I conducted this survey last November 2009 on Twitter … Programs for troubled youth should……? What do you think? I ran this “tweet” over the course of several days on Twitter simply to sample “the Twitterverse”, to see if anyone would respond or even care. The following is a compilation of responses from those Twitter responders who let me know what they thought.
Programs for troubled youth should:
• Give each child personal attention;
• Teach self-worth;
• It should focus on relationships;
• The overall program should be resilient in its goals and purposes;
• Patient in its approach to dealing with problems;
• Non-judgmental;
• Consistent;
• Non-punitive when dealing with discipline;
• Offer opportunities to do something for others;
• And attract, provoke, stimulate, excite and maintain the interest of its charges.
Adults learn most from the sharing of common experiences with other fellow adults. Experience is the Best Teacher. The sharing of experience is even better! Barriers that often deter adults from mentoring or developing nurturing roles can be overcome in situations where mutual experiences, interests and knowledge are shared with colleagues, thus, a way of connecting with new people.
Imagine if this had been an actual workshop with these adults interacting face to face with each other. Solutions to common problems could be mutually dealt with through the brainstorming of common experiences from adults from all walks of life. This is what I call “experience focused training”.
Mentor training or experienced focused training should provide a proven system for generating troubled teens with self-esteem building skills, concepts, ideas, strategies and problem solving skills. While training adults to recognize and help troubled youths to overcome limitations in the adult-troubled teen mentor relationships.
January 2010 is Michigan Mentoring Month!
www.mentormichigan.org
See me March 2, 2010 at Georgia Southern University 21st National Youth At-Risk Conference!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
"Mentoring Troubled Teens in 12 Simple Steps!
Mentoring Troubled Teens in 12 Simple Steps!
By Therlon @ 8:11 AM :: 2 Views :: 0 Comments :: Conferences and Training Opportunities, Articles about tutoring and mentoring programs
When Mentoring Troubled Teens you have to remain steadfast in your pursuit of positive reinforcement. Have you considered the amount of negativity in these teens lives? In many cases, the moment they wake until the moment they sleep these children are drowning in caustic friendships, music and television shows. Break the "normal" routine and inject positive outlooks into the troubled lives.
Strategies for Successfully Mentoring Troubled Teens
1) You must have a plan and put your plan into action.
2) Create and encourage opportunities for positive self-expression in your mentee through art, music, dance, etc. Make them feel good about themselves. Focus on the good. If you feel good about yourself you will more than likely feel good about others.
3) Encourage your mentees to help themselves. Limit the amount of help that you provide."I'll help you so much, but then you have to help yourself."
4) Be accepting of what the mentee gives, but always guide them into giving more. Challenge your mentee to learn and instill higher expectations, constantly stretching their self confidence.
5) Mentoring Troubled Teens Strategies for tapping into the students potential through self-esteem building. Sell them on their individual talents and potentials.
6) Enter the mentees' world and create projects that relate to them. If your mentee is into rapping for instance, have him or her create raps that teach a new subject."A good rapper can rap about anything!" For example, have them create a rap on some event in history or any academic subject. We have created "Rap Contests" where mentees performed original raps that taught CPR with great success.
7) Find ways to turn every "happening" (trend) into positive learning experiences.
8) Allow and encourage mentee involvement in the decision making process. Learning is greater and more accepted when the mentees have some "say" in the process.
9) Assess your skills and abilities so that you can do the things that you do best with the mentee. Your enthusiasm for a hobby or project is attracting.
10) When you are with a mentee, give your full-undivided attention to the mentee. You should be looking for ways to trigger their "hot buttons" to tap into potential. Be ready to support positive problem solving skills.
11) Talk through strategies with your mentees for recognizing, handling and overcoming barriers. Turn negative experiences into positive productive learning situations.
12) Winning should be associated with their future career connections.
Focus on incorporating these 12 steps into your daily routine when mentoring troubled teens. And, soon you will find yourself at the center of a new positive world for many, many former troubled teens.
We were lucky to find this Generate Free Traffic Leads resource tool that has magnified our visibility in all the major search engines in a matter of days, 100% for free. Help your organization reach the next level too.
About the Author
Therlon Harris developed Motivational Mentoring 101, a brand new, highly specialized workbook that forces mentors into being highly effective role models when mentoring troubled teens. Therlon is a former teacher of incarcerated adolescent male offenders. His leadership and 30 years of experience has allowed him to "stay on the cutting edge" of practices in education, business and community.
By Therlon @ 8:11 AM :: 2 Views :: 0 Comments :: Conferences and Training Opportunities, Articles about tutoring and mentoring programs
When Mentoring Troubled Teens you have to remain steadfast in your pursuit of positive reinforcement. Have you considered the amount of negativity in these teens lives? In many cases, the moment they wake until the moment they sleep these children are drowning in caustic friendships, music and television shows. Break the "normal" routine and inject positive outlooks into the troubled lives.
Strategies for Successfully Mentoring Troubled Teens
1) You must have a plan and put your plan into action.
2) Create and encourage opportunities for positive self-expression in your mentee through art, music, dance, etc. Make them feel good about themselves. Focus on the good. If you feel good about yourself you will more than likely feel good about others.
3) Encourage your mentees to help themselves. Limit the amount of help that you provide."I'll help you so much, but then you have to help yourself."
4) Be accepting of what the mentee gives, but always guide them into giving more. Challenge your mentee to learn and instill higher expectations, constantly stretching their self confidence.
5) Mentoring Troubled Teens Strategies for tapping into the students potential through self-esteem building. Sell them on their individual talents and potentials.
6) Enter the mentees' world and create projects that relate to them. If your mentee is into rapping for instance, have him or her create raps that teach a new subject."A good rapper can rap about anything!" For example, have them create a rap on some event in history or any academic subject. We have created "Rap Contests" where mentees performed original raps that taught CPR with great success.
7) Find ways to turn every "happening" (trend) into positive learning experiences.
8) Allow and encourage mentee involvement in the decision making process. Learning is greater and more accepted when the mentees have some "say" in the process.
9) Assess your skills and abilities so that you can do the things that you do best with the mentee. Your enthusiasm for a hobby or project is attracting.
10) When you are with a mentee, give your full-undivided attention to the mentee. You should be looking for ways to trigger their "hot buttons" to tap into potential. Be ready to support positive problem solving skills.
11) Talk through strategies with your mentees for recognizing, handling and overcoming barriers. Turn negative experiences into positive productive learning situations.
12) Winning should be associated with their future career connections.
Focus on incorporating these 12 steps into your daily routine when mentoring troubled teens. And, soon you will find yourself at the center of a new positive world for many, many former troubled teens.
We were lucky to find this Generate Free Traffic Leads resource tool that has magnified our visibility in all the major search engines in a matter of days, 100% for free. Help your organization reach the next level too.
About the Author
Therlon Harris developed Motivational Mentoring 101, a brand new, highly specialized workbook that forces mentors into being highly effective role models when mentoring troubled teens. Therlon is a former teacher of incarcerated adolescent male offenders. His leadership and 30 years of experience has allowed him to "stay on the cutting edge" of practices in education, business and community.
Monday, October 19, 2009
"A War for the Soul" by Reggie Bulock
Very interesting yet sad video! Check it out http://www.vimeo.com/3658572
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Radio interview with Edwin Desamour
This is a very interesting radio interviw of Mr. Edwin Desamour who was convicted of Murder at age 16 and how he has turn his life around helping troubled youth.
The link: http://tobtr.com/s/698230
radio.com/jjmatters/2009/09/17/interview-with-EdwinDesamour
The link: http://tobtr.com/s/698230
radio.com/jjmatters/2009/09/17/interview-with-EdwinDesamour
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Mentoring...it's good for kids, adults and the community!
Home > 411 Features > January 7th, 2005
Mentoring ... it’s good for kids, adults and the community!
For teens, adolescence brings tremendous trials and tribulations, especially in terms of their social and emotional development. Mentoring works to ease them through the challenges and changes by providing guidance, compassion and support throughout the process.
Youth are famous for asking the toughest and most sincere questions. Additionally, youth are presented some of the most serious decisions that can affect their healthy and positive development as individuals in the family, at school and in the community. As a mentor, an adult has a positive opportunity to not only look into oneself and one’s experiences, but to also share such insight and wisdom through role modeling, communication and on-going support.
In many communities around the nation, it is not uncommon to see single or small groups of teens ‘hanging around’ with nothing to do. Although youth violence and crime has shown its first signs of decline, it remains an epidemic in our country. According to Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), “children who meet regularly with a mentor are more likely to stay out of trouble, succeed in school, and achieve their goals.” OJJDP offers JUMP!, a Juvenile Mentoring Program.
Adolescence is not the only milestone in one’s life that presents challenges that may be alleviated through mentorship. Mentoring new teachers not only facilitates effective teaching, but it also works to retain good teachers within the profession. TeachersFirst.com has gathered a set of mentoring resources for teacher interns and first year teachers alike.
Parenting is another role that benefits from mentors. Newborns, toddlers, children, teens – no matter the child’s age, parents face common challenges and dilemmas as they strive to raise their children in the best of possible ways.
Head Start now offers a Parent-Mentor Training Program available in both English and Spanish. Talking About Curing Autism (TACA) is another fantastic example of parents mentoring parents. Their common bond for this organization is that a loved one within the family has Autism. Their efforts are aimed at “building the autism community and helping families affected by autism. We have found that many families new to the autism diagnosis of a loved one, offering a parent mentor can help ease the frustration, navigate the confusing “system” and help jump start the family with ACTION for their child affected by Autism.”
January is National Mentoring Month! Learn more about mentoring opportunities in your community and ask yourself … “How can I participate?”
OJJDP’s JUMP!, a Juvenile Mentoring Program: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jump/index.html
TeachersFirst.com New Teacher Mentor Resources: http://www.teachersfirst.com/new-tch.shtml
Head Start’s Parent-Mentoring Training Program: http://www.headstartinfo.org/partnership/parent-mentor.htm
Talking About Curing Autism (TACA): http://www.tacanow.com/mentor.htm
See more features on mentoring!
Mentor new teachers and inspire them to succeed!
http://hamfish.org/dailies/040107.html
Celebrate a century of mentoring!
http://hamfish.org/dailies/040616.html
Celebrate, Commiserate and Learn with Circle of Parents!
http://www.hamfish.org/dailies/040315.html
Last Updated: January 07 2005 14:30 pm
Mentoring ... it’s good for kids, adults and the community!
For teens, adolescence brings tremendous trials and tribulations, especially in terms of their social and emotional development. Mentoring works to ease them through the challenges and changes by providing guidance, compassion and support throughout the process.
Youth are famous for asking the toughest and most sincere questions. Additionally, youth are presented some of the most serious decisions that can affect their healthy and positive development as individuals in the family, at school and in the community. As a mentor, an adult has a positive opportunity to not only look into oneself and one’s experiences, but to also share such insight and wisdom through role modeling, communication and on-going support.
In many communities around the nation, it is not uncommon to see single or small groups of teens ‘hanging around’ with nothing to do. Although youth violence and crime has shown its first signs of decline, it remains an epidemic in our country. According to Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), “children who meet regularly with a mentor are more likely to stay out of trouble, succeed in school, and achieve their goals.” OJJDP offers JUMP!, a Juvenile Mentoring Program.
Adolescence is not the only milestone in one’s life that presents challenges that may be alleviated through mentorship. Mentoring new teachers not only facilitates effective teaching, but it also works to retain good teachers within the profession. TeachersFirst.com has gathered a set of mentoring resources for teacher interns and first year teachers alike.
Parenting is another role that benefits from mentors. Newborns, toddlers, children, teens – no matter the child’s age, parents face common challenges and dilemmas as they strive to raise their children in the best of possible ways.
Head Start now offers a Parent-Mentor Training Program available in both English and Spanish. Talking About Curing Autism (TACA) is another fantastic example of parents mentoring parents. Their common bond for this organization is that a loved one within the family has Autism. Their efforts are aimed at “building the autism community and helping families affected by autism. We have found that many families new to the autism diagnosis of a loved one, offering a parent mentor can help ease the frustration, navigate the confusing “system” and help jump start the family with ACTION for their child affected by Autism.”
January is National Mentoring Month! Learn more about mentoring opportunities in your community and ask yourself … “How can I participate?”
OJJDP’s JUMP!, a Juvenile Mentoring Program: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jump/index.html
TeachersFirst.com New Teacher Mentor Resources: http://www.teachersfirst.com/new-tch.shtml
Head Start’s Parent-Mentoring Training Program: http://www.headstartinfo.org/partnership/parent-mentor.htm
Talking About Curing Autism (TACA): http://www.tacanow.com/mentor.htm
See more features on mentoring!
Mentor new teachers and inspire them to succeed!
http://hamfish.org/dailies/040107.html
Celebrate a century of mentoring!
http://hamfish.org/dailies/040616.html
Celebrate, Commiserate and Learn with Circle of Parents!
http://www.hamfish.org/dailies/040315.html
Last Updated: January 07 2005 14:30 pm
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mentoring is Crucial to Keeping Kids away from Gangs
Mentoring Is Crucial to Keeping Kids Away From Gangs
By John W. Smith
Thursday, December 9, 2004; Page GZ04
There is trouble on the streets and highways of Montgomery County. It comes in the form of crime-prone gangs trying to recruit new, young members into gang life. Such gang recruitment inordinately feeds on the social and emotional needs of children in this county.
As indicated in the Joint County Gang Prevention Task Force report issued in September by officials in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the two counties are in trouble because antisocial criminal gangs are aggressively seeking to increase their numbers. Since this is a potent crisis, a main concern of the Task Force on Mentoring of Montgomery County Inc. (TFM) is that we protect our young people from these gangs.
The gangs are very clever in saying that they provide "family" and "support" for the needs of young people. They don't; but vulnerable young people can be swept into the orbit of gang life before they know that it is happening because gangs are ingenious in this kind of effort. Unfortunately, these vulnerable, at-risk children and youths are oftentimes attracted to gangs, the report said, for a variety of reasons -- "desire for recognition, status, safety, security, or a sense of belonging."
The task force report provides a road map for addressing this crisis, which includes a crucial component: mentoring as a way of keeping our kids safe, out of harm's way and out of the gang's way.
As an active provider of such mentoring to our young people, the Task Force on Mentoring has been working consistently in the social-service trenches for 14 years. It's hands-on work, and for 365 days a year it brings mentoring services to all who ask and need such help. These services are available to all county residents regardless of age, gender, race, color, religion or cultural background.
TFM also provides technical services to organizations, communities and institutions that request assistance in designing, developing and implementing mentor programs. It hosts a major annual breakfast focusing on key issues involving mentoring. On Oct. 7, TFM sponsored its 13th annual breakfast, which focused on the precipitous rise of antisocial gangs in Montgomery County.
As a community-based umbrella organization, TFM's methods are designed to help troubled children live the good life with the help and know-how of caring, well-trained, dedicated volunteer mentors. But TFM is short of money, short of needed volunteer mentors and short of the kind of commitment this county and its leaders should be providing such an effort.
With all the difficulties of maintaining a viable presence in the county, TFM has been repeatedly recognized and commended as a valuable resource and asset to the county's children. Every year, TFM helps a significant number of youngsters turn their lives around to become positive, contributing members of their communities.
It will continue to do so because the need is great and because the TFM is up to the task.
As gangs increasingly become a problem in Montgomery County and across the region, some community groups are stepping in to help. The Task Force on Mentoring of Montgomery County is working with vulnerable young people involved in its programs. John W. Smith of Rockville, a longtime community activist who is a founder of the mentoring program, writes about the group's ambitions and challenges. The task force oversees mentoring programs in several schools and has started one for young offenders at the county jail. Smith is a policy analyst for County Council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg).
Print This Article
E-Mail This Article
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
By John W. Smith
Thursday, December 9, 2004; Page GZ04
There is trouble on the streets and highways of Montgomery County. It comes in the form of crime-prone gangs trying to recruit new, young members into gang life. Such gang recruitment inordinately feeds on the social and emotional needs of children in this county.
As indicated in the Joint County Gang Prevention Task Force report issued in September by officials in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the two counties are in trouble because antisocial criminal gangs are aggressively seeking to increase their numbers. Since this is a potent crisis, a main concern of the Task Force on Mentoring of Montgomery County Inc. (TFM) is that we protect our young people from these gangs.
The gangs are very clever in saying that they provide "family" and "support" for the needs of young people. They don't; but vulnerable young people can be swept into the orbit of gang life before they know that it is happening because gangs are ingenious in this kind of effort. Unfortunately, these vulnerable, at-risk children and youths are oftentimes attracted to gangs, the report said, for a variety of reasons -- "desire for recognition, status, safety, security, or a sense of belonging."
The task force report provides a road map for addressing this crisis, which includes a crucial component: mentoring as a way of keeping our kids safe, out of harm's way and out of the gang's way.
As an active provider of such mentoring to our young people, the Task Force on Mentoring has been working consistently in the social-service trenches for 14 years. It's hands-on work, and for 365 days a year it brings mentoring services to all who ask and need such help. These services are available to all county residents regardless of age, gender, race, color, religion or cultural background.
TFM also provides technical services to organizations, communities and institutions that request assistance in designing, developing and implementing mentor programs. It hosts a major annual breakfast focusing on key issues involving mentoring. On Oct. 7, TFM sponsored its 13th annual breakfast, which focused on the precipitous rise of antisocial gangs in Montgomery County.
As a community-based umbrella organization, TFM's methods are designed to help troubled children live the good life with the help and know-how of caring, well-trained, dedicated volunteer mentors. But TFM is short of money, short of needed volunteer mentors and short of the kind of commitment this county and its leaders should be providing such an effort.
With all the difficulties of maintaining a viable presence in the county, TFM has been repeatedly recognized and commended as a valuable resource and asset to the county's children. Every year, TFM helps a significant number of youngsters turn their lives around to become positive, contributing members of their communities.
It will continue to do so because the need is great and because the TFM is up to the task.
As gangs increasingly become a problem in Montgomery County and across the region, some community groups are stepping in to help. The Task Force on Mentoring of Montgomery County is working with vulnerable young people involved in its programs. John W. Smith of Rockville, a longtime community activist who is a founder of the mentoring program, writes about the group's ambitions and challenges. The task force oversees mentoring programs in several schools and has started one for young offenders at the county jail. Smith is a policy analyst for County Council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg).
Print This Article
E-Mail This Article
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
Monday, June 22, 2009
Minister and mentor named Mississippi Parent of the Year
Vicksburg, MS 06/21/09
Minister and mentor named Mississippi parent of the year
Posted: June 21, 2009 08:57 PM EDT
Updated: June 22, 2009 02:17 AM EDT
By Roslyn Anderson - bio | email
VICKSBURG, MS (WLBT) - Father's Day was very special for a Vicksburg minister being honored by the state.
Reverend Troy Truly, Sr. is Mississipp's Parent of the Year and not just to his biological children but many more.
It's a familiar scene this third Sunday in June, a family gathers to bless the food before the Father's Day meal.
In Vicksburg, Rev. Troy Truly, Sr. is surrounding by loved ones who recognize his impact on their lives and the lives of others.
On Friday, the 46-year-old was named Mississippi's 2009 Parent of the Year by State Department of Education.
While he is the biological father of two children, Troy, Jr. and Maria, he and wife Joan have opened their home as foster parents to dozens of disadvantaged youth.
"This award here speaks to the wholeness of what my wife and I are doing and the work that we do," said Truly.
The Trulys have created the Eagle's Nest, a ministry to mentor boys.
They reached out to Warren County Youth Court to offer a loving environment for troubled children.
His advice to fathers is to be there for their children.
"There are fathers out there that are stepping up to the plate that we can achieve and yes we can with hands coming together, believing that we can make a difference," said the parent of the year.
"It makes me proud that he is not only done his job to bring my brother and I up, but that he's going back and helping kids that are less fortunate," said daughter 25 year old Maria Truly.
He was nominated parent of the year by Vicksburg Intermediate School and eventually was chosen from a statewide field.
His focus is to inspire the next generation of men.
"We're all fathers who have a desire to love our children, after all love is something we all search for here."
Minister and mentor named Mississippi parent of the year
Posted: June 21, 2009 08:57 PM EDT
Updated: June 22, 2009 02:17 AM EDT
By Roslyn Anderson - bio | email
VICKSBURG, MS (WLBT) - Father's Day was very special for a Vicksburg minister being honored by the state.
Reverend Troy Truly, Sr. is Mississipp's Parent of the Year and not just to his biological children but many more.
It's a familiar scene this third Sunday in June, a family gathers to bless the food before the Father's Day meal.
In Vicksburg, Rev. Troy Truly, Sr. is surrounding by loved ones who recognize his impact on their lives and the lives of others.
On Friday, the 46-year-old was named Mississippi's 2009 Parent of the Year by State Department of Education.
While he is the biological father of two children, Troy, Jr. and Maria, he and wife Joan have opened their home as foster parents to dozens of disadvantaged youth.
"This award here speaks to the wholeness of what my wife and I are doing and the work that we do," said Truly.
The Trulys have created the Eagle's Nest, a ministry to mentor boys.
They reached out to Warren County Youth Court to offer a loving environment for troubled children.
His advice to fathers is to be there for their children.
"There are fathers out there that are stepping up to the plate that we can achieve and yes we can with hands coming together, believing that we can make a difference," said the parent of the year.
"It makes me proud that he is not only done his job to bring my brother and I up, but that he's going back and helping kids that are less fortunate," said daughter 25 year old Maria Truly.
He was nominated parent of the year by Vicksburg Intermediate School and eventually was chosen from a statewide field.
His focus is to inspire the next generation of men.
"We're all fathers who have a desire to love our children, after all love is something we all search for here."
Teen Escapes Troubled Childhood
Teen Escapes Troubled Childhood
Posted By: Donna Lowry
As Amber Brown sketches on a paper in class, there's obvious artistry in the lines and something more not so visible.
"My escape. My comfort zone," she admits.
Amber deserves an escape.
She's had a childhood filled with havoc and confusion.
Once, she recalls, "My grandmother and my uncle were fussing and led into a chaotic argument and everyone was just running around the house, yelling, fighting, police were called and I remember just hiding in my closet with my flashlight. And, I was reading a book. I just felt like if i took a moment to read a book while everyone argued... it would lead my mind away from everything else going on."
The everything else going on in her life included a mother in a fog.
"She drinks alcohol, so she was placed in rehab and I was to live with my father and he relied on drugs and also alcohol," she explains. "And, every day was drugs, alcohol, drinking."
The days also involved occasional visits by the Department of Family and Children's Services.
"I would say Family and Children's Services, they would come to visit us, we would come and visit us and without going i the house. They would come and visit us and come and talk with us and ask questions, or they would come and pull us out of class and that's embarrassing, your counselor coming to get you out of class," she explains. "If you have any bruises, you have to lie about it, because i'm the type of person, I don't like ot explain my self , or explain my situation."
Her sister, 13 months older, left home at 16 got married had a baby and is now in the military.
Amber continued finding strength in knowledge.
For a school project based on the Alice Walker book The Temple of My Familiar, she decided on a less conventional way of doing the assignment.
"I created a snow globe on love is universal. And, I have a lady in here, heart and watches and clocks," Amber shares.
"She's so creative and, she warms your heart," enthuses Carol Kelly, an English teacher at Therrell High School who has become a mentor to Amber.
Amber reconciled her feelings for dad before he died a few years ago.
"He called and he told he that he would like for us to come back and have dinner with him. That he was going to stop doing drugs," she explains.
But, she says the hurt she'd suffered ran too deep and she didn't accept the dinner invitation.
"And, the next day we got a phone call that he had overdosed on drugs and he had a stroke," she shares. "I can just remember sitting in the hospital room and plugged to all the machinery and just having let everything out and having to express myself through all of the disaster we had to go through. Being beaten, being cursed at for know reason, scared to come home."
She calls that time extremely hard, but a personal breakthrough.
In recent years, she's found some healing in the relationship with her mother.
"After rehab, we got an house, an apartment, which we live in now. She's not drinking at all. Now instead of pushing me away, or not calling much, we spend time together. We go out maybe get our nails done and have mother-daughter time," Amber explains.
Amber, of course, has beat the odds.
"I prayed about it," she says.
She's also on her way to attend the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.
"My future is going to be a successful one and I'm going to you my secondary education to better my future," Amber explains.
"She's a survivor and she doesn't whimper. She doesn't complain," shares Kelly.
"She's adored by her teachers, the administration, the students. We think she will leave here and be successful in college and definitely be a productive citizen," enthuses Borst Hurst, Therrell High School Principal.
"My childhood. I was forced to mature at an early age. So, I feel if I just look at my education and focus on perseverance to help lead the way, that I'll succeed," explains Amber.
Amber is a 2009 winner of 11Alive's Class Act Teens Award for outstanding kids who have beat the odds.
Posted By: Donna Lowry
As Amber Brown sketches on a paper in class, there's obvious artistry in the lines and something more not so visible.
"My escape. My comfort zone," she admits.
Amber deserves an escape.
She's had a childhood filled with havoc and confusion.
Once, she recalls, "My grandmother and my uncle were fussing and led into a chaotic argument and everyone was just running around the house, yelling, fighting, police were called and I remember just hiding in my closet with my flashlight. And, I was reading a book. I just felt like if i took a moment to read a book while everyone argued... it would lead my mind away from everything else going on."
The everything else going on in her life included a mother in a fog.
"She drinks alcohol, so she was placed in rehab and I was to live with my father and he relied on drugs and also alcohol," she explains. "And, every day was drugs, alcohol, drinking."
The days also involved occasional visits by the Department of Family and Children's Services.
"I would say Family and Children's Services, they would come to visit us, we would come and visit us and without going i the house. They would come and visit us and come and talk with us and ask questions, or they would come and pull us out of class and that's embarrassing, your counselor coming to get you out of class," she explains. "If you have any bruises, you have to lie about it, because i'm the type of person, I don't like ot explain my self , or explain my situation."
Her sister, 13 months older, left home at 16 got married had a baby and is now in the military.
Amber continued finding strength in knowledge.
For a school project based on the Alice Walker book The Temple of My Familiar, she decided on a less conventional way of doing the assignment.
"I created a snow globe on love is universal. And, I have a lady in here, heart and watches and clocks," Amber shares.
"She's so creative and, she warms your heart," enthuses Carol Kelly, an English teacher at Therrell High School who has become a mentor to Amber.
Amber reconciled her feelings for dad before he died a few years ago.
"He called and he told he that he would like for us to come back and have dinner with him. That he was going to stop doing drugs," she explains.
But, she says the hurt she'd suffered ran too deep and she didn't accept the dinner invitation.
"And, the next day we got a phone call that he had overdosed on drugs and he had a stroke," she shares. "I can just remember sitting in the hospital room and plugged to all the machinery and just having let everything out and having to express myself through all of the disaster we had to go through. Being beaten, being cursed at for know reason, scared to come home."
She calls that time extremely hard, but a personal breakthrough.
In recent years, she's found some healing in the relationship with her mother.
"After rehab, we got an house, an apartment, which we live in now. She's not drinking at all. Now instead of pushing me away, or not calling much, we spend time together. We go out maybe get our nails done and have mother-daughter time," Amber explains.
Amber, of course, has beat the odds.
"I prayed about it," she says.
She's also on her way to attend the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.
"My future is going to be a successful one and I'm going to you my secondary education to better my future," Amber explains.
"She's a survivor and she doesn't whimper. She doesn't complain," shares Kelly.
"She's adored by her teachers, the administration, the students. We think she will leave here and be successful in college and definitely be a productive citizen," enthuses Borst Hurst, Therrell High School Principal.
"My childhood. I was forced to mature at an early age. So, I feel if I just look at my education and focus on perseverance to help lead the way, that I'll succeed," explains Amber.
Amber is a 2009 winner of 11Alive's Class Act Teens Award for outstanding kids who have beat the odds.
American Dancers Encourage Youth Empowerment Through Dance
Press Releases
American Dancers Encourage Youth Empowerment Through Dance
May 15, 2009. Lusaka.
LUSAKA – The U.S. Embassy has invited three American hip-hop dancers to Zambia for a 10-day cultural exchange program with Zambian counterparts. De’Jon Jones, David Gray and LaToya Thompson arrived in Zambia on May 14, 2009, for a series of workshops in Lusaka, Kitwe and Chingola. The dancers will work with performing arts groups and Zambian organizations that strive to send messages of healthy living, self-discipline and teamwork to young Zambians.
“The intent is for the dancers to demonstrate the diversity of the American people, while at the same time highlighting the shared values embraced by both Americans and Zambians,” said U.S. Embassy Deputy Public Affairs Officer Sara Veldhuizen Stealy. “We believe their success at working with at-risk youth in Los Angeles will be inspiring to Zambian organizations with the same goals; equally important, the American dancers will have the opportunity to learn about the history of Zambian dance, its importance in Zambian ceremonies and how migration has influenced dance and music around the world. Despite the vast distance between Africa and the West coast of the United States, many observers have noticed the cultural similarities between traditional African dance and modern clown and krump dancing. This program will bring them face to face.”
The American dancers who have been invited are not only professional dancers but have experience in working to reform youths from the streets of Los Angeles. Clown dancing and krump dancing are forms of artistic expression born of economic oppression. Originally popular in the streets of South Central Los Angeles, these hip hop dances have spread throughout the world, taking root in diverse communities that recognize dancing as a healthy activity that can help discourage impoverished youth from joining gangs and pursuing lives of crime.
De’Jon Jones has appeared in music videos with R&B sensation Chris Brown and has traveled internationally teaching dance in Germany and Italy. David Gray has choreographed and performed extensively in collaboration with Walt Disney Radio, Danity Kane, T-Pain and several up and coming artists. LaToya Thompson teaches master classes, dance workshops, and volunteers as a mentor and choreographer for troubled youths and at risk teens.
The dancers’ 10-day stay in Zambia will conclude with “Battlezone Zambia,” an energetic, positive dance contest for the program’s participants.
American Dancers Encourage Youth Empowerment Through Dance
May 15, 2009. Lusaka.
LUSAKA – The U.S. Embassy has invited three American hip-hop dancers to Zambia for a 10-day cultural exchange program with Zambian counterparts. De’Jon Jones, David Gray and LaToya Thompson arrived in Zambia on May 14, 2009, for a series of workshops in Lusaka, Kitwe and Chingola. The dancers will work with performing arts groups and Zambian organizations that strive to send messages of healthy living, self-discipline and teamwork to young Zambians.
“The intent is for the dancers to demonstrate the diversity of the American people, while at the same time highlighting the shared values embraced by both Americans and Zambians,” said U.S. Embassy Deputy Public Affairs Officer Sara Veldhuizen Stealy. “We believe their success at working with at-risk youth in Los Angeles will be inspiring to Zambian organizations with the same goals; equally important, the American dancers will have the opportunity to learn about the history of Zambian dance, its importance in Zambian ceremonies and how migration has influenced dance and music around the world. Despite the vast distance between Africa and the West coast of the United States, many observers have noticed the cultural similarities between traditional African dance and modern clown and krump dancing. This program will bring them face to face.”
The American dancers who have been invited are not only professional dancers but have experience in working to reform youths from the streets of Los Angeles. Clown dancing and krump dancing are forms of artistic expression born of economic oppression. Originally popular in the streets of South Central Los Angeles, these hip hop dances have spread throughout the world, taking root in diverse communities that recognize dancing as a healthy activity that can help discourage impoverished youth from joining gangs and pursuing lives of crime.
De’Jon Jones has appeared in music videos with R&B sensation Chris Brown and has traveled internationally teaching dance in Germany and Italy. David Gray has choreographed and performed extensively in collaboration with Walt Disney Radio, Danity Kane, T-Pain and several up and coming artists. LaToya Thompson teaches master classes, dance workshops, and volunteers as a mentor and choreographer for troubled youths and at risk teens.
The dancers’ 10-day stay in Zambia will conclude with “Battlezone Zambia,” an energetic, positive dance contest for the program’s participants.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
"Precious"
Here's a link to a new movie trailor dealing with childhood abuse and low self-esteem conditioning. It's a touching subject of how someone can have a positive influence upon someone else's life.
The link to the Precious-Trailor is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuDqIHXI8jc
or
www.weareallprecious.com/
or
http://bit.ly/k4Bos
The link to the Precious-Trailor is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuDqIHXI8jc
or
www.weareallprecious.com/
or
http://bit.ly/k4Bos
Monday, June 8, 2009
‘Improv’ helps students mentor troubled teens
‘Improv’ helps students mentor troubled teens
GRANTS - Students at New Mexico State University-Grants Campus learned earlier this week how to use theater improvisation skills to help “at risk” youth.
The students' counterparts from Northern Kentucky University presented a Service Learning Activity.
Students enrolled integrated the lessons of acting “improv” with “at risk” youth. This program from Kentucky involved first-time juvenile offenders from the Kentucky court system in 12 meetings that typically included theater improvisation. After their sessions, the young people would enact a final presentation along with a reception.
“Life skills through stage skills was fueling my research, studies, teaching and community work” creator Daryl Harris described. Role playing and acting out difficult life situations, such as addictions, crime, school and other relevant issues to the youth were explored.
“While we may or may not see immediate life changing results, clearly we do hit a nerve. I can honestly say that none of the service learning projects I participated in have rivaled Theater in Diversion, arguably the most challenging yet potentially significant program of all,” said Barbara Wallace of the Kentucky program. “While it is impossible to know what long term effects on the youth's lives will be, this opportunity will profoundly influence them in myriad ways” she added.
The selected students at Grants experienced a series of acting exercises to increase trust and group cooperation. After learning the methods, these students might continue as mentors to youth.
In addition to the theater component of Service Learning, other activities included the design and creation of visual art such as murals, sculpture and banners for neighborhoods. The college courses related are graphic design, urban planning, architecture and industrial design. Another activity is to tutor at-risk children in Kids Caf/, which connects with the college English, photography, music, dance and art education courses.
The tutoring of underserved children in inner-city public schools also involves English, music, theater, dance, art education and fashion design. Developing an after-school art, music, acting or dance program incorporates theater troupe, interactive multimedia, the arts and history. Branching from the youth, seniors were assisted in journaling, photography, video, and oral history.
Local community members and NMSU-Grants students who wish to learn more about Service Learning can contact the area coordinator, Genevieve Humenay at 287-6620.
By Janis Derrick
Beacon correspondent
GRANTS - Students at New Mexico State University-Grants Campus learned earlier this week how to use theater improvisation skills to help “at risk” youth.
The students' counterparts from Northern Kentucky University presented a Service Learning Activity.
Students enrolled integrated the lessons of acting “improv” with “at risk” youth. This program from Kentucky involved first-time juvenile offenders from the Kentucky court system in 12 meetings that typically included theater improvisation. After their sessions, the young people would enact a final presentation along with a reception.
“Life skills through stage skills was fueling my research, studies, teaching and community work” creator Daryl Harris described. Role playing and acting out difficult life situations, such as addictions, crime, school and other relevant issues to the youth were explored.
“While we may or may not see immediate life changing results, clearly we do hit a nerve. I can honestly say that none of the service learning projects I participated in have rivaled Theater in Diversion, arguably the most challenging yet potentially significant program of all,” said Barbara Wallace of the Kentucky program. “While it is impossible to know what long term effects on the youth's lives will be, this opportunity will profoundly influence them in myriad ways” she added.
The selected students at Grants experienced a series of acting exercises to increase trust and group cooperation. After learning the methods, these students might continue as mentors to youth.
In addition to the theater component of Service Learning, other activities included the design and creation of visual art such as murals, sculpture and banners for neighborhoods. The college courses related are graphic design, urban planning, architecture and industrial design. Another activity is to tutor at-risk children in Kids Caf/, which connects with the college English, photography, music, dance and art education courses.
The tutoring of underserved children in inner-city public schools also involves English, music, theater, dance, art education and fashion design. Developing an after-school art, music, acting or dance program incorporates theater troupe, interactive multimedia, the arts and history. Branching from the youth, seniors were assisted in journaling, photography, video, and oral history.
Local community members and NMSU-Grants students who wish to learn more about Service Learning can contact the area coordinator, Genevieve Humenay at 287-6620.
By Janis Derrick
Beacon correspondent
Friday, June 5, 2009
Role Model Help Rescue Troubled Teens
Role models help rescue troubled teens
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
"I sure hope Timothy doesn't come to school today."
It was when that thought came to mind, says Frederica Wilson, surveying the faces at the conference table in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools headquarters, that she knew she had a problem. After all, she was a school principal, a black woman. And Timothy was a student, a black boy. But Timothy was also a terror and as she drove to school, she found herself hoping he wouldn't be there.
The thought shocked her. If she dreaded Timothy, she says, how must her Hispanic and white teachers have felt about him? And why was it every time she held a disciplinary conference, it was for a black boy? Why were they the ones who always seemed to be in trouble?
So she started meeting with them, "trying to find out why they were so angry and why they were so disruptive and why they wanted to fight all the time." Then she started calling men in to help her.
Fourteen years and more than 15,000 boys later, Wilson is a Florida state senator and the mentoring effort she started has become the 5000 Role Models of Excellence. It operates in 91 Miami-area schools and claims better than 95 percent success at keeping its boys out of trouble with school officials and the law.
Full disclosure: Years ago, I spoke at a Role Models assembly. I think it's a fine example of What Works. As in, my series of columns profiling programs that improve the odds for black kids. Wilson and some of the Role Model men are joined at the conference table by graphic evidence that their program works: boys who became men under its guidance.
One of them is Kionne McGhee. Child of a single mother, he was suspended 47 times, labeled emotionally handicapped and learning disabled. Today he is an assistant state attorney. "The problem was, I was acting out because I needed a black male or somebody that could relate to me, " he says, as opposed to someone who understood him only "through theory."
Police sergeant Thurman MacNeal is one of 3,000 men who have trained as Role Models. As a black cop whose interactions with black boys too often involve handcuffs, he says, it can be "discouraging because so many of these young men have so much talent it's amazing. But because of other things that are going on with them and because those talents are not being developed . . ." The thought trails away.
"We have to start somewhere, " he says, "and this program has allowed us . . . to make a difference."
The program is funded by the school system and by private and corporate sponsors. Its components are many: workshops; scholarships; a basketball tournament; peer, group and one-on-one mentoring; and field trips, including to those opposite poles of black male potential: colleges and penitentiaries. There is a Role Model pledge, a Role Model hymn, custom-made Role Model athletic shoes and even a Role Model tie. It bears the program's logo: large hands touching small ones. Each boy wears one.
To be surrounded by black men who are productive members of society, says Wilson, allows those boys to envision themselves becoming the same. "I believe children who have a vision of themselves in the future have hope. And without a vision of yourself in the future, you don't value your life and consequently, you don't value the lives of others."
It works, says 20-year-old Joseph Dubery, because "it's not a pamphlet saying, 'Don't do drugs.' It's different levels you have to earn. You earn your tie, you earn your shirt, you earn the right to say that pledge, you earn the right to sing that hymn. It's constant achievement, constant mentorship, constantly people watching out for you."
Dubery, a med student, should know. He used to be a Role Model boy.
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
"I sure hope Timothy doesn't come to school today."
It was when that thought came to mind, says Frederica Wilson, surveying the faces at the conference table in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools headquarters, that she knew she had a problem. After all, she was a school principal, a black woman. And Timothy was a student, a black boy. But Timothy was also a terror and as she drove to school, she found herself hoping he wouldn't be there.
The thought shocked her. If she dreaded Timothy, she says, how must her Hispanic and white teachers have felt about him? And why was it every time she held a disciplinary conference, it was for a black boy? Why were they the ones who always seemed to be in trouble?
So she started meeting with them, "trying to find out why they were so angry and why they were so disruptive and why they wanted to fight all the time." Then she started calling men in to help her.
Fourteen years and more than 15,000 boys later, Wilson is a Florida state senator and the mentoring effort she started has become the 5000 Role Models of Excellence. It operates in 91 Miami-area schools and claims better than 95 percent success at keeping its boys out of trouble with school officials and the law.
Full disclosure: Years ago, I spoke at a Role Models assembly. I think it's a fine example of What Works. As in, my series of columns profiling programs that improve the odds for black kids. Wilson and some of the Role Model men are joined at the conference table by graphic evidence that their program works: boys who became men under its guidance.
One of them is Kionne McGhee. Child of a single mother, he was suspended 47 times, labeled emotionally handicapped and learning disabled. Today he is an assistant state attorney. "The problem was, I was acting out because I needed a black male or somebody that could relate to me, " he says, as opposed to someone who understood him only "through theory."
Police sergeant Thurman MacNeal is one of 3,000 men who have trained as Role Models. As a black cop whose interactions with black boys too often involve handcuffs, he says, it can be "discouraging because so many of these young men have so much talent it's amazing. But because of other things that are going on with them and because those talents are not being developed . . ." The thought trails away.
"We have to start somewhere, " he says, "and this program has allowed us . . . to make a difference."
The program is funded by the school system and by private and corporate sponsors. Its components are many: workshops; scholarships; a basketball tournament; peer, group and one-on-one mentoring; and field trips, including to those opposite poles of black male potential: colleges and penitentiaries. There is a Role Model pledge, a Role Model hymn, custom-made Role Model athletic shoes and even a Role Model tie. It bears the program's logo: large hands touching small ones. Each boy wears one.
To be surrounded by black men who are productive members of society, says Wilson, allows those boys to envision themselves becoming the same. "I believe children who have a vision of themselves in the future have hope. And without a vision of yourself in the future, you don't value your life and consequently, you don't value the lives of others."
It works, says 20-year-old Joseph Dubery, because "it's not a pamphlet saying, 'Don't do drugs.' It's different levels you have to earn. You earn your tie, you earn your shirt, you earn the right to say that pledge, you earn the right to sing that hymn. It's constant achievement, constant mentorship, constantly people watching out for you."
Dubery, a med student, should know. He used to be a Role Model boy.
"Unlocking hidden potential through mentoring"
Informal, spontaneous mentoring occurs during the natural course of events, when someone simply reaches out to give support or direction to another person. Sometimes such unplanned mentorships - those that "Just happen" - can help release incipient, unrecognized talents in troubled children and youth. Mentoring does not occur in isolation: "To be most effective, the mentor needs to work not only with the child, but with others in the child's environment as well. Parents, teachers, mentors, and other service providers, such as police, social workers, corrections officers, and medical professionals, are all important agents in helping to develop youth.
http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?&docid=315758
http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?&docid=315758
Friday, March 6, 2009
Motivational Mentoring 101
Parents, teachers, mentors or anyone who has a teen who is experiencing the struggles of adolescence post your discussions here. The Motivational Mentoring 101 blog is created to provide online community support and interaction from peers and professionals. Be a part of something which the world never saw before!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Motivational Mentoring 101
Motivational Mentoring 101 is a very easy to understand and apply workbook that uses concepts that can be used to mentor as well as motivate youthful minds that are at those ages that are experiencing issues in there lives.
Thomas L. Quinn, Retired Teacher
Flint, Michigan
Thomas L. Quinn, Retired Teacher
Flint, Michigan
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Motivational Mentoring 101
This e-book on mentorship is the flagship of information for anyone wanting to develop a mentoring program in their field of interest. I have a peer mentoring program through the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan and this treasure trove would have saved me so much time and heartache in developing this program over the years. Clearly, Therlon Harris is a master of mentoring, both clinically as well as theoretically.
Erica Perry
Erica Perry
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
