“We have an amazing surprise for you!” My grandparents exclaimed exuberantly.
I immediately perked up from my rapid pancake consumption and nudged my sister. I was 13 years old; my little sister and I were staying with my grandparents while the rest of our family was out of town. I was so excited! Thrilled, my sister and I abandoned our pancakes, rushed to change out of our pajamas, and headed out the door! Grandma first drove to the bank where she picked up a wad of cash. I thought, “Wow!!! This activity must be really fun if we need that much cash!” We drove through Salt Lake City and neared Seven Peaks Waterpark. “Yes!” I thought. “This is gonna be so fun! I didn’t pack a swimsuit but we’ll figure that out when we get there!” My anticipation grew as I waited to turn into the parking lot. But then we drove PAST IT. At first I was confused, but then I figured we must be doing something even more exciting than a waterpark if we skipped over it. “What could it be?” I wondered. We continued driving until my grandparents pulled into a cemetery and told us to get out of the car. My grandparents walked us over to a headstone and proudly announced, “This is your great, great, great Grandmother!”… …………………………………………….. “Woop-de-do” I thought. They told us some facts about when great, great, great Grandmother was born, died, and where she lived. It wasn’t until we were driving away that I had a disappointing realization. “Wait a minute, THAT was the awesome activity?!” I do not share this story out of disrespect or to complain, but rather to illustrate a principle: The importance of connection. In my RootsTech presentation, I identified three keywords that summarize how to involve youth in genealogy. They are Respect. Connect. Expect. We’ve already discussed Respect so now it is time for Connect. Building or realizing a connection between yourself and your ancestors is the motivation for doing family history research. If I had known stories about my 3rd great grandmother before we went to the cemetery, I would’ve had a connection with her that would create a more fulfilling experience. Through the lense of teenagers and genealogy, connecting can be done in many different ways. In the following weeks I will be writing about connecting through various hobbies, heirlooms, stories, mobile apps, etc… Keep an eye out for those posts. I am excited to share practical and hands-on ideas with you!
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Wow! What an amazing week at RootsTech! I am working on a conference re-cap blog post, but in the meantime, I would like to share this video of my presentation. I was invited to speak for 8 minutes as part of the RootsTech class titled "Family Organizations in the Digital Age." It was a dream come true! I spoke about involving teenagers in family history. Shout-out to my Dad for recording this video! Let me know your thoughts in the comments! There are three main keywords when it comes to involving teens in family history. They are: Respect. Connect. Expect. Today I want to share with you my thoughts on “Respect”. School for the average teen starts at 7:30 in the morning and lasts for 8 hours. Then the average teen usually has some kind of afterschool activity, if not multiple, such as play rehearsal, soccer practice, debate club, etc… Then many high schoolers go to work. After returning home from a tiring shift, they start on homework. This takes hours, especially if they are enrolled in any advanced classes. They go to bed and hope for some restful sleep before doing it all over again the next day. Please respect that most teens have a lot on their plate and are struggling to find a balance. It is discouraging when we hear our elders saying “Teens these days are always on their phones! Don’t they have anything better to do!”. (And trust me, we hear it all the time) I recommend that you respect them by instead saying something along the lines of, “I understand that you are really busy. If you ever would like to learn about your ancestors, I would be happy to help.” Teens already feel that they are not good enough. Don’t add to this by saying things that sound as if you look down on them for their lack of participation in genealogy. We are trying our best and sometimes we just need guidance, but we don’t realize it. Be patient. |
AuthorHi! I’m Sydney Orton. I am 18 years old and I love genealogy! I’ve been doing it for 7 years now and love sharing my passion with others. In my free time, I enjoy musical theatre, cooking, and kayaking. Archives
October 2018
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