SELECT A PROGRAM

(12/2008) - Assemble a motley mishmash of 160 late-adolescents from a variety of socio-economic, educational and cultural backgrounds. Choose those teens who are particularly eccentric in one way or another - from the free-thinking rebel to the authentic oddball - and for whom “eccentric” is a compliment, not an affront. Select your subjects primarily on the basis of their inherent need to express themselves in unique and deeply personal modes.

Now, confine this group for five weeks on a small unremarkable college campus in a small Connecticut town in the height of the steamy summer. Provide cramped living quarters in austere dormitory rooms and assign two people to single rooms, three to doubles, and so on. Remove air conditioning, cell phones, televisions, laptops, X­boxes and all other forms of modern comfort, entertainment and communication with the outside world.

Stringently prohibit the use, possession or even the slightest trace of any mind-altering substances. Disallow virtually any visitation or off-campus leaves. Provide a bare minimum of free time, but instead keep the teenagers working all day - early to bed and early to rise. And finally, supervise the group with a diverse band of young folks of the same description.

At the conclusion of this unusual process, what will you observe? Anarchy? Revolt? Misery? Some kind of bizarre “Lord of the flies” social order?

In fact, you will witness a scene that can only elicit awe, admiration and a deepened faith in the better nature of ourselves. It will provide even the most cynical with a boost of confidence in the future of our civilization.

At the end of the five weeks, the teens are uniformly serene, yet fizzing with passion. They have formed multiple layers of unpretentious mature bonds — individual friendships, small group affiliations and a cohesive and supportive role in the larger community. There is a pervasive sense of heightened self-confidence of the healthiest kind.

The real-life program thus described is the Center for Creative Youth (CCY) Summer Arts Residency at Wesleyan College. CCY is a program of the Hartford-based Capitol Region Education Council (CREC). The catalysts for this improbably positive outcome are a brilliantly structured program, dedicated professional teachers and resident assistants and an overarching culture that succeeds in drawing out the very best in the young students, individually and as a community.

CCY’s residency offers talented high school students five weeks of intensive study in one of 10 different disciplines in the visual, literary and performing arts. Each student spends every morning focused on his or her chosen field of study and every afternoon in an interdisciplinary activity, chosen from a long list of non-traditional multicultural artistic endeavors — from African dancing and Caribbean steel drumming to sign language and comic acting.

The daily routine is supplemented by leadership training, attendance at concerts, films and dramatic performances, social events such as dances and “open-mike” performance sessions and a college career day with visiting representatives from scores of colleges around the country. Two “Share Days” provide the opportunity for students to present their work formally.

The final requirement of the program is a community project in which each student independently designs and implements a venture in his or her discipline that will contribute to the student’s local community in the months and years after the conclusion of the summer program. Upon successful completion of the program, CCY provides each student with a detailed evaluation that can be used to supplement college applications.

CCY, above all, is a comprehensive education in creativity. Students have a unique opportunity to improve their artistic skills and virtuosity in their chosen field. More importantly, the supportive, non-judgmental environment encourages teens to explore new ground. It fosters the courage to risk purely personal expression and so expand the self.

The new-found confidence is palpable, as students absorb the thrilling realization of their abundant creative capacity. The spirit of collaboration and sharing among students magnifies this enlightenment and allows each person to experience the immense fulfillment of communal creative endeavor.