In Pathways to Adulthood, Steppe and Hughes argue for a change in adult attitudes and philosophies toward youth. We simply cannot wait until the later teen years to begin respecting youth as individuals, affording them the dignity to make their own decisions. Teens Reaching Youth Teens Reaching Youth, a peer helper program, is a model that can be useful throughout Extension. Teen volunteers can be trained with adults to conduct educational programs in a variety of subjects. Community development programs where youth issues are the focus is one example.
Teens are also interested in environmental and family issues.
Imagine the impact of a teen team conducting a lesson on water quality to a group of senior citizens. Teens have received high marks from coaches on both competence and dependability. The broad educational objectives of TRY are for teenagers to increase self-esteem and feelings of belonging in their community and to assume responsibility for self and others. Teens teach younger youth ages six to 11. Teens develop and test lesson plans and sequence learning experiences for youth.