Commitment to Learning

Hello!

Last time we finished the 4 external asset groups. Today we will look at the first of the internal asset groups. These are assets that we help develop in our youth.

The Commitment to Learning group is mostly about school or after school programs, but our programs can reinforce the importance of learning and support young people's school success. Youth today have a harder time finding any meaning for their life in school, I believe. We can help motivate them to learn and see how school connects to their lives. We can also strengthen the connections between school and familes.

Tips:

Provide a good atmosphere for learning
Provide access to good books and magazines and reading areas.
Allow time for reading
Set up tutoring environments with snacks, individual attention, etc.
Provide learning opportunities such as field trips to libraries, etc.
Show youth what education can do for them
Acknowledge school success
Coordinate efforts with parents and teachers
Talk to youth about their attitudes toward school and help them turn negative attitudes into positive ones
Advocate in the schools for youth welcoming and caring environments

What do you all do in your programs to help your youth be connected and motivated in school?

Till tomorrow,

LA

Constructive Use of Time

Hello Everyone!

What a funny title for a group of assets. This one includes creative activities, youth programs, religious community, and time at home.

We can definitely learn about activities and youth programs!

The idea is not just to structure time, but to make the time rich. We have game night at the shelter on Monday evenings. A couple volunteers their time to play group games with the youth there. They play Gestures and games in which the teens must think and act out. Lots of our youth have never played games like this before, so they learn good teamwork and how to get along well with others in competition.
They also have a lot of fun.

Tips

Provide a variety of activities
Arrange for local artists to come in and do creative activities
Have as much one on one time with youth as possible
Display teen's artwork and talent
Tell the parents what their youth can do and are doing
Help find community resources for youth to participate in outside the program

It is a funny thing at our shelter, but the teens will usually say no if you ask them if they want to play a game or do art, etc. But if you get the game out or the art supplies, pretty soon there are teens wanting to participate.

Any ideas on what has worked for you all?

LA

Boundaries & Expectations

Hello,

We are up to the third set of assets. This is what is said about this area.

Youth benefit from clear boundaries and expectations that steer them toward positive choices. Boundaries are internalized when they are consistent across settings such as the family, school and neighborhood. ...Moreover youth know they are valued and respected when adults hold high expectations for them. ... Youth programs can involve youth in setting limits and consequences and communicate expectations clearly.

This is a hard area, I think. First of all, we have no control over what families and schools are doing. We can work with the youth in our programs and sometimes their families too.

We used to have a point and level system in our shelter. If a teen didn't follow the rules, he or she would lose points and possibly a level that had priviledges such as playing pool and getting a coke. We decided a few yesrs ago that we would give all the youth the same priviledges when they first entered the program. Then if they acted out, we would have their counselor work with them. We also use peace-making circles to resolve conflict. Of course this doesn't always work...yesterday we had to ask 2 teens to leave the shelter. But our incidence reports have dropped drastically.

Here are the tips for building these assests:

Provide clear rules and consequences
Involve youth in developing rules and consequences
Use positive techniques to reinforce good behavior
Model repectful behavior
Enlist youth in modeling positive behavior for theie peers
Work with parents and schools to create boundaries and expectations.
Tell youth your high expectations for them
Structure your activities to support the youth in meeting those expectations
Inspire youth

Any stories about this? I would love to hear them.

LA

Empowerment

Hi ya,

Today we will look at the empowerment assets. This is the second group of assets. Just today at work we were talking about the assets and how 40 seemed like a lot to remember. So remembering the main eight groups seems like a good goal.

The Search institute says that empowerment is more a philospphy than an activity. If so, then these assets would fit well with the Advancing Youth Development work. (I am trying to write with a cat on my lap again)

So the following are ideas for increasing empowerment:

Provide opportunities in a safe environment
Provide emotional safety
Listen
Encourage input
Enlist youth in forming the rules and consequences
Use elected representatives from the youth in their programs
Work with youth to decide on service-learning projects
Involve youth in community presentations
Set up real partnerships with youth and adults
Respectfully bring attention to power imbalances
Look for ways youth can serve in decision-making and policy-making roles
Educate the community on models of shared leadership
Find ways for civic engagement skills to be reinforced in schools, churches, communities, etc.

Wow. I guess all of that is definitely empowering.

Are there any ways that you have empowered the youth in your agencies that you could share with us?

LA

The Support Assets

Hi All,

I think I will spend this week on more assets ideas. Today we will talk about the Support Assets.

As Search Institute says, " Supportive relationships provide the conduit for all other asset building."

The support assets refer to providing young people with love, affirmation, and acceptance throughout their environment. While parental support is most influential, the combination of support from all aspects of a young person's life is crucial. Simple ways for youth programs to provide support include making youth feel welcome by all adults greeting them, paying close attention to them, and actively listening to them. Youth programs can also involve and coordinate efforts with families and schools.

So what are ways to build support assets?

Notice & welcome every young person.
Appreciate & build on their strengths & postive behaviors.
Listen, listen, listen.
Build supportive relationships through shared activities.
Urge parents to become involved with their youth.
Create ways for community members to get involved with youth.

An example of this last one here at Oasis is taking our shelter youth to the assisted living home every Tuesday night to play bingo. The elderly love the teens and the teens feel their support.

What are ways that you build support with the youth you serve?

LA

Real Examples

Hello Everyone!

I am back from vacation. It was great to sleep late and read a novel and eat fresh fish and shrimp. Yum.

Thanks Polly for your incredible examples of being an asset builder! Wow. Those are amazing and awesome changes in people's lives. You go girl!!!

I too would love to hear from all of you out there. What are some victories you have had so far this year as an Americorps member?

Large or small....like the starfish story I related way back in our blogs, it matters greatly to the one you help.

This blog is really for you all to be able to celebrate your work together. Polly has started the ball rolling....

Who is next? What are some of your experiences?

LA

Ps The photo is of some of our shelter staff here at Oasis.

Be an Asset Builder

Hello, Let's look at what we can do to be an asset builder.

You can BE an Asset Builder

Be an open, honest, & active listener
Be committed to the positive work
Be hopeful & optimistic about young people & their future
Be self-aware
Be appreciative of youth's strengths
Be supportive
Be reliable & trustworthy
Be willing to share your assets with youth (time, caring, etc)

What you can DO as an Asset Builder

Say hello to all youth
Build relationships with the youth who live near you
Respect & affirm youth
Believe in youth
Attend youth's events
Look for the good in youth
Have meaningful conversations with youth
Model positive behavior
Forgive people when they make mistakes
Encourage youth to succeed in school and be a resource in their community
Use the asset framework.

So those are just ideas from Search Institute on how to be an Asset Builder.

Hope you have a great week and I will see you next Monday after my vacation!

Bye for now!

LA

Even More About Assets

Hiya,

Tonite I will discuss some more about the assets that the youth said they did have.

63% said that they had positive peer influence. That is interesting because peer influence gets a feally bad rap, doesn't it. We refer to peer pressure as a bad thing. Youth are saying that it is a positive influence on their lives.

65% of youth say that they are motivated to do well in school. I don't know who they surveyed, but here in Tennessee we have a lot of youth who drop out and do poorly in school.

63% say they accept personal responsibilty.

The research also showed that youth need to have 31 out of the total 40 assets to be really prepared for a successful adulthood.

This is the breakdown:

17% of youth have 0-10 assets total
42% have 11-20 assets
32% have 21-30 assets

and only 8% have 31-40. That is huge! Now it would be good if the youth that we see in our shelters and on the streets had 21-30! But it is sobering to realize that most of our youth need these assets in their lives.

Tomorrow we will look at what we can do about it.

LA

More about Assets

Hello!

The boy in the cartoon is saying, "I use to have a lemonade stand, but this pays better". Not much developed in our youth with lectures is there?

I wanted to mention some more assets and their percentages that you might find very interesting.

This is puzzling to me: even though 68% of youth claimed that they have family support, only 28% claim positive family communication.

Only 29% of youth feel that school is a caring environment and 37% felt that their neighborhood was caring.

51% of youth feel safe at home, in school and neighborhood. So 49% don't feel safe. Another reason to be giving your youth safe exit plans.

Only 27% of youth say they have positive adult role models.

Only 29% of youth say they know how to plan ahead and make choices.

Only 26% of youth say they are given useful roles in the community.

What is good about this study, is that you can plan your programs to help develop these assets in the youth you serve. Some of the assets will be developed just because you care about them and are a positive role model to them.

Tomorrow, we will look at some more of the assets that youth say they do have.

Have a great Saturday,

LA

40 Assets Con't

Hello!

I am going to try to upload the other photos this weekend. I will be on the blog this weekend and Monday and then will be on vacation until Sunday. I am going to Aruba and can't wait. We have been drenched with rain here. Tornado warnings today and they are calling for snow on Sunday. That's right...snow!!! It was 80s today and tomorrow will be 40s.

okay today I will let you know the answers to the assets questions.

Which three developmental assets were present the most with youth?

The highest present in our youth is Positive View of Personal Future which means that 72% of youth are optimistic about their future.

The second and third highest assets are actually tied at 68%. Our youth said they had integrity which means that they feel that they have convictions that they act on and that they stand up for their beliefs. And 68% said that they have family support.

So we can build on those strengths in our youth: a positive view of the future, integrity and family support.

Okay, now which assets are the lowest in our youth?

21% of our youth have creative activities which means that they spend 3 or more hours a week playing music, doing art or a similar activity.

Again we have a tie for the second and third lowest.

22% of youth read for pleasure 3 or more hours a week.

22% of youth believe that community (adults) values youth.

Whoa! Only 22% of our youth feel valued by the community! by adults! That is something we can help change. You are changing that by giving your year to valuing youth.

I also decided to say hello to youth on the street when I heard that only 1 out of 5 adults even makes eye contact with them. That way I am helping youth to feel valued.

Have a great evening!

LA

Photos? again

Hello Everyone,

I am wiped out. Today we had a big event here in Nashville. It is around improving the quality of our programs and training of youth workers. I was the set-up person and then did a training in the afternoon. So not only am I exhausted, but I forgot to get my Developmental Assets materials from work. I was there early this morning, but got distracted with getting supplies for this event which was held at one of our community centers.

So I will have to give you the percentages tomorrow. And I thought I would at least upload the photos that Jesse took first.

Now if your photo is on here, let us know who you are! I think this is Project Lighthouse.

Cool!

LA

40 Assets

Hello Everyone,

These red bud trees are blooming here in Nashville.

Today we will explore the 40 assets philosophy of working with youth... I train youth workers on this and the Circle of Courage and Advancing Youth Development. That third one, I believe you will be trained in by John at some point.

The 40 assets is a very easy way to look at what youth need to become successful adults. It was developed by the Search Institute.

What is an asset?
Here is a definition: A useful or valuable quality, person, or thing; an advantage or resource:

So check out the link here to see the list of all 40 developmental assets.

You can see that they are divided into two categories: external and internal.

I have information that tells us what percentage of youth have each asset. (At least by their research)

Guess which three assets are the lowest? (In other words, which three assets do youth say are the lowest in their lives?)

Guess which three assets are the highest?

I will tell you tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I ask youth workers to think of a person, activity, group etc (Just like I did for Circle of Courage) and this time go through the list of the 40 assets and check the ones that they acquired because of that person or group, etc.

Try it if you want. It is really cool to see what assets you got from just one person or experience. It helps us to realize how we can develop these assets in the youth at our agencies.

Tomorrow I will go through the external assets as well as tell you what the highest and lowest are according to the youth surveyed.

(I did look at your photos and wish i could meet you all!)



LA

Photos?

Hello! Today I am going to try to get the photos that Jesse has been taking of you all up on this site. Yay, Jesse!

Ok, let me try this....

Maybe this....

Ok that didn't work. I think i will send them to John who can get them up on the site. Right, John? I haven't the mastery to do it.

I love to take photos too. I know Jesse does and some of the photos are pretty funny. I like to take photos of nature and buildings mostly. I put one of my favorites that I took in New York City.

I am rambling because this has been an exhausting day! I have important parts in two events...one is Thursday and the other is Saturday. I am so tired but need to work into the night....

Reminds me of self care. That is an awesome topic for our blog.

Tomorrow I will introduce the 40 Assets philosophy and when we are done that, we can talk about self care. This work can be draining even though it is meaningful and fulfilling. So what do you do to de-stress?

Right now I am just trying to get enough sleep!

So see you tomorrow!

LA

Circle of Courage Answers

Hello Everyone, I hope you had a good weekend. I went to Baltimore to see my parents and brothers. It was nice.

So what are the answers to the quiz?

If you guessed:

Generosity
Mastery
Belonging
Independence

you are right!

I use this philosophy in my new staff and volunteer training. I ask them to think of a person or event or activity or something from their teen years that helped them to become the person they are today.

Then I ask them to talk about it and place it (they have written it down on a post-it note) onto the circle of courage that I have on the wall. They choose which need was met, although often there is overlap.

For example, some people have a club, team, scouts, youth group or band or some kind of group they belonged to. It would fulfil the belonging need, but it could also fill the mastery or generosity need.

My story that I told you of how one of my 10th grade teachers organized a group of us to go tutor kids in the Baltimore inner city every Saturday morning is an example of meeting the need for generosity for me. It really changed me in a way that lectures would never have done.

What would be the answer to that question for you? What influenced you to be the positive caring person you are today?

Post a comment and share it with us all!

LA

Need #4

Hello Everyone,

Today is the third rainy day here...and I mean rain...pouring rain. The rivers are going to flood for sure.

Before we talk about the last need, we can take a moment to honor MLK on this 40th year of his death. I remember that day clearly...i was 15 years old. I lived in Baltimore and we had a city curfew of 5pm. the day after his death for a number of days. There were hundreds of fires and lootings in the city. It was sad and scary. So much hatred and hostility. Such a loss for our world.

Need #4

The characteristics of this need when unmet are:

submissive
lacking confidence
feeling inferior
irresponsible
helpless
undisciplined
easily led

The characteristics of this need when it is met in negative ways is:

ditatorial
reckless, macho
bullying
sexually exploitative
manipulative
rebellious
defiant of authority

Wow. We see a lot of youth in our shelter who exhibit these traits. Knowing what need this behavior reflects would be helpful.

So what are the needs? #1, #2, #3, and #4.

Go ahead and take a guess.

Monday we will wrap up the Circle of Courage. Meanwhile I hope you have a good weekend. I am off to Baltimore to visit my family.

Take care,

LA

Need #3

Hello Everyone,

I am waiting until each need in the quiz is written, before I give the answers for 2 reasons:

1. Maybe one of you will guess
2. By process of elimination, if I give the right answers each day, the quiz will be easier and easier each day! See I am smarter than I look. :)

So today, we are Need #3:

These are the characteristics when this need is unmet:

unattended
guarded
rejected
lonely
aloof
isolated
distrustful

These are the characteristics when this need is met in negative
ways:

loyal to gang
craving attention
craving acceptance
promiscuous
clinging
attracted to cults
overly dependent

So if any of your youth display any of these characteristics, which need should you look at?

It is said that this need is the most important of them all. That the other three build on this one. And if this need is not met, it will effect the others.

Till Tomorrow,

LA

Need #2

Hello Everyone, I just finished 3 days of peace circle training...very cool, but I am wiped out.

Ok now for Need #2.

A youth who is not getting this need met exhibits one or more of these characteristics:

nonachieving
oriented to failure
risk-avoiding
fearful of challenges
unmotivated
easily discouraged
feeling inadequate

A youth who is getting this need met in a negative way exhibits one or more of these characteristics:

overachieving
arrogant
risk-seeking
workaholic
presevering
cheating
skillful at delinquent behavior

Which need is this?

Do any of the youth in your agency show these traits? I think the boys in our society are especially susceptible to these. Because they are supposed to look capable and macho. But we have girls showing these traits in our programs as well.

Till tomorrow,

LA

Need #1 Quiz

Okay...now for some fun with this:

Each day for the rest of this week, we will look at one of the Circle of Courage needs again. I will list the characteristics of what it looks like for that need to be met in a negative way or not met at all.

You guess which one it is. Got it? Good.

So this week.....NEED #1

When this need is met in a negative way, a young person might have these characteristics:

condescending
overinvolved
playing or acted martyred
servile
exploited or used

When the need is not met at all:

selfish, narcissistic
lacking affection
disloyal
hardened
antisocial
exploitative

Okay, so which need is not being met or being met negatively? It is good to recognize these behaviors so you know which need to address.

Oh, and I was wrong about Tennessee not having a team...Memphis!

LA