Forget About "Survivor"

All of us know teens that we would love to follow home-- just to see a bit of what their home life is like. We all would like to witness some of our kids in school and what they are like away from us and just hanging out with friends.

Enter Fox's "American High" on Wednesday nights at 9pm. This show follows a group of kids from Highland Park High School near Chicago as they go about their daily lives. These are real kids. Much like the popular "Real World" or "Survivor," nothing is scripted or staged.

As a youth worker, I instantly felt an attachment to Morgan, a young man with ADD who hates school, has difficulty with authority, and is embarrassed that he has to take Ritalin. A talented gymnast, he takes a part-time job instructing gymnastics to mentally handicapped kids. As he spends more time at his job, he realizes that maybe he should become "one of those people that he despises the most"-- a teacher.

Other kids the viewers have met so far include Kaytee, a creative girl who strives for originality and wants to be a coffeehouse musician, Brad, a teen coming to the realization that he is gay, and Robby, Brad's best friend who is unintimadated by his friend's coming out.

For those who don't want to wait for the other episodes to meet the rest of the bunch, you can find out all you need to know by visiting Fox's website, http://www.fox.com.

I am always on the watch for ways to grasp an understanding of what being a teenager is about in this generation. I am disheartened by the lack of a black male on the show and that no one seems to have a pronounced religious belief. Today's Christian teenagers are some of the most interesting and strongest believers in the world. I also find it hard to believe that there is no black teenaged boys at Highland Park. I think that its a shame that neither of these groups are represented.

Not only do I plan on watching this show myself for research-type purposes, I also plan on taping it and possibly using portions of it to start conversations with those I work with every day.

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