Life is a journey of unsuccessfuldiscoveries
Howard Williamson
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
A youngish youth worker called Clifford Eberley spoke at a recent Australian Youth Affairs conference I attended in the state of Victoria.
I would not want to say that he spoke tentatively, because his argument was coherent and confident, but he was clearly rather nervous, as he had never done this sort of thing before.
Cliff used three analogies to structure his presentation, which was about bringing toge-ther the youth work agendas of empowerment of young people on the one hand, and the mentoring and support of young people on the other.
He asked if anyone had seen The Violent Storm, a film concerned with the convergence of atmospheric turbulence on the east coast of the US. Apparently, this produced the greatest storm ever, and Cliff's point was that aligning empowerment and mentoring was the critical issue if the lives of young people were to be transformed.
He then asked who had read or seen Lord of the Rings (rather more people had). He drew attention to the moment when Frodo Baggins volunteers to go to Mordor to destroy the ring, but first he needs somebody to tell him which way to go. This, Cliff argued, epitomises so much in the character of young people: full of energy and enthusiasm, but needing a sense of direction and somebody to point the way.
Third, he discussed Thomas Edison's endeavour to create the light bulb. Did the audience have any idea how many times Edison had "failed"? Critically, Cliff asserted, Edison never felt that he had failed; he had just discovered a thousand ways that did not work. This is important for young people to learn, that life is a journey of unsuccessful discoveries, rather than a sequence of dispiriting failures.
I found Cliff's talk encouraging and engaging. He is right that we have a tendency to dwell either on young people's right to self-determination or on their need for advice and guidance. Youth research speaks to both issues, but usually on separate paths. Youth policy advocates promoting the autonomy of young people while simultaneously arguing for greater intervention and support.
Cliff's contention is that the two positions are not mutually exclusive. The strength of effective work with the young lies in acting out each position at appropriate moments. Otherwise, some young people will lose their way and sink into a sense of abandonment and isolation. Cliff has an important message.
- Howard Williamson is professor of European youth policy at the University of Glamorgan, and a member of the Youth Justice Board. Email howard.williamson@haymarket.com.