Teen Second Life

The highlight of New York (besides hanging out with Kumar) had to be the Teen Second Life Virtual meet-up we did. Now, some of you, like me, may not have heard of Teen Second Life (or the adult version, aptly named “Second Life”). Even at 23 I feel way to old to really “get” this whole thing and found myself for months saying things I never thought I would ever say. “Why are kids spending so much time cooped up on a computer? They should be outside playing in the sun.” 60 minutes in this near perfect world and while I’m not in love, I do have a newfound appreciation for the concept.

Well then, what’s it all about? Basically, it’s your own “second life.” You create an avatar (that’s TSL lingo for a virtual version of you), eat food, build a house, go shopping, make friends, make enemies, work and yes, even buy stock (the market is doing a lot better than the “real” market, though I’m not sure if that’s saying a whole lot…).


Yes, it’s just as bizarre as you’re thinking it is. Honestly and truly, it’s like living life, only nothing bad happens (it’s impossible to die), you can look like whatever you want to look like and you can even fly, which is – no doubt – something we all want to do! With this freedom to be whoever you want comes a certain universal equality and equity. Yes, things cost money (and it’s real money – you ACTUALLY buy things in this artificial world) but at some level, if you can program and compute, you can play big-time. In fact, one can even make money! You can sell a trade, a good, or a service that is within Teen Second Life.

On that same note, you can help “change” Teen Second Life by launching NGOs, starting advocacy projects, hosting virtual rallies and protests and even launching a virtual venture. Ashoka’s Youth Venture just entered this arena and wow, is it taking off.


I did my same song and dance only it wasn’t me, it was a little virtual version of me sitting in our perfect DIDI Café (Dream It Do It Café) on our ideal Youth Venture Island, which is also home to The DIDI Institute, the DIDI Resource Center and the DIDI Amphitheater. Ten “people” showed up to listen and following the presentation, entered a workshop room to do a virtual simulation (if you’re virtually simulating, is that like, an entirely different dimension altogether). They sat on cushions, raised their hands, brainstormed; all online in this land. If you can’t tell already, I was thoroughly overwhelmed.


I think it’s wonderful what we’re doing – reaching young people where they are, helping them use their unique passion (in this case, computer programming) to solve problems they see in whatever dimension they love. Still, on a broader societal level it leaves me wondering a few things – has this world gotten so bad that we need to completely escape it by going to a virtual one? If that’s the case then should we be attempting to recreate the ideals within that virtual world right here in reality? To me it all stems from consumption of things. We can’t have them in the real world so we go to a virtual one where we can create any reality we want – great clothes, great friends, great places (our amphitheater is SO COOL).

The strange thing is, when I was 13, I don’t remember craving so much that I wanted to escape entirely and recreate myself somewhere that I could have everything. So maybe, rather than up the ante so much that kids are reinventing themselves in another realm, we increases resources and lower the “celebrity standard” in this one. I don’t know, just an idea…

Shirley Massachusetts – Youth Venture Heaven

What happens after one, two and three teams launch from the same school or community? The idea of creating change tips and before you know it, you’ve got TWENTY THREE Youth Venture’s running with dozens more in the pipeline. Kathryn Lions, Youth Venture’s amazing champion, brought the YV opportunity to the kids she worked with as school librarian six years ago and today, she’s working with literally hundreds of kids throughout the town to launch and sustain Ventures. From lit magazines to skate parks, the kids of Shirley might very well be the most socially active town in America. I had the chance to speak to all 300 or so kids of Shirley Middle School and let me say, no social issue was too small (In the fifth grade session one girl raised the need for expanding the use of renewable energy sources and another girl brought up the use of endangered animal furs as clothes. Now you tell me this generation isn’t going to change the world. When I was in fifth grade my primary concerns were four square and lunch trades). I also got to meet some of our amazing Shirley teams.


There was the Rolled Up Paper, a group of fourth graders that act as editor, writer and photographer to produce a monthly newspaper dealing with issues in their elementary school. A recent edition had a young writing blowing the lid off talking during lunch under a pen name, of course.


Then there’s Nick and Molly, who started a Literary Magazine in their middle school so kids would have a place to publish their poems, stories, photographs and music lyrics. It was the first of its kind in Shirley.



I met the Skaters of Shirley, who are raising funds to build a town skate park, which will offer a safe, responsible place for kids to ride without damaging public property. They’re raised over $10,000 for the effort and are currently embroiled in a major PR and lobbying campaign to convince the town government that there needs should be met.



Finally, there’s Caitlin. Basically, she’s ma gurl. At age 10 she started Shirley Arts For All, an organization that raises funds for kids in Shirley who can’t afford the fees to be in plays. They’ve raised thousands of dollars to help fund those kids who would otherwise not be able to participate. Now fourteen, it’s clear in the way she thinks, writes and talks that Caitling understand just how remarkable this global movement is, and what it is capable of.

She spoke eloquently to her peers (which in and of itself is no easy task) about the incredible “power of not brute strength or money, but the power to be inspired and to empower others.” Indeed, that’s what’s at the heart of it – inspiration and a sense of empowerment that makes young people realize just how capable and influential they are. I wish I could fold her up and carry her across the country in my pocket! She’s a natural born leader and I am SO EXCITED to see where the future takes her…Rock on Caitlin!

Alternative Schools Offer Incredible Outlook

New England seems to be the place to discover some of the coolest alternatives to a traditional high school experience. As some may not know, my first and longstanding passion was always public education and more specifically, how to improve it. Like health care, I think education is a basic human right. Every child, regardless of their socio-economic background, deserves an equal shot at a successful future.


The first stop was at the Match School in downtown Boston. A friend of mine and long-time Youth Venture supporter is in the middle of a one-year Americorps VISTA placement there, where he is a 24-hour tutor for the 220 or so students at the charter school. The school focuses on at-risk youth and is open to any student who is willing to commit to their rigorous program – a schedule that would all but exhaust me. The kids are at school from 7am to 7pm, eating ALL THREE meals on campus. Beyond the amazing teachers there are 45 full-time tutors that work with the kids in small groups to ensure that they understand EVERYTHING they’re learning. The tutors live on the top floor of the building three-to-a-room, often times never going outside from Monday to Friday. Talk about intense! The most incredible thing about Match? 100% OF THEIR GRADUATING SENIORS GO TO COLLEGE EVERY SINGLE YEAR, PERIOD. How’s that for a guarantee? I did the usual song and dance and the kids just loved it. I’m guessing we’ve got the chance to launch 10, 20 Ventures from Match THIS YEAR.


From there it was down south to Providence, Rhode Island, where Youth Venture is working with an equally impressive, yet entirely different alternative high school program. Called the “MET ‘Big Picture’ Schools,” these 50-plus campuses place their focus on educating the “whole person,” with no artifical boundary existing between school and life. That is, the teachers spend time with kids outside school, days are schedule flexibly with internships, service projects and travel opportunities and there are no grades in the tradition sense. Instead, every trimester the students present an exhibition of their work, highlighting what they’ve learned on their terms, by applying math, science and literature to their own passions. Talk about an amazing way to learn! Again, I did the song and dance and the kids responded, primarily because they’ve already build an environment of service and giving back. I also got to meet one of the team leaders of Recycos, a just-launched Youth Venture that focuses on educating the many campuses of MET about why it’s important to recycle. GREAT idea, no question.


Needless to say, I’ve spent the last few days wondering why on earth we’re not focusing more on out-of-the-box ways of educating young people. If it can be done at Match and if it can be done at MET (they’ll soon have 150 campuses across the country) then I belive it can be done in every city, town and rural community of America. Educating our young people has GOT to be priority one and clearly, the current system isn’t working. Lets get back into that innovative state of mind that is uniquely American and come up with some new ways of creating change in our school system. I only hope it’s not too late…

Video Update - Day 30

It's Kumar time in New England. Woo! After several weeks of cruising with my homeslice Malena, she's back in DC and I'm in New England with Kumar, an awesome VISTA from New Hampshire. We're recapping the past 2 weeks. Enjoy!



The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pMvyV1oZOw

Also, the latest pics of Montreal and Denver can be found here:

Montreal: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyletaylor/sets/72157604107295043/

Denver: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyletaylor/sets/72157604136530798/

New England Updates Soon!