New radio show to target young listeners

FRIDAY, JAN. 6: As a young girl I had a pretty good childhood.

As an adult, when I reflect on those childhood memories, I could talk about them for hours as if it all happened yesterday.

I was raised with a firm hand but with love. But over the years, as I’ve taught hundreds of Bermuda’s children, I’ve been scratching my head and asking myself what’s missing in their lives.

Why do we not see the children out in neighbourhoods by the dozens playing hide and seek, riding bikes, sliding off the hill with Formica, building forts, and climbing the loquat and cherry trees?

Granted, times have changed — and it’s easy for us to let those words roll off our tongues without giving much thought to the root cause of why times have changed so drastically that our young people cannot enjoy Bermuda as we did.

The adults in our community are charged with being the advocates for our young people, yet many are comfortable sitting idly by, paying lip service to the challenges our youth are facing and the behaviours they are exhibiting.

We must reach out to the youth in our community — the next generation. We must fix this! After all, we sat back and let all the bad things happen. 

On January 16, I will host a new radio talk show, entitled Generations, which is aimed at young people. It will on DeFontes Broadcasting Company’s  AM1450 Gold radio.

I will attempt to bridge the gap and strengthen relationships between our youth and adults. As host of the show, it is my desire that young people will call in to share their thoughts, concerns and successes. Other members of the community are also welcome to call-in to offer advice, solutions, or praise to the young people.

A variety of topics relating to our young people will be discussed. The show will be run from 7.30pm to 9pm every Monday evening and callers can speak live by calling 295-1450.

Wouldn’t it be great if adults in the community listened intently to the young people to grasp a clearer understanding of how they function in everyday society and then attempted to open the lines of communication with them?

This will be one of the goals of Generations. A weekly companion column, here in the Bermuda Sun, will enhance topics relevant to the radio show. It is my hope that the youth will read it and provide feedback.

Dealing with young people can sometimes be compared to engaging in an awkward dance.  It is often said that young people are running amok and lacking guidance. But research has shown that young people actually want guidance.

Role models

It is up to us, the adults, to be excellent role models for them.  When we set low standards and remove guidance, we do not give our young people vertical room to develop or show us their full potential.

Worse yet, when we do not emulate good standards at all, the result is chaos and confusion among our young people.

I have told parents over the years that as adults, myself included, we tend to talk way too much to young people, rather than engaging in conversation with them in reciprocal dialogue.

Sometimes we just have to say what we mean, mean what we say, and remain silent.

I have discovered that sometimes the mere silence makes them think about perhaps what the adult’s next move will be and allow them time to think about the actions that caused the adult to become agitated in the first place.

Our tone and our reaction could make the world of difference to effective communication with young people. 

My first show will focus on the topic, ‘Young people — tell us what you really want’.  I encourage all young people, particularly in the middle school to high school age, to join Generations on Facebook or to send me an e-mail to let me know what life is like as a young person today and to give feedback on this weekly column.

Names will not be used on air.  Until next time, let’s do our part... for our youth.

Generations will air on DeFontes Broadcasting Company’s AM1450 Gold, 7.30pm to 9pm every Monday evening. E-mail [email protected]. Call in live during the show on 295-1450.