Rethink Resources

As a youth worker and community educator I believe it’s crucial to stay away from disingenuous questions. I see this a lot when adults try to educate youth about the sex trade or really many other topics. Adults do the same with other adults too.

For example, asking “don’t you think that it’s wrong for girls to date much older men?” isn’t really a question. Sure it has a question mark at the end but it’s a statement. The framework is so solid that it leaves little room for open discussion.

Or I’ve watched community educators ask for a group to guess at a percentage or number to draw out audience participation. Again it might seem like a real question - ‘how many youth are involved in the sex trade?’ And people call out numbers until the speaker, with the voice of authority, reveals the “true” number (or at least the latest research finding).

It appears like a real question but covers up an important discussion. What are youth perceptions of how many youth are involved? How do they make those assessments? What are they seeing that adults aren’t seeing?

The reason I think of it as insincere or not straightforward is that, in part, the questions cover up the speaker’s ideas. It’s totally ok to have opinions and beliefs - just be clear about your perspectives. In addition, I see so much potential discussion lost through speakers wanting to appear smart or not trusting in youth to have answers or a piece of the answer you don’t know.

Next time you’re leading a group discussion considering reframing questions to be more open and open yourself up to what you can learn.