muddling about

Recently our school had a guest speaker come speak to students on the topic of bullying and positive lifestyle choices. Ordinarily, guest speakers find difficulty in fulling holding students attention for a full hour. However, this speaker was able to hold their attention despite spending most the time “lecturing”. As I listened to his message I wondered why he was so successful where others often struggle. There was nothing substantially different from his approach, but there is something very different in his appearance. He is younger than any speaker we’ve had before – likely in his early 20’s. Our students really seemed able to connect to his message and his presentation. The students were really engaged in the medium and the message. It reminded me that if you really want kids to hear a message, they need to hear it from other “kids”. I can’t help wonder about how this could influence how schools teach about risk, or even career guidance.