I was recently confronted with a very difficult question when somebody innocently suggested that I write an article about fun things for teens to do in Philly. I confidently began writing this article, thinking that I would have it finished in a matter of hours but was suddenly overcome with the worst case of writers block that I have ever encountered. I realized that I have absolutely no idea what teenagers do for fun these days.
After having a brief mental breakdown over the fact that I am now old and uncool, I did what all office workers do during times of stress and turned to Reddit. I polled Askreddit and r/Philadelphia and, though I received a few good suggestions, I was not impressed with the results. I was at a complete loss. If the internet couldn’t help me, where could I possibly turn?
It finally hit me! Why not go right to the source? With a sudden burst of inspiration, I contacted the folks at Jackson Elementary School in South Philadelphia and asked to survey their students. They did us one better and invited us in to do an entire workshop. We met with 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and held presentations on interview skills, researching, editing and publication for journalistic works. In exchange, they offered us some excellent, expertly written, suggestions of ways teens can have fun in Philadelphia.
Here’s what they had to say:
“A fun thing for teenagers to do in Philadelphia is to go shopping for sneakers at Foot Locker.“ -T.C.
“As a teenager, a fun thing to do is walk around and explore Center City.” J.T.
“A good place to play soccer is UPENN, you will have fun and experience real soccer action.” -M.M.
“If you love animals, you can go to the Philadelphia Zoo.” -B.C.
“You can take a trip to Bucks County and visit Shady Brook Farms.” A.H.
“I suggest playing a game of soccer with friends at Columbus Park in South Philadelphia.” -M.S.
“I think you should go to Pat’s King of Steaks because they have good food there.” -J.A.
“I like playing soccer at FDR park.” -M.S.
“Teens in Philly should eat at Chipotle, play at Dave & Buster’s and check out the Franklin Institute.” -M.W.
“Everyone should go to the Schuykill River Banks because it is very peaceful there.” -D.H.
“Teens in Philly should watch the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.” -C.K.
“A fun thing to do in Philly is to play soccer at Capitolo Park.” -S.P.
“Teens in Philly should go to Moore College of Art and participate in an art workshop.” -C.R.
“I suggest that everyone take time to appreciate the beauty in the world around them by visiting scenic areas of Philly.” S.S.
“Teens should visit the Kimmel Center and participate in workshops. “ -B.D.
Well, there you have it! Thanks to the hard work of Ms. Celeste Thompson’s creative writing class at Jackson Elementary, teenagers of Philadelphia no longer have any reason to complain about being bored. I sincerely thank the Jackson staff for all of their cooperation and consideration in helping us get to the bottom of this important issue.
Written by Patrick Kaisinger (Mike McCann Team Blogger Extraordinaire)
