When Youth Leaders Sell Out
You’ve seen “convenient youth voice” happen, or maybe you’ve done it yourself: A young person gets a position with an adult-led group, and suddenly they start dressing and talking like an adult. Adults often reward this behavior with recognition and encouragement, even foisting these “youth leaders” into more representative positions. In a way, adults are rewarding compliance: By acting like us, we are not threatened by them, and this must be acknowledged.
