Intergenerational communication can be tricky—-many adults are finding that, to reach young people, it’s necessary to adapt to the forms of communication that are popular with younger generations. This is why Shelly Beissel, the Youth Services Coordinator for Minnesota’s St. Louis Park Schools and Community Education, uses text messaging to reach the fifty students she works with through the Youth Development Committee (YDC).
Go to the Youth Development Committee Web page
The YDC is a group of students in grades four through twelve that acts as the youth council for the community of St. Louis Park and participates in service projects and leadership trainings throughout the year. Kids get involved with the group by receiving a recommendation from a staff member or filling out an application.
“I have kids at five different schools and there are three different times they get out of school every day and they are all crazy busy,” says Beissel. When she started as the YDC advisor three years ago, she would send fliers to the students’ schools. The students would never receive them though, and often didn’t get necessary information.
To solve this issue, one student suggested that Beissel get a cell phone and start texting the students about upcoming meetings and events. Beissel’s school district provided her with a phone, and she soon started communicating with the kids via text message.
Read a glossary of text-messaging terms
Beissel has described using text messaging to communicate with the kids as very beneficial, because they feel comfortable communicating with her through that medium. “For the kids, it [feels] safer for them to text me to say, “yes, I’m coming,” or ask a question, rather than having a face-to-face conversation with me or calling me on the phone,” says Beissel.
Aside from mass texts about upcoming events, Beissel also uses texting to connect with students one-on-one. She might text some kids to find out when performances are for their upcoming play, or a student might text her to let her know when his baseball game is. “One of my students got a scholarship that I wrote a recommendation for and she texted me to say ‘hey, I got the scholarship, thanks so much’ and I texted back to congratulate her,” says Beissel.
Beissel believes her use of texting has forged stronger relationships with her students and, because of this, built Developmental Assets. “I do think communicating through text messages has built assets. I have a better relationship with the students and they know me better because we’re always in contact with each other—-it’s about really staying connected,” says Beissel.
Get asset-based parenting advice on cell phones
When asked what advice she would give to a teacher or youth worker considering expanding their reach via texting, Beissel says that it is most important to set boundaries and know what the primary reason for texting is. “I think it’s very useful, but you need to set boundaries and be careful about how you do it. If you’re going to do texting, think about whether you are going to give out your personal cell phone or not and what the limits are. What are the certain things you’re going to be texting the kids about?”
By adapting to the student’s preferred form of communication, Beissel has created a more connected and asset-rich Youth Development Committee and developed deeper relationships with the students involved in the group. Beissel’s use of technology is a great example of adapting communication based on a target audience.
Which technologies do the kids in your community use? Texting? Facebook? Instant messaging? Twitter? Find out and make use of that method of communication to increase the effectiveness of your communication.
