After months of planning, the Prepare for Action! PAR group brought their vision of a workshop at the 2018 Collaboration Council symposium to fruition. Youth and adult members of three of our participating organizations - the YMCA Mentoring "Pre-Perfect" Girls' Group, Gandhi Brigade Youth Media, and the Federation of Families Bridges to the Future Program facilitated a workshop for an audience of 20 youth development practitioners on their experiences using Participatory Action Research to investigate issues that matter to them. Janiyah and Jordan from the YMCA Girls' Group facilitated an icebreaker asking the audience to reflect on a time someone made an unwelcome assumption about them. Ines, Ana, and Kyle from Gandhi Brigade introduced their process of brainstorming issues to focus on in their documentaries, and they asked the audience to think of issues that matter to them. Both the YMCA Girls' Group and Gandhi Brigade shared their finished videos. Then our whole group participated in a sharing circle, where we reflected on the entire experience and how we have changed in the process. The audience had a chance to ask questions, and then Robyn and Kevin led a closing where everyone wrote down their biggest learning from the workshop on a piece of paper and had a "snowball fight" tossing the papers around the room. We heard some of those reflections, all of which affirmed the message about the power of youth voice and adults "getting out of the way" to let youth lead.
After lunch, the group answered questions and talked to symposium attendees at the "PAR booth", our table that displayed artifacts from sessions, the PAR guide, our blog, chart papers, pictures, and even the issue brainstorm from the morning workshop. In the afternoon, our group had the chance to reflect with each other on what everyone got out of the experience and what next steps we want to take together. Reflections included that people in the group felt proud of "communicating proudly and without fear," "How we took ownership of our work," and "Building relationships with people of similar interests." The group reflected that their thinking change in the process of working with their groups by "Becoming more open-minded," "Being more aware of others' opinions/emotions," and "Being more aware of social issues." They reflected that their thinking changed about their topics by "Becoming more comfortable talking about these topics," and "Learning more (in depth) about the topics." Next steps the group wants to take after the symposium include: "Promoting videos to more people within the community," "Keep investigating other things such as other issues within community, schools, etc.," Starting a new project around school justice, hosting an event with videos and discussion, partnering with other youth organizations, getting on the news, and hosting a youth celebration and inviting other youth organizations. The group shared that they were most surprised to discover how well they did in these projects and to see individuals coming together to make an impact. We already accomplished one of these next steps - by getting on the news! Check out localdvm.com for a clip from the symosium: http://www.localdvm.com/news/i-270/student-mentors-attend-youth-symposium/1193153848
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Youth documentaries from the spring of 2018 focus on testing in schools, mental health, bullying, climate change, and the #MeToo movement. In this video, see members of the Girls Group talk about what they have learned, how they have grown, and what more they would like to do as a group. The Growing in PAR group (adults and youth) are preparing to present their work in PAR at the 2018 Collaboration Council Symposium on May 22nd. The group will lead a workshop in the morning open to symposium attendees. In the afternoon, the group will have a closed session where they can reflect on the entire PAR experience, and share across groups what they have gotten out of the experience. There will also be a "PAR booth" with artifacts, posters, and interactive elements set up during the symposium so everyone can check out the work of the group.
Last week, Robyn Horsey from the Montgomery County Federation of Families visited the Gandhi Brigade class in Aspen Hill to speak about mental health. It was a great interview and a wonderful chance for collaboration among the different organizations in our PAR training group. From Emma Whitty, Gandhi Brigade Program Manager:
"All of the interview questions were great, but I'm always impressed by the add-on questions that my students think of at the end of the interview, after they've asked all of their pre-written questions. After they'd run through their list of questions with Robyn, they asked her a few more questions about how dealing with mental health issues differs for people of different ages. There was a question about high schoolers versus young adults, and another question about what younger kids, 16 and under, should do if they feel like they are struggling with their mental health. Robyn was able to give some really specific answers about who students can talk to at their schools, how to get properly diagnosed, and the benefits of getting an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). And lastly, my student Kevin asked how young people can help/support friends who are struggling with mental health issues, which I know is an important question for a lot of my students. I'm so glad Robyn could giver her professional answer and assure them that the best thing they can do for their friends is be open and nonjudgmental and offer a kind listening ear." The Gandhi Brigade continues its work in the spring semester with more youth-led documentary projects. Emma Whitty, Program Manager, is integrating PAR into two of her programs at Aspen Hill Library and Rockville Library, where students are divided into groups exploring the topics of mental health, sexual harassment, bullying, and climate change. Similar to last semester, Emma is encouraging students to explore their own personal connections to these major social topics, to understand why they care about the issues and decide how they want to see them changed. In the process of pre-production, production, interviewing, and editing, students are also doing some "Behind the Scenes" interviews with each other, to document how their own thinking about the topics are developing. Pictured above, students from Aspen Hill doing pre-production research on their topic, sexual harassment.
The YMCA Mentoring Girls Group continues to investigate their topic around self and body image, race, and identity. Some highlights from adult organizers Laura and Suzie:
- No one has missed a meeting! They are very pleased with the consistency, especially since they only meet as a large group once a month. - They continue to develop a formula for curriculum that works: Fun at the beginning, middle and end with the more analytical work snuck in. Even the fun activities address the topic and the girls' experience with it. Pictured above right are girls and their mentors doing "blindfolded self-portraits" as a way to explore self image and identity. - Data is being collected both inside and outside the group sessions in the form of interviews with peers, investigation of existing research and statistics, and ongoing self-exploration through visual art, poetry, and journaling. - They are seeing tremendous growth in the entire group and in individual girls. One girl shared "I was quiet, now I have a voice." - Many girls are becoming more active outside the group starting similar groups at school, and performing at church - The group is now moving toward taking action! They will be participating in the May 22nd Symposium at the Collaboration Council as part of taking action. Check out these videos made by youth participants at Gandhi Brigade! Program manager Emma Whitty led her students through forming a PAR inquiry around the topics of perceptions of youth culture and home-schooling vs. traditional schooling. While this video project didn't start as a PAR project, Emma discovered a way to infuse the element of PAR that those closest to the experience should be closest to the research when racism hit home at a school in Silver Spring. On Friday, November 17th, youth PAR practitioners from the YMCA Youth and Family Services Mentoring Group shared their experience with PAR on a panel with Mentor and Mentoring Recruitment Specialist Suzie Dhere and Laura Brown. In front of an audience of Local Management Board directors from across the state, youth participants Diamond and Janiya discussed the value of using PAR in their girls group. They spoke about using PAR to decided on a topic to research - body image, and how the process of PAR has given all the girls in the group a feeling of ownership and voice in the group. Go YMCA Girl's Group! |
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AuthorThe PAR group is made up of members from five organizations in Montgomery County, facilitated by the Montgomery County Collaboration Council for Children, Youth, and Families and with Consultant and PAR expert Clara Parker LLC. Archives
May 2018
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