Students, Adults Get a Chance to SpeakUp! at Annual Event

Teenagers have plenty to say (as most parents can attest to). But it’s not always easy getting them to talk about what really matters.

The organizers behind ’s SpeakUp! event get this. For the , they’ve assembled groups of students, parents, teachers and experts in the field to discuss a wide array of issues affecting young people, ranging from sex and relationships to drugs and alcohol.

The school will host another SpeakUp! assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Jill Glodowski, parent representative on the high school’s SpeakUp! committee, said the idea behind the gathering is to give teens a space where they feel comfortable talking about these issues.

“Any other assembly we have for them, they just have to sit there and listen to what’s being told to them,” she said. “The whole premise of (SpeakUp!) was supposed to be to give kids a voice.”

After an opening speaker, everyone breaks into discussion groups to chat about the five highlighted topics, which this year are Sex/Relationships, Life Changes/Transitions, Parent-Teen Communication, Alcohol and Drugs, and Self-Worth/Self-Image (as chosen by the students).

The breakout sessions are made up of a mix of adults and teens, including professionals like psychologists, doctors and therapists, Glodowski said. “We try to make it so there are as many kids as adults in the breakout session, just so you can hear different perspectives.”

However, they make sure a parent is never in the same discussion group as their child, she said, because it can stifle open conversation.

“(Parents) get it, because they realize their child won’t speak candidly in front of them. But it’s amazing they’ll talk candidly in front of a friend’s parents,” said Glodowski. “They want to talk. They want to get their perspective across.”

She said a high school boy participated in last year’s breakout discussion group on sex and confessed he was only there because he was getting extra credit for a class. But he turned out to be the most talkative of the group.

“He was amazing,” Glodowski said. “He was so candid, but he was not vulgar.”

And the conversations are often just as illuminating for the adults as they are for the kids, she said, because “when you hear from a child that’s not your own, you can be a little more open-minded about it. Any comments we’ve gotten (from adults and teens) is overwhelmingly positive.”

A sampling of student and parent responses from last year’s SpeakUp! assembly: “Amazing event, I plan to attend each year and bring many friends and their children”; “I love this program and I love that you came to our school.”

One student wrote the most valuable part of the event was “learning how parents see their children and how we see parents.” Another wrote the program should be mandatory for students.

Glodowski said usually about 350 people attend. The deadline to preregister is Feb. 7, though attendees can register at the door if space is still available. Those interested in attending can preregister at the SpeakUp! website.

Registration is from 6-6:40 p.m. Feb. 8. The program runs from 6:45-9:30 p.m.