Reflecting on Youth Frontiers Respect Retreat

Today our sophomores all participated in the Youth Frontiers Respect Retreat. It was such an eye-opening experience for me, as an observer of the day rather than a participant. In all honesty, I had low expectations going into it. My students were skeptical, and I reminded them to try to keep an open mind-- and by the end of the day, they'll all probably be crying! Normally, I feel like "cheesy" or "corny" events like this won't resonate with my students. Sometimes I'm right, but I'm glad that today I was wrong.

Upon walking into the field house, I was so surprised to see the students all sitting in groups together-- like they never do this willingly in my class! In the morning they played fun team-building and relationship-building games. It was fun to watch the screaming contest and burping contest. I also it was Most of the kids really got into it, and at the very least, were willing participants.

The Youth Frontiers leaders also told some great stories with important and relevant morals, like acceptance and empathy; and one of the leaders-- Dan-- wrote and performed some great songs.

The last activity brought all of the sophomores together to think about and discuss what each person could do to improve their experience at Central. Would they choose to put effort into respecting themselves, respecting others, or standing up for someone else? After students reflected on this individually, students had the opportunity to grab the microphone and share what they wrote with the entire class.

I was nervous for this. It's so intimidating to stand up in front of all your peers and share your thoughts. However, many students did. And they had great perspectives to share. They spoke about the importance of respecting yourself in order to respect others, standing up for people being bullied, and showing respect to classmates to make Central better. Some students' comments brought tears to my eyes. It was so devastating to hear that they struggled, but also very heartwarming to see them take a chance and put themselves out there. It made me proud to teach these young adults, and proud to be a teacher at Central.