It's going to be a Teenage Riot!

[Richter]

It's gonna be really, really cold.  And cold.

And did I mention it'll be chilly? 

Down, wool, polarfleece.
Cotton is ineffective.
Bring a ground pad.

Edit: I can't spell.

[The Dark Monk]

Hit up a military surplus store or something and grab hand warmers.
They're awesome to put in a sleeping bag.

[Richter]

Many very serviceable bit of camping and insulating gear can be grabbed from a good surplus store.

[LMNO]

I think it sounds kind of.. well, fun isn't necessarily the right word, but something like it. Then again, I suffer from occasional bouts of thinking that influencing kids to be better people can be enjoyable. Lail!

Thread title made me think of the Ataris.

GONNA HAVE A TEENAGE RIOT! THEY'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A KID TODAY!
                  \

Does it show my age that the first thing I thought of was Sonic Youth?

Yes.  Yes, it does.

[Eve]

It's okay, Gramps, we won't hold it against you. 

I thought of Sonic Youth second! ..but I think that's just further proving your point.

[AFK]

Well, I did have the Sonic Youth song in mind when I titled the thread. 

Anyhoo, I'm back.  I survived.  Didn't get much sleep.  I might've logged 4 hours if I was lucky.

I got to chat with some of the kiddos and it was definitely a very interesting time.  It was also pretty heavy.  We have this one part of the program called "Brave Questions".  We pose open-ended questions to the kids, and give them a chance to share a story or something personal in relationship to that question.  For example one question was about Abuse.  There was some pretty heavy stories from these kids about what they and other family members have gone through at the hands of a once trusted adult.  Yet, there they were ready to be trained to help other kids who are going through those same struggles.  It was pretty encouraging I have to say. 

[Jenne]

That's good, RWHN.  Those sometimes have a chance to go really bad when you're dealing with such personal and deep shit like that.  Sounds like a good episode.

[AFK]

That's good, RWHN.  Those sometimes have a chance to go really bad when you're dealing with such personal and deep shit like that.  Sounds like a good episode.

Each group from each school as adult facilitators.  Many times, they come from the guidance offices, some are teachers, but most of the time they are adults who have really good relationships with the kids and who are easy for kids to talk to.  So, there were times kids had to leave because it was too heavy, but they had plenty of support there.  It's amazing that those kids weren't deep into drugs or other destructive behaviors, because quite a few of them have been around some real putrid examples of humanity that have treated them pretty badly. 

[AFK]

Well, it's finally over. 

The last retreat ended yesterday.  All told we trained about 200 teenagers. 

[cue sappy violin music]

It was quite a rewarding experience and after going through it I have a slightly brighter outlook on the future.  For the most part, the kids we trained seemed to be pretty intune with themselves.  And that's a big part of our training, is helping the kids to really understand themselves, and to be able to listen to themselves so that they can be better listeners and better supports for the kids who will come to them for help.  I'm hopeful that some day I can make this program Model-status so we can spread it to other parts of the country. 

But I'm glad to be able to return to my "normal" schedule.  I think it was a little confusing to LWHN for me to be gone a couple days a week.  Time to start planning for next year.   

[Reginald Ret]

cool, congrats on helping kids improve

[Triple Zero]

I think it sounds kind of.. well, fun isn't necessarily the right word, but something like it. Then again, I suffer from occasional bouts of thinking that influencing kids to be better people can be enjoyable. Lail!

Thread title made me think of the Ataris.

GONNA HAVE A TEENAGE RIOT! THEY'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A KID TODAY!
                  \

Does it show my age that the first thing I thought of was Sonic Youth?

Yes.  Yes, it does.

i think of ATARI TEENAGE RIOT every time i see the title of this thread.

Sonic Youth is older than ATR afaik (even though Delete Yourself is pretty old), what do they have to do with ATR?

[Harlequin]

Woo! Teens!

In all seriousness, that's really good stuff that you've done. Props to you.

[AFK]

Bump. 

I travel into the woods tomorrow for the first retreat of the year.  Looks like it's going to be a bit nippy out there.  Maybe some rain, maybe some snow.  And man, is there a lot of shit to pack. 

[Shibboleet The Annihilator]

t's going to be a Teenage Riot!

Bring your Atari!