Wednesday, July 24, 2013
by sarah
By Barbara Lockhart, President CYSA
Often we hear little "buzz words or phrases" in our social or professional circles and wonder: Hmmm... What does it really mean? Cultural competency was one of those phrases for me when I first began pursuing a career in social work. It seemed that every other professor I had in college was chatting it up about cultural competency! Of course now I understand that true cultural competency begins at home! Teaching our kids to understand and accept the differences which may exist between themselves and others is the first step in creating and maintaining an environment that will reflect kindness, understanding, & tolerance.
When a young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds it only adds to their character and helps them to develop a more eclectic & rich world view. It is often scary when we are faced with an idea, a way of dressing, foods, and customs and values that are not the same as what we are used to, but that is actually the fun part of it...the not knowing, the discovering of something new & cool... adventuring outside our own little box! The truth is that often we have something new and cool to share from our own set of traditions, customs, and values with others who often find them to be just as cool! After all, the saying goes: "Dare to be Different" not "Dare to be the Same!"
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Monday, July 15, 2013
by sarah
By Barbara Lockhart, Board President CYSA
When most of us think of having “assets” we think of the tangible things which we own that have value, usually a monetary value; like cars, houses, etc. Well the idea of having developmental assets is not that much different, though the value of having them goes way beyond any monetary price tag, they are simply put: priceless.
About 3 years ago I was fortunate enough to be invited by the Southeastern Regional Action Council to be trained in the Essentials of Asset Development. This model created by the Search Institute identified 40 positive experiences and qualities that every child and young person needs to have in their lives to reduce their risk of “slipping through the cracks”. It is not as daunting as it may sound, as a matter a fact many of us already have been practicing this model without even realizing it sometimes! And it really does work!
The evidence of this model’s success rate is overwhelming and in this time of transparency and accountability, having concrete evidence of a program’s efficacy is critical. It comes down to the basics really, that often in our early years of life we are deeply impacted by our surrounding environment and it often shapes us into the adult that we will become, it is not an exact certainty, but again the evidence speaks for itself.
There are eight categories which each of the 40 assets fall under. They divided into external assets (those experiences outside of a person) and the internal assets (the characteristics and experiences inside of a person). Listed below are the 8 categories that truly reflect the core tenants of the developmental assets:
•Support
•Empowerment
•Boundaries & Expectations
•Constructive Use of Time
•Commitment to Learning
•Positive Values
•Social Competencies
•Positive Identity
There is a little more to the program, but it would take much more space! So let me leave you with a couple of thoughts: Essentially assets build support networks for young people by providing:
•Role Models
•Safe places to go
•Experiences that are constructive & empowering
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