Show, don’t tell; listen, don’t preach.

All too often, we tell young people what to do because it’s so much easier than showing them.

Septuagenarian rocker Alice Cooper has rewritten his perennial end-of-the-school-year anthem. School is now in for summer, apparently. I know. I can see the eyerolls from here.

But wait: the summer holidays are not cancelled. It’s part of a project to rewrite an album of songs to raise money for Solid Rock Teen Centers across the US. The centres, founded by Cooper, provide free after-school music, dance, photography and art training for teens.

The album's production will allow some talented young people to play on the album and gain the invaluable first-hand experience of witnessing the recording process. It looks like a fun project, with musicians like Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels of Run DMC getting involved by rewriting old songs as positive anthems.

However, there’s something off-key in the core motivation behind the album, which Cooper claims is to ‘create music we would want our kids to listen to.’

I’m not sure how I feel about that. I thought your teenage years were about activating your voice, finding your pathway, your cause, and listening to music your parents ‘didn't get’.

The last one especially.

Maybe Cooper could take a leaf out of Pink Floyd’s book, and “leave those kids alone”.

As we stop school for something else this summer, we must acknowledge that there is more to life than grades, exams and the school canteen. Even the most school-adjusted, conscientious and diligent school student needs a break.

And look at teachers’ faces. They certainly do.

Some folk argue that the potential for summer learning loss, no matter the inconclusive research on the idea, is one of many reasons why we should do more over the summer to maintain learning momentum, or even cut summer holidays short.

Making the most of summer is important. Access to summer programs offered by Solid Rock Teen Centers is infinitely more useful than attempts to rewrite songs which whitewash our misspent youth.

Alice Cooper also says he would next like to record an album of songs written by the kids themselves. That’s maybe a better place to start: show, don’t tell; listen, don’t preach.

What kinds of summer project could we design that allows young people the scope for choice and new opportunities, as well as the safety net and non-judgemental space to discuss their inevitable mistakes and not-quite-a-success stories along the way? And if it works for summer, why not try doing it through the whole year, when they’re at school?

We don’t want students to repeat the same mistakes we did. But I doubt that micromanaging and simplifying the ‘just be positive’ message is all it takes. Give them the agency and resources they need to write their own future. Even if you ‘don’t get’ the tune or lyrics.