A group of Jocotepec youngsters became so concerned about students dropping out of school—many of them before even reaching high school—they decided to do something about it.
The five teenagers now hold workshops three times per week for middle-school age students who show signs of giving up on their education before they reach high school age.
“They provide a role model of kids that have stayed in school,” said Jeffrey Kealing, who mentors the Jocotepec teens and is an employee at the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara.
The students are participants in the U.S. Embassy and Mexican Ministry of Public Education’s 2013 “Jovenes en Accion”—or Youth in Action—program. For four weeks last summer, the students traveled to Washington D.C. and other U.S. cities to improve their English skills and receive training in project management and group leadership, said Madison Conoley, the public affairs officer for the U.S. Consulate General in Guadalajara.
The trip isn’t all fun in a foreign country, though the teens do get a chance to interact with others their own age. The youngsters are expected to put their knowledge to use when they return to their home country.
“When they return to Mexico, they undertake their own community service,” Conoley said.
While those who apply often already have an eye toward giving back to their communities, the program helps give them tools, confidence and knowledge to put their ideas into action.
“They may have a generalized desire, but they don’t see themselves as being change agents in their communities and that’s the kind of thing they learn to become by participating in the program,” Conoley said.
While they may be young, they don’t hesitate to confront formidable social challenges. The students in Jocotepec targeted an alarmingly high dropout rate and the disadvantage that puts people later in life.
Another group focused on date rape and abuse in young couples; one focused on violence within families; and still another noticed all the young children selling items like gum in the street and wanted to help them learn about social programs available to them.
As for the kids in Jocotepec, Kealing—who mentors them along with Shelly Westebbe—said they talk to younger students about any problems they’re having academically. They coach them in certain subjects like math and try to identify what forces might drive a child to drop out.
The effort, which they’ve dubbed “Cuida tu silla,” also tries to demonstrate the success students have had when they’ve continued school and finished their education. When it comes to kids dropping, they generally fall into two groups, Kealing said.
Children from very poor families who have to contribute to their own livelihood and students who are alienated or bored by their education, primarily due to a perceived lack of opportunities. For those children who need to work, the teenagers try to find them part-time jobs that will allow them to stay in school. For the others, they work on finding peers who have gone on and done well because of their education.
The program for those students will conclude in May when they travel to Mexico City and present their work to other participants.
While it’s a bit soon to quantitatively measure how successful the teenagers effort has been, those involved in Jovenes en Accion generally stay involved in their community, often inspiring ongoing generations of social service projects.
How to become a ‘Youth in Action’
The application process for this year’s “Jovenes en Accion” program is already underway and the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara is encouraging Mexican students to apply. It’s targeted at students in their sophomore and junior years of high school organized into teams of four or five members who want to make a difference in their community.
It will take place in the United States over four weeks in the summer, starting in Vermont and culminating in Washington D.C., then continue on through the 2014/2015 school year as the students continue working toward social change.
Ninety-nine students participated in the 2013 program and Conoley said they hope to have just as many participants this year.
For more information go to www.jovenesenaccion.com.mx. Information about applications, which are due by March 14, can be found by clicking the right-hand link on that page.