Challenges and Strategies for Working with High
Risk Youth
What Does "At-Risk" Mean?
A large percentage of at-risk students are students with disabilities.
Since Connecting to Success is for students with disabilities, the
program also addresses the at-risk population. The term "at-risk"
is sometimes used to refer to students who have a high probability
of dropping out of school. Yet, in a broader sense, at-risk means
being prone to dropping out of school, family, community, and society.
At-risk youth are young people who:
- Do not perceive adequate and meaningful similarities between
themselves and the leaders of their community,
- Perceive a lack of control over important issues in their lives,
and
- Are currently or could soon become disengaged from family, school,
or community supports.
Many youth will be receptive and excited about the opportunity
to participate in mentoring. Others may be reluctant for different
reasons. Some youth may have previously experienced abandonment,
alienation, and isolation in their relationships with adults. These
youth may wonder why all of the sudden adults are taking an interest
("Why me?" "Why now?"). Some youth may
be isolated from their community through educational, social, economic,
and developmental barriers. They may occasionally be contacted by
community agencies, but they may have a low level of trust for these
interventions. Such students may be skeptical of a mentoring program
as being another one of these random efforts to "help"
(David de Rosen Roll, et al. 1993). A successful mentoring
program will respond to the needs and unspoken questions of these
students in a number of ways:
- A mentor who senses disengagement from a student should patiently
persist in communicating through e-mail. Reliability and dependability
are important. The mentor should maintain an attitude of being
an equal with the student rather than an authority figure. A student
may test the mentor's intentions and trustworthiness by initially
not engaging in the relationship. Understand that this may be
a self-protection mechanism that has previously served the youth
in other environments.
- Students are sensitive to mentor absences. If you are going
to be away from the computer or unable to e-mail at the expected
time, be sure to notify the teacher and student, noting when you
will be available again. As much as possible, maintain your commitment
to exchange e-mails weekly during the academic year.
- Mentors, teachers, and employers should continue to expect achievement
from students. Anticipate that you will be able to work through
trust issues through open communication and demonstration of reliability.
Despite any difficulties that may exist in the mentee's life,
know that you can foster the mentee 's specific talents and abilities
through the mentoring relationship.
- Practice active listening. When a mentee expresses an interest
in something, ask about it. If the timing seems right, ask for
further information. Talk about baseball, the prom, music, or
whatever creates an opening for communication to develop.
- Understand that some students, especially those with disabilities,
may have had a "failure experience" in school. They
may dislike school because they have received continuous negative
feedback and perceive themselves as academic failures. Remember
to focus on the student's strengths, whether these are academic,
athletic, social, or artistic. Recognizing and pointing out strengths
will lead to growth and change.
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