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Girl Space & Guy SpaceAASSA 2013 Emily Greenberg

Creating a safe space, mentorship program in your school.

+Presentation Overview

Introduction Game of cards Rationale Group Goals Supporting Research Setting up your own Girl

and/or Guy Space

+King, Queen or lowly 3?

You will be given a card to hold over your forehead (don’t look at it) Mingle around the room and introduce yourself This is a popularity game… treat those who have high status as you feel

they might be treated in your school and viceversa. Try to determine where YOU fall on the scale.

+How popular are you? How did you feel being treated the way you were? What made you know where you stood on

the social pyramid?

+Why do we need girl’s and boy’s groups in our schools? Isolation, bullying, puberty, relationships, identity,

sexual orientation, self-esteem, body image, etc.

Academic, social and emotional struggles A safe space and a caring mentor = SUCCESS The Kind Campaign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RooDSW5gfI&feature=relmfu

+Purpose of Girl and Guy Space

IdentityDiscuss pertinent

issues

Self-advocacyBetter decision-

making

Celebrate successMotivate

Safe spacePromote sense of

belonging

Empowerment

Mentorship

+Why are these Groups Essential? According to statistics from Family First Aid, about 30

percent of teenagers in the U.S. have been involved in bullying, either as a bully or as a victim of teenage bullying.

4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful, and that anxiety about looks begins at an early age. In a study of over 1,200 10-to-17-year-olds, a majority of girls, 72%, said they felt tremendous pressure to be beautiful. The study also found that only 11% of girls around the world feel comfortable using the word beautiful to describe their looks. (Dove campaign)

+South American Data

8 out of 10 children in Bolivia may be affected by bullying

20% of 1000 respondents to a survey of students in Bogota had been victims of daily bullying.

In another survey in El Salvador with apx 1000 participants, 20% said they felt the need to find a means to protect themselves from bullies

http://plan-international.org/learnwithoutfear.org/files/bullying-position-paper

+Across the globe…

Almost a quarter of seven million students questioned in Spain and a third of those surveyed in Australia reported being bullied by classmates.

A study of bullying in Korea found that 40% of respondents were involved in bullying either as a victim (14%), a bully (17%) or both (9%).

+Cyberbullying

Adolescent girls are significantly more likely to have experienced cyberbullying in their lifetimes.

Cyberbullying Research Center Survey reported that 20.8% of the kids surveyed had been cyberbullied in their lifetime

One in ten parents online around the world say their child has experienced cyberbullying

+Beyond Bullying…

Students are trying to find a way to be accepted in a peer group

They must exact a series of

“strategic manoeuvres designed to achieve, manage and maintain collective peer group status in the conflict-ridden environment of the co-educational classroom.” (Smith, J. 2007) Our students are struggling to

form their identities in a HOSTILE environment

+Potential Results

Alienation Social anxiety Anguishing process of allying one’s self with a group Negative construction of self image Being labeled Pressure to conform to gender stereotypes Suicide Depression Mental illness Failure and potential withdrawal from school

+Where do these students go?

We need to provide them with a safe space to be and explore who they are.

+Safe Space

Research tells us that when students have a caring adult have a place where they feel connected to school have a “space” where they can talk about their world

and personal lives are engaged in relevant social action activities

…They are more successful in school.

+Why Girls Groups? Girl Space Video Testimony

Mentorship of girls has shown a great increase in their socio-emotional health and confidence

In a recent study, it was found that “these girls’ relationships with their mentors offered both emotional support and opportunities to develop skills and confidence through collaborations with their mentors in shared activities, such as doing homework together or learning to sing.”

Girls need positive female role models from all walks of life.

“For many of these girls, their mentors had the luxury of being able to spend lengthy amounts of time alone with them, something their stretched parents were often less able to offer.

Dove Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHqzlxGGJFo

+Why Boys Groups?

A larger percentage of girls excel at standardized tests and more girls seek out higher education

Boys are generally limited to strict definitions of masculinity within their peer groups

Boys construct their masculinities by imitating and evaluating themselves against other boys and men

Boys account for a much larger proportion of behavioural problems in schools

Boys account for most of the students in special education

Schools often pay too little attention to boys’issues assuming that they don’t need emotional support.

Bully Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUy2ZWoStr0

+Establishing Girls’ and Boys’ Groups Join the network of girls’ and boys’ groups across the

globe Step-by-step: how to create this king

of group Rationale Vision Structure Possible activities and initiatives

+Goals of Girl and Guy Space Build self-esteem and self-efficacy Discuss pertinent issues facing students Provide a forum for students to discuss issues in a safe

environment Help build healthy and respectful bonds among students Promote self-advocacy and advocating for others in the

community Provide students with the opportunities and support needed

to achieve social/emotional well-being and academic success Build caring and nurturing relationships with a caring adult

+Goals continued Build responsible and critical citizens who demonstrate

courage in challenging inequities that exist in society Where possible, provide long-term mentorship to support

students from elementary schooling through to post-secondary educational options

Build succession and leadership opportunities for students to provide positive and critical mentorship for other students

Help students to challenge limiting notions of masculinity and femininity

Create opportunities for students that would not otherwise exist

Celebrate the successes of student, however small

+Getting Started: Choosing a Mentor

Being a mentor means investing in and building a healthy relationship with your mentee. An atmosphere of trust and mutual respect must be the foundation.

Building relationships cannot be rushed and requires consistency.

Establish how often you will meet with your mentee and keep your word. Make the students believe they can count on YOU.

Find the RIGHT leader for your school population. (language, ethnicity, age, etc.)

+A Critical Mass of Teachers Mentorship is not an easy task. It requires time, effort, patience, and

critical thought. Consider having a few teachers, who have the ability to connect with

children, to establish a meaningful mentorship program. Inform your staff about your group and get them on board. A mentorship

programs require "buy-in" from staff to be highly effective. Share the structure of the program, the intention, and which students are

involved. By articulating the purpose of the program, stereotypes about what you

are doing and why, can be reduced.

+Involving Parents and Guardians Mentorship is more likely to succeed when parents are well

informed and involved (at appropriate times). Parents should receive a letter, explaining the goals of the

program, once your mentees have been selected. Depending on your group and goals, you may want to give parents

regular updates and include them as volunteers. However, always keep in mind that your number one priority is your relationship with the mentee and maintaining a level of trust and confidentiality.

+Group Dynamics

Mentorship groups need a balance to be most effective. It is important to create heterogeneous groups with high achievers, low achievers, introverts, extroverts, various economic backgrounds etc.

Group numbers and dynamics 15 or less Selection process: nomination by staff, counselors and

admin, peers and self-nomination. Stigma

+Choosing and Getting to know your students Meet with coaches, counselors, principals AHEAD of

time to get a sense of what each students is bringing to the table

Play get to know games that are genuine and be on the look out for your students in the halls.

Check in with students Box Tox First day questionaire Establish a confidential, consistent comunication

system

+Create a Presence in your school Inform teachers about group and membership

They can then turn to you if they are having difficulty with a student

Create T-Shirts, buttons, scarves, etc, that represent your group.

Be the caring adult for your students. Check in on them when possible.

+Structure and Unstructured Time Mentorship groups need to provide an opportunity for multiple

forms of interaction ie: sports, cooking, homework club, movie night, speakers, listening to music and critical discussions.

Balance between structured and unstructured time is important.

Potential Activities:

Yoga Paint-ball Healthy Cooking Class

Guest speakers Homework help Thought-provoking films

Identity Games Role-model visits Girls/Guys Without Walls

+Social Service Component

Research suggests that school driven, socially conscious activities result in student success.

Mentorship programs CAN have a social action component where mentees can engage in personally meaningful and relevant social action projects.

Projects that are gender specific are ideal (ex. Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation health care to tens of thousands of children in Cartagena and provided more than 2,000 teenage mothers with counseling, education and job training.)

+The Unlikely Leader

Aspire to position your mentor group as leaders within the school setting. Opportunities for students to participate in fundraisers,

assemblies are invaluable experiences Have your older students mentor younger students

+Questions about setting up a mentorship Group

+Resources

Wiki Will include all of the templates necessary to start a group Possible activities to do with group for various issues Useful links Inspirational speaker ideas Current research Powerpoint from AASSA My contact info

+Conclusion: Creating a Balance

Finding the balance between honoring our high achievers, extroverts and athletes

AND

Providing a fun and safe space for the students who haven’t found a place in our school communities

Celebrate success, no matter how small!

+Question Period

+Thank you

Thank you for your time and feedback