|
||
|
||
|
|
|
Back to
Session Summary Page
|
Intercultural Leadership Initiative
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program # 11
12/16/09 4-6pm
LUHS
Intercultural Leadership Initiative
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #10
12/2/09 4:00-6:00pm
LUHS
ILI Students: (S) 2, (Jr.) 52009-2010
After School Leadership Program # 11
12/16/09 4-6pm
LUHS
ILI Students: 5
ILI Staff: Matt White and Craig Kerr
Americorps Volunteer: Karen Palmquist
We began a little later than what we wanted because it took a little longer than we thought to cook our snack. When our pizzas came in we shared what was going well in our lives. The students are always very eager to share! We were celebrating the many December birthdays we have in the group. Most of the students asked to have pizza as their favored snack item. So after everyone shared we dug into our pizza. The students enjoyed the time to share stories while eating their pizza. When everyone was finished we brought out the final course. One of the students had asked for neopolitan ice-cream and we surprised all of the students with the ice-cream. We had a great time eating and sharing with one another. This afternoon was designed as a celebration.
After we ate and shared, the staff asked the students how they would like to continue with the next part. Through a discussion we decided that each person would write down something that was given or received. This something had to be related to a story they could tell where giving was the central focus and was meaningful to them. Once everyone had written down their object, Craig collected them and re-handed them out. Each student took a turn to read out the object on their paper. Then we, as a group, tried to decide which person wrote down the said object. Once the person was identified, they told the story of the gift. It was a wonderful activity to do to get to know one another better, but more importantly to talk about the value of giving vs. the value of the gift. As we talked and shared our stories, we came to understand that the act of giving without expecting something in return is a very special gift in itself.
Finally we ended with a question. (On a regular basis we have students write down questions to ask the whole group. The basis for learning is being curious. So we encourage this by having them write questions that we can discuss.) It was a great question and we had a fun time discussing the topic with the time we had left.
Next Meeting January 6th, 2010
ILI Staff: Matt White and Craig Kerr
Americorps Volunteer: Karen Palmquist
We began a little later than what we wanted because it took a little longer than we thought to cook our snack. When our pizzas came in we shared what was going well in our lives. The students are always very eager to share! We were celebrating the many December birthdays we have in the group. Most of the students asked to have pizza as their favored snack item. So after everyone shared we dug into our pizza. The students enjoyed the time to share stories while eating their pizza. When everyone was finished we brought out the final course. One of the students had asked for neopolitan ice-cream and we surprised all of the students with the ice-cream. We had a great time eating and sharing with one another. This afternoon was designed as a celebration.
After we ate and shared, the staff asked the students how they would like to continue with the next part. Through a discussion we decided that each person would write down something that was given or received. This something had to be related to a story they could tell where giving was the central focus and was meaningful to them. Once everyone had written down their object, Craig collected them and re-handed them out. Each student took a turn to read out the object on their paper. Then we, as a group, tried to decide which person wrote down the said object. Once the person was identified, they told the story of the gift. It was a wonderful activity to do to get to know one another better, but more importantly to talk about the value of giving vs. the value of the gift. As we talked and shared our stories, we came to understand that the act of giving without expecting something in return is a very special gift in itself.
Finally we ended with a question. (On a regular basis we have students write down questions to ask the whole group. The basis for learning is being curious. So we encourage this by having them write questions that we can discuss.) It was a great question and we had a fun time discussing the topic with the time we had left.
Next Meeting January 6th, 2010
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #10
12/2/09 4:00-6:00pm
LUHS
ILI Staff: Matt White and Craig Kerr
We began by gathering around the table in the ILI room and sharing things that make us grateful. It was a good time of sharing and the students have much in their lives that give them joy. One student shared about the wonderful time she was able to spend with her grandma. We are thankful for the students and their willingness to share with one another.
After our time of snacking, we headed to the band room for some student lead activities. Craig asked two students to volunteer to facilitate some activities. Two students volunteered and were asked to choose a couple of activities to lead. We will have sessions coming up in the winter and we want the students to have an increased role each time they attend as mentors. The students facilitated a wonderful, interactive activity! Then, Craig asked the other students to give them feedback on their facilitating. It was a great conversation. We talked about the importance of how to include everyone in the set-up of the activity, not knowing that the facilitators were going to be reviewed, attention getting techniques, and non-verbal cues to pick up on to be able to meet the needs of the individuals in the group. They did a wonderful job and received some great feedback.
When we were done with our activity, we headed back to the ILI room. We talked to the students about making another group that will meet about Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) issues. We decided we would meet at lunch on Mondays. Then we talked about the upcoming Lakeland Area Community Meeting (LACM) on the 9 of December.
We spent the remainder of the time answering some of the questions the students had written a few weeks ago. We are slowly working our way through them. The students are very insightful and have strong opinions. The conversations were great and very respectful. The students would catch themselves when they wanted to butt in on someone’s comment. We have been working with the students to value all opinions, even if they differ from their own. We talked about the importance of listening to other’s opinions to be able to shape and/or inform our own. Even if we still disagree, it is still important to really listen to what the other person is saying.
Next meeting Dec. 9
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #9
11/4/09 4:00-6:00
LUHS
ILI Students: 10
ILI Staff: Matt White and Craig Kerr
Americorps Volunteer: Karen Palmquist
We began by having Karen introduce herself to the students. She is an Americorps Volunteer through Marshfield Clinic. We are happy to have her here checking out what the students are involved in. The students introduced themselves to her and explained how we start our times together. Then, we shared the good things that are going on in our lives.
When everyone had a chance to share we dug into our after school snacks. The students ate and shared stories with each other. We caught up on stories from Halloween and heard who has been sick among other things. Following our snack time we headed into student services for a few rounds of “Shuffle Your Buns.” This is a favorite of the students and they were excited for the opportunity to play. There was a lot of laughing, smiling, and just a generally good time being had by the students. A couple of high school staff walked by as we were in the middle of our activity, and they could not help but to be positively effected by the joy and laughter of the students. Joy is free to produce and easy to share!
After our time in student services we headed back to the ILI room. We asked the students to write a question. This is something we have done in the past and wanted to start again. When everyone handed in their questions, we needed to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire is from Marshfield Clinic and was on alcohol use by youth in our community. We DID NOT ask them specific questions on their own use. We asked questions concerning their perspectives on youth use in our community. The students were quite insightful in the areas of the availability, ease of attainability, ease of keeping use from adults, disapproval of adults with teen use, associated risks of teen use, and their opinions of the seriousness of the problem.
We ended our time together answering a couple of questions that were asked. This process helps us get to know one another and allows us to learn to value other’s curiosity and perspectives.
Next meeting Nov. 11th
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #7
10/22/09 4-6pm
LUHS
ILI Students: 9
ILI Staff: Matt White and Craig Kerr
We had a great group of students tonight. After they helped get the snack prepared we shared with one another what good things have been going on in their lives. This is always a positive time for the students to share and be listened to.
After our time of sharing and feasting, we headed down to the gym for an activity. The gym was busy with Football and Volleyball, so we set up outside the gym. We did an activity where everyone has a couple of clothes pins on their back. The idea of the activity is to get clothes pins off of others with out getting your taken. However, we have added a “get to know you” element to the activity. When some one gets their clothes pin taken; the one who took the clothes pin and the person who it was taken from sit down. Once they are seated they either find out something they have in common or find out something about each other. It was great to hear what they had learned about each other as we wrapped up. Craig asked them if they should do this activity at the conference we would be presenting at in November. They said that they thought that it would be a great one to do. One student commented on the activity earlier in the day, and said that they liked the activity where they got to know other people’s names. They commented, “I learned some new names today and met some new people.” The student had a big smile on their face while talking about the experience.
When we were done talking about the activity and some of the details of the conference we headed back into the ILI room. Craig talked to the students about wanting to take them to a new level as a group. The students listened and were interested in what he was saying. He introduced an activity he learned at an Association of Experiential Education Conference in St. Paul, MN a few years ago. It is a poem starting with, “I am from…” In this poem the students talk about where they are from in terms of experiences, emotions, smells, activities, etc. intheir history. It is a very creative way to help them share about themselves. The writing prompt we used can be found at http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm. The students had incredible poems. Every received a round of applause after they read their work. We were all blown away by the depth, humor, reality, and insight of each other’s poems. The student truly shared from their souls and the students responded to it from theirs. It was a powerful note to end on.
Next meeting October 28th.
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #6
10/7/09 4-6pm
LUHS
ILI Students: 7
Guest: Gail Kerr (Craig’s Mom)
ILI Staff: Matt White and Craig Kerr
We began by sharing with each other the positive things that we have going on in our lives. It is always good to here what is going well in their lives and what everyone has to be thankful for. The students really look forward to the start so they can share with one another.
After everyone had an opportunity to share we moved to student services for a round of “shuffle your buns.” This is an activity the students wanted to do and is one of their favorites. We had a good time and there was a lot of laughing and good feelings. The time passed quickly and it was time to talk about an upcoming event.
The ILI students have been asked to present at the Youth as Civic Partners in Leadership Conference. A number of our students went last year and had a wonderful time. We will be doing a break-out session during the conference on what we do with youth and the change we are hoping to bring because of that work. The students are really excited about this opportunity and we talked more in-depth about the conference and who was committing to go. We will be working on putting our presentation together for the next four weeks. The conference is on November 13-15.
Finally we headed to the Library to look at prevention strategies that we would like to use this year to address underage drinking within our community. The Lakeland Area Community Meeting is coming up on the 14th of October. We wanted to have at least one strategy picked out that we would present at the meeting, and begin to implement this school year. The list of prevention strategies was quite long (10 pages). So we quickly reviewed them and chose a couple of strategies that we would like to use. This will be a process of picking one of the strategies, getting a plan together, talking with the administration of the school about our strategy, revising if necessary, and implementing the strategy.
We are thankful for all of our students and their willingness to address community issues.
Next meeting Oct. 14
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #5
9/30/09 4pm-6pm
LUHS
ILI Students: 6
ILI Staff: Craig Kerr and Matt White
We began by sharing something about what is good in our lives. A number of students had several things to share. We believe that the students look forward to this opportunity to share the positives that are going on in their lives. We encourage them to look at the positive and share it with those around them.
After our time of sharing and eating, we chose to do charades. This is not something this group has done before, but was something they decided they would try. It was a great opportunity for the students to perform for one another. Students, in general, often perform for each other. Sometimes that performing can be positive, but often it results in less than positive results. This activity allowed the students to perform for each other in a positive and encouraging environment. The students and staff had a great time acting and guessing. It’s no wonder this activity has been popular for many generations!
When we had finished our activity we headed down to the library to use the smartboard to discuss some strategies we might bring up at the next Lakeland Area Community Meeting on the 14th of October. However we were unable to use the smartboard. Returning to the room we began a discussion on issues the students are dealing with. We had a good conversation and students were catching themselves focusing on their own agendas in the conversation. Others realized that they needed to listen to those that are not as vocal. The students are learning a lot about themselves and how to talk about issues in a way that everyone feels valued and heard.
Next meeting October 7.
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #4
9/23/09 4:00pm-6:00pm
LUHS
ILI Students: 10
ILI Staff: Matt
White and Craig Kerr
We started today by recalling what we were
grateful for in our lives. Taking time to be grateful allows us to be
conscious of how much we have and what we take for granted. It allows us to
focus on what we do have instead of what we don’t.
After our time of sharing we ate our
snacks, some which were given to us from the 6th grade conference so
nothing would go to waste. The students were thankful for all of the yummy
food that was available and eagerly consumed all that was available. (Try and
remember back to those high school appetites.) During this time the students
caught up with one another, told stories about their 6th grade
conference experiences, and had valuable interactions. When the students who
facilitated at the 6th grade conference were telling their stories
all the other students were listening, eager to here. The students sharing the
stories were proud of their experiences, and their pride was shared in a
positive way with the other students. It was really nice to see the students
sharing this way and have the other students value their experiences without
jealousy or envy.
Next, we headed into the multipurpose room
for some activities. We dragged out an old time favorite to get the students
moving and releasing energy. “Toilet tag” is the activity we did.
It is a really fun, active, and interactive. When you are tagged you have to
sit down on one knee with one arm up horizontal to the floor. To me
“unstuck” someone has to come over, sit on your knee, and push your
hand down to the floor (simulating the flushing motion). The students had a
good time with this activity. Sometimes I think the older students like these
activities better than the younger ones!
When everyone had a chance to catch their
breath we did another activity that brought everyone back to a level that
prepared us for some talking. The activity is a rhythm and pattern game. It
brings everyone close and they have to pay attention to the rhythm and
direction of the hand slapping on the floor. All the students are circled up,
laying on their stomachs, with their arms interlaced, and the rhythm goes
around the circle.
Finally we talked about a couple of
different things. First we talked about the upcoming Youth as Civic Partners
conference that they will be presenting at during October. A couple of the
students went to the conference last year and we asked them to share some of
their experiences. The students were very positive about the conference and
really thought it was a great experience. This got the other students very
excited to go and also present. Secondly, we talked about a middle school
dance. We came up with the idea of having a Halloween dance. However, as we
discussed it we learned that there is another school organization that is
having a middle school dance a couple of weeks before we thought of having
one. So we talked about other times we might schedule a dance and themes that
we would have for them. The students are excited about the many opportunities
they have to serve this year, and we are thankful to their willingness to
serve!
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #3
9/16/09 4:00-6:00pm
LUHS
ILI Students: 12
ILI Staff: Matt White and Craig Kerr
We had a great group of students today. They were all very happy to be here and see one another. The staff was happy as well.
We began by reflecting about what was going well in our lives. It is a great way to transition to begin to think about what is going well in our lives and learn how to focus on that rather than always be dealing with the negative. After everyone had a chance to share, we had our treats and shared personal stories and happenings in our lives. This is a great time to connect and decompress from a day of school.
Because so much of our day involves sitting we feel it is important to get our bodies moving to restore balance to all aspects of our lives. We headed into the multi-purpose room and did some activities. During one of the activities Craig challenged the students to take it to a deeper level. The students responded favorably and began to understand each other on a deeper level.
When we had finished our activities we sat down in a circle and Craig asked the students why ILI was started. It is always important to take time to understand history so that you have a good perspective of where you started and where to have come to in your present journey. The students had a lot of great answers: “To make friends with students from the other schools so we would know more people in the high school.”; “To help students learn about each other so there would be less fights at the high school.”; “To have intercultural relationships with other students. To learn about each other’s culture.” Then, as the conversation continued, they began to share about how ILI had affected them personally: “It is a place you can come and share openly about whatever is on your mind. It has really helped me.”; “ILI is better than seeing a shrink…because it’s free!”; “I really love all of you…know really. I love coming to ILI.” The students shared from their hearts and it was really powerful to see them sharing. One student shared a personal perspective that challenged everyone to think about the effects of side conversations and distracting body movements. It was a real and honest conversation and brought us closer as a group.
This group has been developing for a couple of years and we are happy with the way that we are coming together as a group and talking about real issues and listening to each other respectfully and engaging and challenging each other’s perspectives. Often it is hard to communicate the picture of what we see during these sessions. These students took a significant step towards being able to hard conversations about issues that have been in our community for a long time and that we hope to address in ILI.
One final snap shot. Towards the end of our sharing, one student was nervous that they had said something that was offensive. The other students responded by saying that it was okay, you're with us, we know you and we know you weren’t trying to be offensive. Wow! What a way to feel valued and understood. We are thankful for these students and for being able to help them on their journey.
Next meeting 9/23/09
2009-2010
After School Leadership Program #1
9/2/09 4:00-6:00pm
LUHS
ILI Students: 8
ILI Staff: Craig Kerr
All the students came in excited to meet today. I had seen several of them throughout the day and they had excitedly asked me if we were going to have ILI today. I told them if they were in, I was in!
The students shared with one another good memories from the summer and something good about today, the first day of school with all the students. One student was thankful that they were finally in high school! It was great to see how the students have grown over the summer, even in the brief time we had together.
Craig talked with the students about what they would like to do this year. He reminded them of the projects we had done last year and the others that were left undone. We had a good brainstorming session about things they would like to accomplish this year and the issues that they would like to address as a group. The students are really motivated to make a difference not only in the school but also the community.
While discussing some of the things that were left undone last year one student drew on the board two dots close together. They said to the group that the distance between the two dots is how far they felt we got with the project. Craig asked two questions 1) Does that happen in life sometimes?, 2.) Did you learn anything between those two dots? One student answered the first question, “Yes”. They went on to say that sometimes in life learning is slow at first and then when you have made mistakes and tried things it helps you to go faster between the next two dots. Another student answered the second question, “Yes”. They went on to say that they learned a lot but now are ready to put their learning into action. These students are great and we are looking forward to another great year!
Next meeting 9/9/09
ILI Staff: Craig Kerr
All the students came in excited to meet today. I had seen several of them throughout the day and they had excitedly asked me if we were going to have ILI today. I told them if they were in, I was in!
The students shared with one another good memories from the summer and something good about today, the first day of school with all the students. One student was thankful that they were finally in high school! It was great to see how the students have grown over the summer, even in the brief time we had together.
Craig talked with the students about what they would like to do this year. He reminded them of the projects we had done last year and the others that were left undone. We had a good brainstorming session about things they would like to accomplish this year and the issues that they would like to address as a group. The students are really motivated to make a difference not only in the school but also the community.
While discussing some of the things that were left undone last year one student drew on the board two dots close together. They said to the group that the distance between the two dots is how far they felt we got with the project. Craig asked two questions 1) Does that happen in life sometimes?, 2.) Did you learn anything between those two dots? One student answered the first question, “Yes”. They went on to say that sometimes in life learning is slow at first and then when you have made mistakes and tried things it helps you to go faster between the next two dots. Another student answered the second question, “Yes”. They went on to say that they learned a lot but now are ready to put their learning into action. These students are great and we are looking forward to another great year!
Next meeting 9/9/09