing up mess is hard to handle as it is. Remember? So when you arrive as a youth facilitator with your good intentions, you should be prepared for few things. Some teenagers could be in a “no” phase. Meaning that everything you propose would be denied. Considered to be stupid, boring or unmeaningful. Others could be too shy to be really involved in the activities because they are afraid of being judged by the “cool kids” - usually the ones who are in the “no” phase. And so on. There could be many issues waiting for the facilitator when having a workshop with youth. How to overcome these issues? How to engage kids? How to transfer some knowledge to children and still enjoy the workshop? How to work with “difficult cases” in the group? Here are some suggestions, a few tips and tricks. Just have in mind that every teenagers is different, a unique human being and there is no universal method to be applied.
Make it short
This is more of a basis before implementing a workshop. Keep in mind that humans in general have a limited capacity of concentration and this capacity is proportional to age – the younger the person is the harder it is for him/her to stay focused. When preparing workshop think of achieving your point in the shortest time possible.
Interactivity / Changing of the activity
Having a 30 minutes long presentation about a certain topic can bore to death even adults who are used to sit down and listen quietly. When your teenage participants start to lose interest in what you are saying it is time to consider an activity change – and time to get teenagers involved! So if you are for example having a speech in front of the kids, then play a quick game which will refresh the minds of your listeners. If you are already doing some creative activity that might take a longer time to complete (like drawing, creating poster, etc.) then make kids
move! Play a game involving running, dancing or just simply standing.
The basic rule of this tip is that it should be interactive – so all of
the kids take an active role.
Ask them / Let them be in charge Some of your teenage participants are not enjoying your activities? They are being very clear about it? Ask them what would they do being in your place or in other words let them be in charge. Teenagers usually feel that adults don´t recognize their opinions and viewpoints so asking them and letting them decide might make them be more involved in the workshop. Also, this might make them realize that leading a workshop is not so
easy as they thought.
Be funny
This is a short-term solution when teenagers might start to lose interest in the topic. Make a joke. Make fun of yourself. Laughing together is refreshing and represent a welcomed break from the “serious” topic.
For more see: https://www.salto-youth.net/tools/toolbox/
http://www.dramabygeorge.com/store/catalog/short-plays-for-youth/
Monika Naglova, EVS volunteer from Slovakia
