Youth Development Insight

By Joanna Tzenis According to a recent student survey , Minnesota youth of Somali heritage report high levels of family support for education. But what does this support look like? Scholars, practitioners, and humans in general agree that parental support is important, but there’s no consensus on how it should be offered. Should parents help with homework at home? Should they volunteer at the school? Sign their kids up for extracurriculars? Let them relax with unstructured time when not in school? Should parents be cheerleaders or task masters?  My point is that there are many ways parents can support their children’s development. I've blogged before about educational strategies that are informed by cultural world views. What gets tricky is when parents’ approaches for supporting their kids differs from the expectations of the cultural majority. Studies on cultural and social resources of immigrant youth show how challenging it is to navigate different value systems arou

By Nancy Hegland In the past few months, I’ve had many reasons to be grateful for my family, friends and colleagues. We have had a lot happening at work, and this fall there has been a need for many people to add tasks to their lists that weren’t in their plans of work, or even on their radar. But there were things that needed to be done, and I had to choose which people needed to take on additional work. Every single person that I called to ask if they could pick up more work responded by saying “yes.” I am so grateful for their willingness, and hopefully I expressed it to them at the time, and continue to show appreciation each and every day. It’s easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of life and just keep things moving, yet it is important to express gratitude during the entire year. We tend to be good at expressing our thankfulness this time of the year, but we should make it part of our everyday lives. "The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for good

By Samantha Grant I work with some brilliant evaluators. They can do some pretty amazing things like use mapping software to see trends or conduct sophisticated evaluations to understand systems that influence our programs. Evaluation can be a very technical field. Not all evaluation is highly technical, though sometimes evaluators perpetuate that idea. I believe, and have seen through my work with youth workers, that some of the most astute youth workers are also great program evaluators. Why do some people feel comfortable conducting evaluations and others don’t? That is the million dollar question. I believe that basic evaluation skills are easy to build with some core tools. With that in mind, I have developed an evaluation website called Evaluating Education Programs to help people who lead educational programs learn more about evaluation. Check out the website by going to: z.umn.edu/evaluatingprograms . You’ll find: Fun and informative videos on topics like creative

By Karen Beranek In the past year, each and every professional development session I've attended has had one thing in common: the topic of civil discourse! Everyone’s talking about the need for it, the lack of resources around it, and opportunities surrounding it. My colleague Jessica Russo started the conversation on this blog with her recent post, Youth programs can rescue democracy . It has elicited numerous heartfelt comments. I'd like to continue that conversation. Teaching young people how to talk with those who have a different background or view than they have is sometimes as simple as providing a safe place for them to do so. Here are some strategies. Group agreements From the Center for Adolescent Studies, this technique develops expectations for functioning with a set of group norms. Active listening From the U.S. State Department. It's a method in which the listener seeks to understand, suspend judgment and give full attention. Text Talk Revive Ci

By Jessica Pierson Russo When I hear points of view that differ radically from my own, my appreciation of the speaker’s honesty usually outweighs my intolerance of their views. The balance tips when those views collide with the ones I hold most dear. The temptation then is to want to silence those views; but I know that censorship is not the answer. I think our young people deserve a democracy in which people will hear each other out. The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees free speech. Psychologists contend that self-expression is important to a person’s mental health . Similarly, quality youth development practice says that youth need to feel safe and to have spaces in which to discuss conflicting values and form their own.  A censored environment limits democracy and it limits youth development. But what happens when self-expression makes others feel personally attacked? How can we encourage youth to express potentially controversial views without alienating

By Karyn Santl It’s back-to-school time, which makes me think about going back to the basics. As a youth worker, that means the basics of youth work and positive youth development theory and practice. And for me that means Gisela Konopka’s work . In the 1970s, Dr. Konopka conducted her research at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work . Her work set the national agenda for promoting the health and well being of young people. She said the effectiveness of youth programs can be judged by the opportunities they offer youth and the credibility they enjoy. Stand-out programs give young people the experience of making choices, making commitments and experimenting with a variety of roles to “try out” the choices and commitment they make. The Extension Center for Youth Development has identified eight critical elements essential to the healthy development of young people. They are based on Konopka's and Karen Pittman's research . Youth will benefit from experiences

By Trisha Sheehan The author Angela Duckworth defines grit as passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals. She explains it is the ability to persist, to have direction and commitment to something. Perseverance is the ability to continue to work hard even through challenges or failure. Duckworth, the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance , developed the Grit Scale . She names four assets that people with grit share. Interest We look to interest first. We develop passion by enjoying what we do. There will be pieces of our work we don’t enjoy as much but for those who have grit they truly love what they do. Practice Those who have grit intentionally grow their capacity to practice. Perseverance is the daily discipline of trying to do work better than we did yesterday or the day before that. We want to improve and not just settle for mediocracy. Purpose Purpose grows our passion. Knowing and understanding the work we do is important to you but

By Jessica Pierson Russo We talked, my 10-year-old son and I, sitting on the floor of our kitchen. Tears pooled at our chins as he told me that a group of his peers had been telling each other racist jokes. “And mama, I didn’t do anything to stop it.” Our talk was deep and meaningful. I told him it was indeed wrong of him not to have said anything. But I didn’t condemn him for it. “The important thing is, what will you do next time?” It was important to me that he didn't attach his inaction to his sense of being, or to that of the others. That kind of behavior is not native to a child. My message: "That is not who you are." We talked about our country’s history of racism—something I’d been teaching him since age three. We talked about how differently each of us experience racism every day. We talked until I could see he felt himself again, this time armed with an experience he would learn from. There’s a lot more to that story. I’m telling it now to drive home the

By  Karen Beranek What is the best part of youth work? Seeing the young people grow! When I said that, did a name or face come to mind? Growth in leadership, character, decision-making, maturity, communicating – any and all - are signs that a young person is prepared for their future. Recently, I saw a strong team of dynamic high school students reflect on their own growth during a volunteer leadership experience.

By Margo Bowerman I admit it. I am a science nerd. And while I thought history didn’t interest me, I’m geeking out on the history of innovation and technology development. Thank you Steven Johnson ! I’m wondering how to apply what I’ve learned about technological innovations to the Minnesota 4-H youth development program. We have an initiative to expand the reach of the program, while increasing its relevance to society and maintaining high program quality. Our Program Director Dorothy McCargo Freeman has challenged us to be innovative and creative . Here’s what I’ve come up with. Be curious, be observant and ask questions Freeman refers to the book and video, Our Iceberg is Melting . In this book, a penguin colony faces the potential demise of the iceberg they call home. The story is a metaphor for how to significantly change an organization. In this story, the first penguin to notice there is something wrong was curious beyond typical penguin activities and investigated thin

By Nancy Hegland This year’s University of Minnesota employee engagement survey is out. As a program leader I care very much about this subject. So what exactly is employee engagement, you ask? The University's Office of Human Resources defines it as the extent to which individuals devote time, energy and effort at work. The highest levels of engagement come from facing meaningful challenges while having the support, resources and confidence to address them. Engaged employees are focused, energetic, mentally resilient, committed and involved. They say positive things about their workplace and recommend it to others. I think the research related to employees applies equally to youth and volunteers involved in youth development organizations. We certainly want young people to be focused, energetic, mentally resilient and stay committed and involved in their youth programs. We want them to speak well of their experience. What steps can a youth development organization

By Joshua Kukowski Recently, my daughter asked me to run in a local 5K. I asked her why she wanted to do this and she said “I want a medal.” While I was enthused at this new physical challenge with her, I was also concerned as to her reason for doing it. Vince Lombardi said that “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”  Alfie Kohn describes that one can easily see how childhood is filled with this competitive mindset of winners and losers. College scholarships, beauty contests, one-act play competitions, purple ribbons at county and state fairs, state sports tournaments and college admissions are a few that come to mind and there are many more. Each of these has clearly defined winners and losers.

By Nicole Pokorney Volunteers are vital for non-profit organizations. Staff need be able to optimize the use of volunteers to maximize their efforts to spread the work and their impact. Traditionally, staff guide the work and vision of an organization. But for true transformation, staff and volunteers must move the mission forward together. To do that, staff and volunteers must share the vision, along with the energy and passion to transform the volunteers into engaged stewards. The result is enabled volunteers who are equipped to guide youth programs and make fundamental shifts to meet the organization’s evolving needs. From volunteer to engaged steward People volunteer for many reasons and are motivated by different things. Research shows that “Job satisfaction is related to achievement, recognition for accomplishment, challenging work, increased responsibility and individual growth and development.” When volunteers lack a sense of connection and purpose, they feel unful

By Carrie Ann Olson Cooking is healthy, so why are Americans cooking less than they used to ? Maybe it’s because they are afraid to try. For me, mixing things together to come up with something new is exciting and rewarding. But my daughter recently told me that her junior high family consumer science classmates are afraid to try cooking because it might not turn out perfect. This is a common fear for adolescents . But a youth development program should help them to develop good decision making skills. My favorite cooking activities for youth incorporate a cook-off .  In team cook-offs, youth have to work together to make decisions. There’s no right or wrong answer; it’s a creative, learn-by-doing process that sometimes turns out better than other times. Here are some things to try Food Insight has released a series of “Build Your Own” infographic recipes . Each one offers a simple recipe, with the option for variation. The series has six infographics ranging from oatmeal

By Joseph Rand It’s nice to say you’re an ally to marginalized groups, but what actions are you taking to create change? “Ally” is a verb, and requires action. So if you want to be an ally for youth, you have to speak up! I was reminded of this by a speaker at the Ohio 4-H LGBTQ+ Summit recently. How are you making marginalized groups like LGBTQ+ youth and families feel included? One simple way is through inclusive language. The Human Rights Campaign reports that 92% of LGBT youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBT; the top sources are school, the internet, and peers. GLSEN reports that that rate is higher for rural and suburban students than it is for urban students. We as youth development professionals must ensure that out-of-school-time spaces are safe and inclusive. Here are four actions you can take to be an ally. Think of ways to separate groups or label activities other than than boys and girls Reinforcing this binary can be damaging to youth who are

By Amber Shanahan If you could have 14 colleagues working alongside you to help you meet your goals, that would be pretty great, right? And what if they were helping you to solve the most important issues in your field? That would be greater still, right? Fifteen Minnesota 4-H program coordinators did just that in a recently completed Youth Development Learn and Lead (YDLL) cohort . They networked, worked as a team, and shared positive youth development research and best practices. Over the eight-month period, they took part in an Action Learning Project (ALP), a practical assignment to solve issues, create support or improve programs. In ALP, participants identify a topic or concern relevant to their community and work in small groups to share progress, reflect and gain perspective.

By Karyn Santl I'm not an outdoors person. I don't like bugs. I don't like the heat. I'm not really into outdoors stuff. But I LOVE 4-H camp and the magic that happens when teens use their leadership skills to deliver the camp program! For more than 20 years, I have been coordinating an overnight 4-H camp for grades 3-6, as well as day camps. My goal for the campers is that they are safe, have fun, make new friends and want to come back the following year. What motivates me to coordinate camps? It's the magic that happens when teenagers become camp counselors!

By Samantha Grant Good data visualization matters. I think about, blog about  and train others on ways to improve the way that we share our evaluation findings. Recently, I had personal evidence of how good data visualization matters. My daughter came home from school upset because she scored "urgent intervention" on a standardized math test. I initially didn't believe her because she's a strong student, even though she would rather have her nose in a book than solve multiplication problems. We went through all of the reasons that her score could have been low-- from a bad test-taking day to the test covering topics that weren't discussed in class.

By Trisha Sheehan We've all heard that it's important to take care of ourselves. Often times we think of that from a personal perspective: We take care of our health. We take a vacation to relax and refresh ourselves. But do you take care of yourself professionally? Professional development is a chance to enhance the skills of newer staff or those who are more experienced. For a youth worker, professional development can be training, education or support.

By Kate Walker Program leaders regularly confront issues of culture and race in youth programs. I was part of a a research project that examined culture-related incidents and how leaders responded. Based on interviews with 50 leaders from 27 programs for middle and high school-aged teens, my colleagues identified four types of incidents and three ways that leaders responded . What they discovered has implications for our work toward equity.

By Karen Beranek Many youth organizations boldly state “We listen to youth.”  But do they really? Roger Hart’s Ladder of Participation work makes us think about the levels of youth voice that youth programs incorporate – from manipulation to tokenism and all the way up to sharing decisions equally. How can we get to the top? Check out this resource . Along with some great activities to empower youth and adults to set the stage for youth voice, they outline some concepts for supporting it.

By Margo Bowerman I've been doing a new type of training with my dog, Orri. Technically, the training activities help with impulse control (you’ll see it called ItsYerChoice or Doggie Zen), but I see it as a problem-solving activity. Problem-solving activities for dogs allow them to make choices without feedback from the trainer until they make the right choice. Orri is pretty smart, so I was disappointed that as we progressed to more complicated tasks, he couldn’t figure it out. In fact, he stopped trying. As I reflected on that, it reminded me of my work with youth in the 4-H engineering design program. I wondered what I had learned from teaching problem-solving skills to youth that I could use with Orri. In other words, what are the critical elements necessary to teach problem solving?

By Brian McNeill When developing a lesson, event or program for youth, it can be hard to think about what will appeal to encourage youth to register and attend your program. Will it be the food, the activity, the time of day or the lesson that will really get their attention? Fireworks before, during and after? How can we compete for their time and attention? Planning can be a real challenge and it can make a youth worker wonder, “Is my program is relevant to youth today?” Those of us who have been in the field for a while see patterns. We can identify what will interest families and what programs to avoid. But for a young professional, it can be hard to know what will grab a young person’s attention and keep them coming back. Another challenge is that we must also prove to our stakeholders that our programming is valuable for youth and benefits the community. Daniel Perkins and Lynne Borden did some research on this. In Community Youth Development: Programs, Policies and Pract

By Daniel Cooper We are not adequately preparing all youth for future success. Nearly 20% percent of U.S. students do not graduate high school within four years . Of the 1.5 million students who took the ACT in 2009, only 23% were considered ready to enroll in college without support . Educational disparities are another big issue. Black-White education gaps are about the same now as they were in 1965 . Latinxs are 2x less likely to have a college degree than European-American students. There is a need for programs that support youth of all backgrounds to achieve their educational and career goals.

By Joseph Rand The kids at school call me Rand. Not Mr. Rand. Just, Rand. With colleagues, I tend to go by Joseph or Joe. My family has given me nicknames like Joey, Joe-Joe, Josephine, Joe-Bo, and probably the most memorable, Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy. At this point in my life I have racked up a lot of nicknames. And, as you can imagine, some evoke a stronger reaction than others. Names and labels can either build trust or break it down. While my Grandfather didn’t mean any harm in calling me Josephine, it was never a name I liked. At 36 years old, I can still remember the negative reaction I had each time he used it. I associated that name with girls and female characteristics that I didn’t have, or at least didn’t think I had. I was a boy. Male. Even though it was a small thing, and the way my family showed love - through picking on each other - being called Josephine was like a tiny punch to my gut. Every single time. Similar to nicknames, the pronouns we use can have a signifi

Guest blogger Torie Weiston-Serdon will co-present our Feb. 19 youth work symposium, "Re-imagining youth work through an equity lens". In the past year, I have traveled around the country speaking to organizations about critical mentoring. I'm passionate about youth work. I center much of my discussion in the concept of youth centrism, and it turns out to be the concept that people are most attracted to. While I'm elated at the fact that people want to center youth in their work, I'm not sure that people recognize the significance of this concept. Critical mentoring, and critical youth work in general, is rooted in a liberatory framework concerned with ensuring that the most marginalized youth have the opportunity and the tools required to "get free".

By Kate Walker The Extension Center for Youth Development's next public symposium series will focus on operationalizing equity in Minnesota's youth-serving organizations. In other words, making equity actionable. By equity, we mean promoting just and fair inclusion and creating conditions in which all young people can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. For us, equity is everyone having what they need to be successful.

By Nancy Hegland Recently I've been in a book study group with colleagues that has reminded me why extracurricular programs are critical for youth development. GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth offers a lot of insight. One chapter says that extracurricular programs have positive effects on a student's life generally. When it comes to school, participating in extracurricular activities make them more likely to have better grades, higher self-esteem and less likely to have risky behaviors. In addition, the longer youth are involved in extracurricular programs and the more hours per week they spend in that activity, the better the outcomes. Why? Caring adults offer supportive and demanding guidance. This positive role model complements the parents’ roles and allows youth to know that others care about them and their success. Extracurricular programs are designed to cultivate grit – interest, practice, purpose, and hope. Youth feel challenge

By Rebecca Meyer In the last decade, a lot of attention has been paid to how young people benefit from connecting with nature. One of the main benefits is a sense of well being. A growing body of research demonstrates that exposure to natural spaces – everything from parks to open countryside to gardens and other greenspace – is good for health. What's less well known is that nature benefits from this connection, too.