by WENDYSCHAETZELLESKO Founder&ExecutiveDirector, YOUTHACTIVISMPROJECT Other books and manuals written by Wendy Schaetzel Lesko YOUTH! THE 26% SOLUTION withEmanuelTsourounis,II MAXIMUM YOUTH INOLVEMENT: THE COMPLETE GAMEPLAN FOR COMMUNITY ACTION YOUTH AS EQUAL PARTNERS forUnitedWayofAmerica ?Y YOUTH EMPOWERMENT GUIDE forNorthCarolinaDepartmentofHealth YOUTH ADVOCACY ACTION GUIDE forU.S.DepartmentofTransportation&MADD YOUTH ADVOCACY MODULE forU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices NO KIDDING AROUND! AMERICA’S YOUNG ACTIVISTS ARE CHANGING OUR WORLD & YOU CAN TOO THE PEOPLE RISING: THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE BORK NOMINATION withMichaelPertschuk THE MATERNITY SOURCEBOOK: 230 BASIC DECISIONS FOR PREGNANCY, BIRTH AND CHILD CARE withMatthewLesko UNDERSTANDING THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS CongressionalMonitor,Inc. Copyright©2004byWendySchaetzelLesko TheYOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT isdelightedtogrant permissiontoreaderswhowanttoreprintortranslate excerptsofthisguideforeducationalpurposes.Please contactournationalclearinghouse.Nopriorapproval isnecessaryforcopyingoradaptingthereproducible handoutsthatareincludedinthismanual. Forbulkratesorcustomeditions,pleasecontact: YOUTHACTIVISMPROJECT P.O.BoxE Kensington,Maryland20895-3917 Toll-free:1-800-KID-POWER Tel:301-929-8808 Fax:301-929-8907 E-mail:[email protected] Website:www.youthactivism.com WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO • YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT • WWW.YOUTHACTIVISM.COM • page 3 Table of Contents Overview.................................................5 LearningObjectives .........................................6 10TipsForFacilitators .......................................7 CompleteWorkshopChecklist .................................8 Facilitator’s60-MinuteTrainingOutline .........................9 Facilitator’s2-HourTrainingOutline ............................15 BelieveItorNotStories(OlderTeens)..........................24 Facilitator’sBelieveItorNotBackgrounder(OlderTeens) ...........29 BelieveItorNotStories(Tweens)..............................31 Facilitator’sBelieveItorNotBackgrounder(Tweens)...............36 Facilitator’sVideoClipsBackgrounder ..........................38 OurTeamGameplan.......................................39 Facilitator’sTeamGameplanBackgrounder ......................41 Pre-andPost-Assessments ...................................42 Appendix YouthEmpowermentWebSites ..........................44 SpecialReports ......................................45 WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO • YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT • WWW.YOUTHACTIVISM.COM • page 4 KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF Training Teens to be Successful Activists! OVERVIEW Forthepastdecade,Ihaveledhundredsofworkshopsinmorethan40statesdesignedforyoung peopleofallagesandbackgrounds.Whilethereisnoguaranteethatanyonecanconvinceeveryone thattheycanmakeanimpactintheircorneroftheworld,Ihavehadremarkablesuccesswithone workshopapproach.Itopensminds,expandsthinking,revealseffectivestrategiesand,mostimportant, inspireshopebysharingtruestoriesofwhatyoungpeoplehaveachievedonarangeofissuesacross America. Thisskill-buildingworkshopthatIdeliveraseitheracompressedorin-depthprogram,beginsby confrontingthecynicismandwidespreadattitude:“Whybother?Whowilllistenandreallyrespond toourideas?”Visualizingandanalyzinghalfadozencasestudiesleadthewaytoidentifyingspecific organizingandadvocacytactics.Afterconsideringvariousskillsandstrategies,participantsmove towarddevelopingtheirownactionplanforpursuingpositivecommunitychange.Attheconclusion ofthisinteractiveworkshop,participantswillhaveaclearsenseofthestepsinvolvedtoinitiateand conductaneffectiveprojectorcampaign. InmyyearsofmentoringandmonitoringyoungactivistsundertheumbrellaoftheYouthActivism Projectnationalclearinghouse,I’vefoundthatimmediatefollowupinthedaysandweeksafteran initialtrainingisacriticalsuccessfactor.Whiledeterminationcanovercomeapathy,ridiculeand outrightoppositioninitially,incrementalaccomplishmentsbuildconfidenceinthelongterm.This oftenmeansthattheworkshopfacilitatorand/oradultadvisorsshouldreconnectwithparticipants toofferencouragementandhelpintransformingtheirideasintoaction.Thinkofthisstageas keepingthecandleburning.Followingthisyouthempowermenttraining,participantswillhavea sensethatindeedtheycanhavearealimpactbutwithoutcontinuedreinforcement,theflamecan fadeintosmoke. Thismanualoffersconcreteplanningandactiontechniquestohelpbuildthemomentumthatturns passionandperseveranceintovictory. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO • YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT • WWW.YOUTHACTIVISM.COM • page 5 KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF Training Teens to be Successful Activists! LEARNING OBJECTIVES: htoincreaseknowledgeabouttheinfluentialroleofyoungpeopleasagentsforchange htogaingreaterunderstandingabouthowyouthscanbeeffectiveleadersintheir community htoteachyoungpeoplehowtotransformtheirvisionintoaction htolearnspecificadvocacyskillsandstrategies htoidentifypotentialpartnersandresourcesinthecommunity htodevelopapreliminaryactionplan htoprioritizeinitialimplementationsteps htoboostacan-doattitudeandbeliefthatyoungpeoplecanmakeanimpact htoinstilltheimportanceofcivicengagementandparticipatorydemocracy "Vision without action is merely a dream, Action without vision is merely passing time, but Action with vision can change the world." —Nelson Mandela WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO • YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT • WWW.YOUTHACTIVISM.COM • page 6 KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF Training Teens to be Successful Activists! 10 TIPS FOR FACILITATORS 1) Unique Talents and Style –Letyourindividualityshow.Avoidbeingjustafriendlybutrobot-like facilitator. 2) Ownership –TheFacilitatorTrainingOutlinesincludeascriptsoanyonecanusethem.Iencourage youtorevisethesetemplatesanduseyourownwords. 3) Comfortable & Real –Trustyourinstincts.Ifthereareanyportionsoftheseworkshopsthatdon’tfeel righttoyou,don’tusethem.Participantswillsenseyourlackofconfidence. 4) Rely on Participants –Askparticipantsforinput,forexample,ideasfordividingthegroupintosmall breakoutstoaddingothercategoriestotheTeamGameplan.Thistypeofcollaborationaddstothe empoweringprocess. 5) Language –Avoidcallingparticipants“kids.”It’sonethingwhenyoungpeopleusethistermbutit canbedemeaningwhenadultssayit. 6) Food –Providingsnacksisrecommendedbutfoodisnotasubstituteforsubstance. 7) Avoid Classroom Situations -Don’tputanyoneonthespottorespondtoquestionsandalsolet individualsoptoutoftalkingwhentheydon’tfeellikeit. 8) Affirm & Be Authentic –Encourageanatmospherebyusingsuchlanguageas“interestingidea”or “goodpoint”butalsoconfrontparticipantsaboutwhatisnotbeingsaid. 9) Flow & Flexibility –Figureouteachunitoftheworkshopandthenbepreparedtospendmoreorless timeoncertainsections.Don’tshortcutdiscussionsbuttrytomaintainagoodpaceandenergylevel. 10) Fun & Serious –Amixofhumorandpassionisthesecret. “I prefer the errors of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom.” —Anatole France WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO • YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT • WWW.YOUTHACTIVISM.COM • page 7 KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF Training Teens to be Successful Activists! COMPLETE WORKSHOP CHECKLIST q Nametags q PocketFolders(optional) q Pensorpencils q Pre-Assessment q Post-Assessment(copyondifferentcolorpaper) q BelieveItorNotHandouts q Facilitator’sBelieveItorNotBackgrounder q YourOwnBelieveItorNotStories(optional) q VideoClips q Facilitator’sVideoClipsBackgrounder q TV/VCR q TeamGameplanHandouts q Facilitator’sGameplanBackgrounder q Mini-prizes–pens,goodies,T-shirts,etc.(optional) q Easel,paperandmarkers q Microphone(optional) q Boombox&CDs(optional) WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO • YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT • WWW.YOUTHACTIVISM.COM • page 8 KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF Training Teens to be Successful Activists! Facilitator’s 60-Minute Training Outline Thisfast-pacedtrainingoutlineismuchlessflexiblethanthelongerversionbecausesomuchis coveredinonehour.Itiswisetoanticipatewhichsectionsyoumightshortenoreliminateincase theworkshopstartslateduetodelayedarrivals,logisticalsnafus,etc.Theleftcolumntellsthe numberofminutesforeachsectionfollowedbythetotallengthuptothatpointintheworkshop. Clarifyinginstructionsforthefacilitatorareinterspersedintheword-for-wordscript.Allthe handoutsforparticipantsaswellasbackgroundinformationforthefacilitatorareincludedafterthe Facilitator’s2-HourTrainingOutline. TIME FRAME 60-MINUTE SNAPSHOT 5 minutes Welcome & Introductions 2 minutes Pre-Assessment 3 minutes Shatter Stereotypes 15 minutes Believe It or Not Stories 10 minutes Video Clips 15 minutes Team Gameplan 5 minutes Team Highlights 5 minutes Post-Assessment & Send Off WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO • YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT • WWW.YOUTHACTIVISM.COM • page 9 KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF Training Teens to be Successful Activists! Script/Content/Notes Logistics/Resources WELCOME & INTROS 5 Thanks for coming. Let’s begin with a RoomSet-up:Ideally, minutes quick round of introductions. Say chairsinacircle.Avoid your name, where you are from classroomorlecturestyle sitting. (Ifgroupisover30,limit (school, organization, city, etc.) and introductionstonameonly.) something unusual about yourself, for example, a strange pet, weird Optional: food you like. (Facilitatorshouldstart Boomboxwithmusicon andsetthepacesointrosdon’tdrag.) whenpeoplearriveto improveatmospherics The objective of this workshop is to convince everyone here that young people can be agents for change today. PRE-ASSESSMENT 2 First, let’s take a minute to complete minutes the short survey. This is completely Ifusingpocketfolders, anonymous. Near the top, there’s a includeboththepre-and blank space for a Student #. Make post-assessmentformsor up a random 5-digit code and