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Lessons Learned
"Whatever we do in front of kids,
we are advocating for our own values. The spirit of youth is reflective
of adult society." - Carl Taylor, Professor,
The All Means All School-to-Work Project has been an evolution in the making. What started out as a typical grant project, ended up having a profound impact on many who were involved with the project. It has changed some of our most basic ways of thinking about education, planning for the future, and life. This project has done many fun and wonderful things, but it is the lessons learned which have been most valuable. So what have we learned over the past three years about including all learners in school-to-work systems and opportunities? 1. There is no right way to do this. Every time it seemed as if we had found "the best way" or "the right way" someone would appear on the horizon with a new idea, strategy, or an example to show that including all learners in all opportunities can be done successfully in a different way. The conclusion: there is no recipe card - a map - a 5-step plan that will automatically work. Any way that you do this, can be a good way, if you have an open mind, respect for all of your learners, and a willingness to be responsive to their input and ideas. Our attitude shapes the future of what will be. Attitudes are not techniques, but come from the true beliefs in our hearts. As Dr. Martin Broken Leg of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota once said, "The cure for the ills around you come from where you are. It is in the human heart and spirit." 2. We need to create welcoming environments for all learners. When was the last time you felt alienated from someone or something? It may have been long ago when a child had a birthday party and you weren't invited. It might be as recent as being excluded from a meeting that you really wanted to attend. Every one of us has a need to be welcomed and to feel that we are of value. It is part of the human condition to be needed and to feel that we have something of value to give back to the world. Richard Curwin, author of "Discipline with Dignity" said recently at the Reclaiming Youth at Risk conference in Spearfish, South Dakota, "We have to learn to welcome and accept every kid even the ones you wish weren't there. We must show them we are glad they are there. We must find something we like about that child and everyone must do this (administrators, teachers, everyone). Schools must become the gangs for kids." School-to-work provides a unique opportunity to create welcoming environments for every learner through a multitude of every day, "teachable moments." Schools, businesses, and communities need place a priority upon welcoming and embracing all learners as equally capable equally valuable. 3. We need to listen to and act upon the advice and ideas of children and youth. Many times we wonder why the systems we have created do not work. We wonder why children and youth do not embrace our ideas and support them with delight. If we really stop to think about how these systems are developed, we might realize that there was not a strong voice present in the form of feedback from children and youth. We expect them to buy into systems that they did not have the opportunity to help create. We expect ownership of requirements and opportunities that may not really meet their needs and goals for the future. Dr. Larry Brendtro, a professor and researcher at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota shared the following thoughts at a recent conference: "The two most powerful mistakes we make as helping adults is that we underestimate their talent and we assume that the moments we see them at their worst, that this is the way it will always be. We have to find a way to ask about young people and their needsbehind all of their problems they want their lives to workit first takes trust we must prove we are worthy of their trust that is our job." We must begin to listen to children and youth, to respect their advice and ideas, and to change our systems, our options, and opportunities based on what they say they really need. Given a chance, they will work with you to create a better system one that they are truly interested in and value. It is never too late to seek the input, advice, and assistance of children and youth in changing our systems and communities to reflect and support their dreams for the future. 4. School-to-Work can be about making change happen positively. School-to-work doesn't just have to be about a five year, federally funded initiative. It doesn't have to be about turf issues, winners and losers, the have's and the have nots. School and community learning opportunities provide a chance to make lasting change happen positively for all of us and for all children and youth. Marita Bergsson of the Jacob Muth School in Germany has challenged us to think constructively and seriously about this concept: " How will schools, educators, and our communities actively shape change to leave kids with the better parts of the world and minimize the worst of it? What changes will we make within ourselves? A decisive change of perception is needed a revolution of thought to bring both needed and wanted internal and external change." What is critical, is that the options are based on learner needs and learner choice. It is not about who wins or who loses, but how well we are able to value, welcome, and support the individual dreams of every learner. Conclusion This project has shaped a vision for the future through the identification of national award sites and the insight and wisdom they have provided about what can and is possible. We each have the capacity as individuals to make a lasting impact on children, youth, and the systems within which we work, every day. We have countless opportunities to change the way we work, to pay attention to opportunities for good, constructive change and to make the mentoring and guidance of children and youth our top and most important priority. You can make it happen take this opportunity and rise to the challenge!
"Throughout history, the most successful youth workers have been able to see beyond the problems of young people to a vision of their great potential." - Book - Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future
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Funding for the All Means All School-to-Work Project has ended. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of contact information listed here. Additionally, awarded programs that we profile may no longer exist. We are publishing this information as it may be relevant to the current work of assisting youth with disabilities in the transition from school to post-school opportunities.
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