Parents, youth pastors, teachers, counselors, psychologists, or anyone who simply cares about engaging or connecting with children and adolescents (youth) could benefit by memorizing some simple communication techniques that have worked for me during my thirty years of experience in engaging and connecting with youth. These techniques are easy ways to memorize and recall what to say to youth in a nonthreatening, nonjudgmental manner, while maintaining a caring and empathic attitude. With a clear mind, fit body, and well-spirited approach to youth, you can make a connection and, in turn, a difference in the lives of youth. Along with an explanation of each technique for the adult, which are designed for assessing, engaging, or teaching a skill to the youth, there are illustrations for the youth to see and even color. They are designed to connect you to the youth suffering from various issues like poor decision making to low self-esteem and problems such as educational or traumas. This book can be a supplemental textbook for child psychology, adolescent psychology, techniques of counseling, or developmental psychology.
Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.
The myth of generations of disengaged youth has been shattered by increases in youth turnout in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 primaries. Young Americans are responsive to effective outreach efforts, and this collection addresses how to best provide opportunities for enhancing civic learning and forming lasting civic identities. The thirteen original essays are based on research in schools and in settings beyond the schoolyard where civic life is experienced. One focus is on programs for those schools in poor communities that tend to overlook civic education. Another chapter reports on how two city governments--Hampton, Virginia, and San Francisco--have invited youth to participate on boards and in agencies. A cluster of chapters focuses on the civic education programs in Canada and Western Europe, where, as in the United States, immigration and income inequality raise challenges to civic life.
"Netflix and chill," "broccoli," and LGBTTQQIAAP+. If you don't know what these words and phrases really mean to your teen, you are not alone. The verbal terrain of today's youth can be difficult to navigate, and sometimes requires a guide--a culture translator to help parents of teens decipher the codes and unlock the doors to an ongoing conversation about faith and life. David Eaton and Jeremiah Callihan provide just that in Engaging Your Teen's World, teaching you how to maintain open communication about everything from relationships to technology and media in order to help teens grow in their faith and successfully deal with difficult issues. Eaton and Callihan bring a wealth of frontline experience, sharing a big-picture view of your teen's world and how to interact with it, followed by more specific information on · what your teen is thinking, doing, and watching · conversations about sex, gender, porn, sexting, and drugs · being a missionary to your teen · and much more Despite the many challenges facing teens and their parents, this frank, insightful, and practical book offers a hopeful view toward the long-term goals of your relationship with your teen and for their relationship with the Lord.
Essays in this collection describe changing patterns of youth political participation in America, look at reasons behind inequalities in participation among various social groups, and outline reforms that might stimulate greater youth participation, drawing on lessons learned from programs in Canada and the UK. Topics include electoral turnout, youth participation in the 2008 elections, the Internet and youth political participation, and civic engagement and the disadvantaged.
Before we can reach today's youth with the turth of the gospel, we need to see what they see and hear what they hear. We need to catch the messages encrypted in their culture and understand what's really being communicated. In Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture Walt Mueller, founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, helps us to navigate the troubling and confusing terrain of teen worldviews so that we can effectively and compassionately pass along good news: our God is their God, our Savior can be their Savior.
Empowered youth CAN and DO make a difference! Young people become empowered by their participation in the institutions and decisions that affect their lives—which in turn can lead to real positive change in the community. Youth Participation and Community Change presents leading authorities providing the latest research and effective approaches on how young people can be drawn to participate in organizations and communities. The diverse perspectives discuss youth participation in today’s society, the models and methods of its practice, the roles of youth and adults, and the future of youth participation and community in a diverse democracy. Approaches include those which promote participatory community-based research and evaluation, and involve youth groups in poor and racially segregated areas. The mainstream view of much of today’s youth is that of being victims of society rather than a being a possible positive influence on society as a whole. Youth Participation and Community Change seeks to shift the viewpoint from youth as being problems to empowering them to enact positive social change. The book explores community agency efforts to involve young people, and the process by which youth civic engagement promotes empowerment. Social work and public health approaches are examined, with cogent discussions on conceptual and theoretical issues. Empirically based case studies illustrate best practices and interdisciplinary work that draws upon psychology, sociology, social work, public health, education, and related academic disciplines and professional fields. Topics in Youth Participation and Community Change include: key dimensions of critical youth empowerment a case study of youth leadership development in Hawaii—the Sariling Gawa Youth Council the Lexington Youth Leadership Academy—a leadership development and community change program a new model for youth civic engagement in Hampton, Virginia three projects that engage urban youth in community change through participatory research youth engagement strategies and the benefits of youth participation in health research ten projects which used photovoice to represent, advocate, and enhance community health a participatory action research process with youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina the Growing Up in Cities project of UNESCO training students as facilitators for the Youth Empowerment Strategies (YES!) project four characteristics of engagement in the research literature and a school-community-university project differences in developmental outcomes among youth organizing, identity-support, and traditional youth development agencies Youth Participation and Community Change is thought-provoking, enlightening reading that is perfect for organizers, planners, policymakers, advocates, youth service workers, agency administrators, educators, students, and professionals in psychology, sociology, social work, urban planning, public policy, and public health.
April Hernandez-Castillo is a committed and fierce activist in raising awareness about Intimate Partner and Teen dating violence. Your Voice, Your Choice is her candid first-person experience with Intimate Partner Violence. She opens up and shares her story in the hope of empowering others to speak up (or to leave) before it's too late. Your Voice, Your Choice goes back to the beginning and leads the reader through April's life, tells about her positive upbringing in a Puerto Rican household nestled in the heart of the Bronx, and emphasizes the reliability of that inner voice everyone has. As the reader learns what defined April's voice, they are also asked to dive deep into themselves and decide what it is that is defining their own. It's their choice.
This book illustrates how teachers can draw upon young adult literature to facilitate students’ social action. Each chapter centers on one novel that represents a contemporary topic including police brutality, women’s rights, ecojustice, and bullying. In each, authors provide pre-, during-, and after reading strategies for teaching that connect the social issues in the texts to students’ lives and to the world around them. They then offer a multitude of avenues for student action, emphasizing the need to move readers from understanding and awareness to asserting their own agency and capacities to effect change in their local, national, and global communities. In addition to methods for scaffolding students’ analysis of texts and topics, authors also offer a plethora of additional resources such as documentaries, canonical companions for study, connected music, and supplementary lesson plans.
