Member Tara-Lynneet
MemberForum Replies Created
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Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a Youth Rex presentation <strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Hacking Deficit Thinking
<strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Reframing Strength-Based <strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Practices and Equity in Schools
A Youth Work Teach-In Hacking Deficit Thinking
Reframing Strength-Based
Practices and Equity in Schools and it was AMAZING!! It might have been in part that I had just had a long conversation with colleagues about the tone and mood in schools right now but it hit the mark for reframing the issues and put a fresh, positive and realistic take to approaching and supporting our students.One of the quotes that resonated with me from one of the presenter’s Dr. Bryon McClure was how the assumptions we hold create barriers for understanding our students. I can’t quite quote it directly and would sincerely encourage others to look for the opportunity to hear him speak.
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Hi, Sheila! This is a great question to ask. I’ll share one barrier that I’ve encountered as someone who helps sports organizations with their evaluations. Some of the groups I’ve worked with have specific outcomes they want to measure through their programs, but there is no sport-specific evaluation tool (e.g., survey) available for them to use. They often have to take validated tools from other fields (e.g., education) and try to change some of the questions to be sport-focused. Or, they create their own! This can be a barrier at times because they don’t always know if the tools they edited/created are measuring what they think are measuring. As we know, validity is important for evaluation!
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Denial that anti-black racism exists remains a problem. It must be acknowledged to lead to meaningful change.
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Given program evaluation is an on-going, dynamic process, it allows us to pause and rework on evaluation methods as we go. For example, a qualitative analysis of a focus group might inform us that there are certain questions that might not have worked as we had anticipated. Consequently, measures can be taken to reformulate/rewrite the evaluation questions for the next rounds of feedback sessions in order to better improve the programming of the given youth program.
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Absolutely, Lulu! And you bring up an excellent point here- evaluating our programs can simultaneously allow us to “evaluate our evaluations”. Are we asking the right questions? Are we using the right methods? Sometimes an unexpected learning curve can happen that enables us to rework evaluation components for the future!
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Thank you for sharing!
There are many systemic and systematic barriers to the development of Black youth in Ontario. These barriers will not be solved overnight, but below is a link to the Doing Right Together for Black Youth Report, which summarizes the experiences and knowledge of over 1500 community members and guided the creation of the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan.
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In addition to the structural oppression that has been intentional built to maintain white privilege, I also feel that the onus has been placed on Black folx to be the ones to address anti-Black racism in Ontario. Until as a community we acknowledge and commit to addressing this, the systems will maintain the outcomes they were designed to achieve.
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I really appreciated Dr. Wade’s presentation on critical self-reflection especially the focus on the action portion of ongoing reflection. That is something I am going to be mindful of as I move forward with serving Black youth. Not just making time for reflection and examining my practice but also identifying what repairs, learnings and changes I need to make in response to those inevitable missteps.
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Rochelle, you are so fortunate to have had so many opportunities for participation and to feel affirmed.
In smaller rural communities, it is not so easy for black parents to encourage youth participation. Also, I’ve observed that the degree of trauma – historical, generational and personal equals Big T trauma which can be paralyzing is a huge barrier. Sometimes, when I broach the topic of engagement in the Black community, I’m left feeling unsure of how it was received. I tend to take a ‘wait and see’ approach because I know there is lots that I don’t know broadly but also in terms of each family. Dr. Carol Wade’s article “Strengthening Engagement with Families of Black Youth’ was impactful, meaningful, relevant, practical and I was happy to see references to Paulo Freire’s work.
Ultimately, I know this is a journey for each of us and I will continue to learn, to engage, to listen (as both lecturers spoke of in module 3) and to ‘act’ in ways that engage, validate, and empower Black youth and their families. And I will continue to challenge my own deeply embedded beliefs, knowledge, understanding and actions.
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Additionally, stereotypes abound due to social media and these narratives become deeply, embedded, unrecognized and not disrupted — it’s like a closed loop system. Dr. Ayonrinde’s message of ‘listen’ ‘listen’ and ‘listen’ can’t be overemphasized as it provides folks an opportunity to be more open minded, to humanize black people and hopefully to reflect on their own part in contributing to continued anti-black racism.
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Hi Chaimaa! You can find over 100 resources in the Substance Use collection on our Knowledge Hub, including, as Kathe mentioned, dozens of resources on cannabis use. 🙂
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Don’t miss Hacking Deficit Thinking: A Youth Work Teach-In!
Join us on Wednesday, November 30th from 12PM to 2PM ET when we’ll host Dr. Byron McClure and Dr. Kelsie Reed, US-based school psychologists and authors of Hacking Deficit Thinking: 8 Reframes That Will Change The Way You Think About Strength-Based Practices and Equity in Schools.
The education sector has focused for far too long on what’s wrong with students, staff, and even parents. Deficit thinking has created a powerful narrative within education that prioritizes mental illness instead of mental wellness. This narrative seems too enormous to shift away from at times because it’s ingrained in how we have historically thought about mental health.
You will be inspired and energized to explore an equity-informed strength-based approach to support youth mental health and wellbeing.
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We’re so excited to host Dr. Byron McClure and Dr. Kelsie Reed for our upcoming teach-in, Hacking Deficit Thinking! Join us on November 30th from 12PM to 2PM ET.
Dr. McClure and Dr. Reed are US-based school psychologists and authors of Hacking Deficit Thinking: 8 Reframes That Will Change The Way You Think About Strength-Based Practices and Equity in Schools.
Deficit thinking has created a powerful narrative within education that prioritizes mental illness instead of mental wellness. This engaging event will help you understand the historical implications of a deficit-based approach, identify the key elements of a strength-based approach, and understand how to support youth mental health from a strength-based lens.
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Its a bit like baking a cake. There are stakeholders – staff at the grocery store, people who will eat the cake, People who you share the kitchen with. There are inputs – all the ingredients. There are processes – mixing, baking, etc. There are outputs…you can make one, two , three cakes. There are outcomes…Is the cake delicious to eat? how did it sit with you after you ate it, etc….
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This is a “sweet”metaphor, Andrew! Thanks for sharing. If only all evaluations actually included cake!
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– Consent form: obtain guardian’s approval for those under 18
– Informed consent: reassuring youth that the collected data will be confidential (i.e., no access from externals) and anonymous (i.e., the content of the data will not be traced back to the participants)
– Explain the goals of evaluation method
– Ensure youth that participation is voluntary and their consent is ongoing: they can withdraw at any time and still get compensated for their time
– Create a safe, trusting environment
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Fantastic point about creating a safe, trusting environment. This is foundational not only for boosting incentive to participate, but for youth to feel comfortable sharing open, honest feedback as well.
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Yes! While we’d love all of our youth to participate in evaluation, we want to make it clear that participation is not mandatory.
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Good point, Daniel. I’d argue that a lot of adults feel this around sharing feedback too!
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All excellent points, Marco!
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This is also a great one. Thanks, TP! You’re absolutely right- evaluation plans give us an idea of the outcomes we want to see from a program, but there is no guarantee that those outcomes will be achieved.
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Love this analogy, Stephanie. I like your inclusion of roadblocks- it shows that you understand how evaluation is not always “perfect”. Roadblocks are a natural part of the evaluation process and don’t deter us from getting to our destination!
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That’s such a great point, Khadijah!
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I agree, listening is critical. As a mental health professional I think I am in a position to help others within the organization understand the need to do this as well. Sometimes people within the organization jump to being solution focused before truly understanding what is happening.
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Hi Michaelene,
I agree – I had reflected that I had no memories of learning any of the information from the modules throughout school, aside from post secondary. It brought me back to when I graduated and entered the work force, and how it felt that the conversations and awareness weren’t continuing. I feel disappointed that I didn’t put more effort into learning on my own, and am grateful for having participated in this course.
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Yes, a small change I observed at one school was a poster which read “Black History Month” was altered to remove the word “month!” It seems like a small thing but I believe it is impactful and I notice it everytime I’m in that school – it is in a place of prominence which is where it should be.
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LuPapa — great points! Representation cannot be understated. I believe that school boards are examining their hiring practices to be more representative, and more still needs to be done to begin to see healthy and more robust change.
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Hi Maxime — being educated about microaggressions is critical and while I consider myself to be an aware person and an ally, I can fall into those subtle microaggressions too if I don’t stay very present.
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Sarah, I couldn’t agree more — the very act of providing a space for Black students is Action and hopefully would be perceived by others as a positive and necessary action. For black students to have a space where they can share, be brave (or not) can be so validating. At at least one of our schools, there is a group for Black and racialized students to gather which has been affirming and active.
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So many great points have been made! Reviewing/auditing the books in my office has definitely been eye opening for me. It’s what I don’t see there that stands out. The literature is clear that the things that don’t get said or shared or displayed (having a presence) has a power unto itself. This is a work in progress for me.
