First there was sexism, then racism, and now, "adultism." Barry Checkoway, the author of Adults as Allies, says that adultism "refers to all the behaviors and attitudes that flow from the assumption that adults are better than young people, and are entitled to act upon young people in many ways without their agreement." Adultism can take many forms:

¥ Traditional forms of teaching where a teacher lectures (usually standing) to a classroom of students (usually sitting).

¥ Stereotypes about young people: lazy, mean, angry, self-absorbed, silly.

¥ The failure to include young people in decisions being made at home, in the classroom, on school boards, in community agencies, city councils, congressional chambers. Often, those decisions directly affect young people!

¥ The failure to support young people's development. Community-based learning often provides experiental learning for students Ð they put classwork into practice. Adults forget to ask young people to reflect on the important connections between people, community institutions, and themselves.

Many adults support adultism without knowing it because they fail to listen, aren't good mentors, don't consider youth opinions, and rarely ask young people to be involved in community processes. To address adultism and stereotypes about young people, adults should ask themselves the following questions:

¥ How do I communicate with young people? Do I "talk down" to them?

¥ Can I remember what it is like to be 8? 12? 17?

¥ Do I take the time to know many young people? What is important to them? What are they thinking about?

¥ Do I respect the ideas of people younger than me? Would I put their ideas into practice?

¥ Am I willing to create time, space, and support for young people's ideas at home, at school, and in the community?

Most of the above information was obtained from a manual titled, "Youth Voice Begins With You," available from the Seattle Youth Involvement Network.