The Global Fund For Children

Glee: DC Teen Edition

• By Victoria Dunning on February 13th, 2012
• Category: Blog, North America

Washington, DC–The hit show Glee depicts life in a high school where kids find both themselves and acceptance as part of a singing club. Each character is dealing with difference—sometimes socially awkward or less popular, perhaps a nonconformist, or just plain nerdy. These musical kids express themselves by performing lively covers of Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Journey. We laugh, cry, and cheer for them, week after week. Thank you, Hollywood, for a great feel-good show!

Maybe you’ve seen our own Washington Youth Choir on TV as well, when they perform during the annual television special “Christmas in Washington.” As one of The Global Fund for Children’s local grantee partners, Washington Youth Choir (WYC) offers a safe and productive space for high-school teens to sing out their energy and emotion and to steer a path to a productive future. WYC calls them “scholartists”—scholars and artists—and takes both of these roles seriously.

Glee characters often face complex and sensitive challenges like bullying and teen pregnancy. On Glee, the challenges are wrapped up within an hour episode and the home community is relatively stable. At WYC, the challenges might be similar, but the home community not always as tender, and happy endings are not neatly scripted. Two WYC members have faced teenage pregnancy and teen motherhood. For many members, their home community is rife with drug sales. And sometimes home life is not much rosier. One WYC member often parents his preteen younger brother, as his mother finds herself once again incarcerated.

WYC’s executive director, Courtney Baker-Oliver, has taken on more than the role of a typical non-profit manager; he also serves as social worker and mentor. He has a no-nonsense, tough-love approach with these kids, ensuring that they succeed in school and find their way to college. Earlier this year, when some choir members wanted to quit and Baker-Oliver was getting a reputation for “getting in their business,” he called their bluff, saying, “If you are late or if you don’t show up, where you are between 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM is my business.” When checking report cards, he told one of the kids, “Getting a D in English, when it’s your first language—that’s just not acceptable.” He called her teacher to find ways to support her in bringing her grades up. And when another student sent him a text message at 1:00 AM, he knew enough to call and check in with her. His intuition served him well; she was having family troubles and was becoming depressed.

When I think of the path between age 12 and age 19, I sometimes imagine a fairy-tale forest full of brambles. Teens getting through that forest from childhood to productive adulthood face many threats that can temporarily, and sometimes permanently, derail them. Rejecting the rosy red poison apple from the Wicked Queen and avoiding the deceptive Big Bad Wolf are no easy feats. Navigating that path successfully requires some safe havens, a few caring adults, the opportunity to express oneself, and just enough latitude to make and learn from some mistakes.

WYC provides just that. When these kids are in the rehearsal space, no matter what they encountered that day, they sing their hearts out with power and pride. Perhaps on their way to rehearsal on DC’s subway, these teens were met with sideways glances, a firmer grip on the smartphone, and scans of the train car for a change of seat. As part of the Washington Youth Choir, performing at the presidential inauguration or Washington National Cathedral, they are greeted warmly with applause. What a difference that reception is—and what a difference it can make.