February 2005
his month’s newsletter is built around a case study from South Africa and focuses on developing resilience. Claire Dunicz describes how she has used the BASICS model in her work with township children. We follow with some thoughts on research into resilience, some possible role models and some congratulations.
A South African Success Story
Claire Dunicz is a teacher in a South African township. She has a remarkable story to tell. She presented her story to the REAL Trust Conference last year. Her project was to build the esteem of her class. She chose to use the BASICS model from the ALPS Approach books. It has worked so well that Claire won the National Teaching Award for Johannesburg. This was quite remarkable as she only had 3 years’ professional teaching experience. She adds in her letter to Alite, ‘I couldn't have done it without your ideas and research’. This is her story in her words:
Imagine that you are a teenager living in a South African township…
A lot has changed in the ten years since the first democratic elections. You can now go to a park, or swimming pool or sports stadium without being arrested. You can now ride any bus or go to any government hospital. You are also allowed to attend any government school and receive a quality education.
Unfortunately, life at home is still filled with hardship. Like most families in Soweto, your home is matrilineal. Your father “disappeared” when you were still in nappies and this has left you with a strong distrust of adult authority figures. If you are a boy, you are left with no male role models and if you are a girl, you dislike and stereotype all men.
If you are lucky, your mother is employed but she normally works long hours and she is so tired when she gets home that she doesn’t have the energy to listen to your problems. She couldn’t help you with your homework, even if she wanted to, because her parents took her out of school when she was eight years old. In order to attract her attention, you start breaking the rules and getting into trouble.
If you are unlucky, your mother is unemployed and you are forced to rely on a string of abusive and unreliable boyfriends who resent having to support “another man’s child”. Your mother turns a blind eye to your pain because “he puts a roof over our heads”. You start to look for love and attention from criminal gangs and they find their comfort in alcohol, drugs and sexual promiscuity.
Despite your best attempts to fit in with this crowd, you are faced with disdain and contempt because you go to a suburban school. They mock you and call you “coconut” (black on the outside and white on the inside). The only way that you can impress them is by acting tough and getting arrested. If you are a girl, you will need fancy clothes to fit in and the only way that you can get these things is by having lots of older boyfriends who expect to be “repaid for their generosity”. This results in HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancies and suicidal behaviour.
School is just another headache and you can’t wait for it to end…
You don’t have to live in South Africa to recognize these. They are sitting in classrooms all over the world. They are the angry who always look tired. They give up too easily and say things like, “Why should I bother? I don’t have any future anyway?” They feel like life owes them for their suffering so they don’t accept challenges and expect others to ”do it for me”.
Normally, they slip through the system but I have found a way of assisting them by using the BASICS model.
In order to change their aspirations, I decided to change their identities in a safe environment where they could experience a string of successes and achievements which would boost their self esteem.
In 2004, I started an informal project where I allowed a group of 15-16 year olds to do voluntary community service in old age homes and orphanages. The results were extraordinary:
Self Esteem
Each child that took part in the project reported an increase in self esteem. These are some of the things that they had to say:
They also receive love and attention in a positive manner:“My identity and self esteem has grown tremendously from helping others” Melanie
“They give you so much unconditional love and for me that has been a major confidence boost” Nelisiwe
“For once, I felt like I was worth more than I thought.” Refiloe
“It has boosted my self esteem because they [orphans] would come every week just to listen to my story.” Aliyah
“I know that when I go there, people appreciate me for who I am” Noluthando.
Family Relationships
Many also reported that the community service improved their relationships with their parents. Some parents now had a reason to boast about them whereas prior to the project, they only received complaints from the school. They said the following:
“It made me realize that I am very lucky to have family and friends that care” Thato
“I always doubted if my parents loved me enough or if they thought I was a failure. Those orphans made me realize that I must stop doubting the love that my family has for me because some of those don’t have that kind of love…” Nyiko
Educational Opportunities
I would often combine visits with comprehension and writing exercises. Learners became more comfortable with people who were different to them:
“Since then, we have been performing plays on HIV/AIDS…the community service I’ve been doing has broadened my mind. I used to think that street were street deliberately” Yolanda
“ I dealt with a lot of mentally disabled and that helped me to accept differences and see them and treat them as normal human beings” Raeesa
“I learnt to appreciate my elders and not to take them for granted” Mpho
“It made me feel sorry for people who are disabled and visually impaired. I now know how those people feel because I tried putting myself in their shoes” Mandla
Even racial barriers were breached:
“ I found myself a white grandfather who has to be the most exciting person besides me…” Gugu
Emotional Intelligence
The following reported that they had experienced emotionally educational experiences:
“I realized that some people really have it hard and my life and my problems are not that bad and it also made me want to stop wallowing in self pity because it wasn’t going to get me anywhere.” Bayanda
“Helping other people made me feel good…It showed me that to get love, you have to give it.” Ntokoza
“I have grown to be more compassionate and understanding of other people’s situations…” Neo
Empowerment
A lot of children now found that they had power over their own lives and perceptions:
“I can seriously say I’ve stopped complaining about how much I don’t have” Nompumelelo
“It is a really life changing experience that not only gives you a reason to live each day but also to appreciate the beauty of life. I never once thought that giving someone a small twig with green leaves could mean so much…” Thato
“When I had family problems, I realized that in order to feel good about myself, I should try helping others and it did help”. Yolanda
“I got more inspired to do well at school. They reminded me to live my life to the fullest” Thato
Leadership Development
Noluthando Mose (15) went to a TV station and got them to do a program on the crime in the area where she was doing community service. Not only did they make the program, they also got the community involved in a clean up operation and Noluthando got a chance to speak to other teenagers on TV.
Class Ethos
The project has completely rejuvenated the ethos of my class. I no longer teach a group of troubled children but a future generation of pediatricians, psychologists, occupational therapists and community developers. Some of my most disruptive children have become my chief fund raisers and they motivate their peers to do good deeds instead of getting up to mischief.
Kids that give up very easily have started passionately challenging each other to break charity records and their pride in themselves is absolutely wonderful.
I think that Whitney puts it best when she says:
“During the recent months, I have gone on a journey of self discovery. A journey that has been characterized by growth, realization, and upliftment. Doing community service has awakened my soul and led to a feeling of inner peace and spiritual development. During my first visit, there was a hint of anxiety but when I left, I realized the enormity of the impact we had made in their lives. What was more astounding, was the fact that they had enriched our lives more than we could ever impact theirs”
Pause for thought
George B Dantiz studied mathematics at the prestigious University of California at Berkeley. Part of his studies included a statistics class. One morning he arrived late for the class. He frantically copied the two problems he saw on the board, knowing that to miss homework was not going to be a good move so early in the course. He found the problems difficult and had to spend more time than he would have liked struggling on them. At the next class he handed them in.
What he did not know was that they were not homework problems but examples of unsolvable challenges which the lecturer had been using to demonstrate the complexity and rigour of statistics in the lecture that day. Dantiz had approached the challenges in a completely different frame of mind from his classmates. As a result of his efforts he quickly became a celebrity.
Change the beliefs and you change the performance. The story forms the basis of the plot of the film Good Will Hunting.
Sticking with it – coping strategies and resiliency
The mental health of teenagers has sharply declined in the UK in the last 25 years and the chances that 15 year olds will have behavioural problems such as lying, stealing and being disobedient have more than doubled.
(Time Trends in Adolescent Mental Health, September 2004)
Resiliency is a topic that has been heavily researched. What does it tell us about children at risk?
- A study conducted by Emmy E. Werner and Ruth Smith of all youngsters born on the island of Kauai, Hawaii shortly before their birth until they were 31 or 32 found that even though many had been born into poverty, experienced the breakup of their family, or watched a family member die, they were able to overcome these problems and became competent and caring adults. They succeeded because they were resilient. On the other hand, some who had no adversity in their lives gave up easily when faced with problems. Werner and Smith found identifiable factors which build resilience. Each can be developed, but the process is best begun early.
- Making connections and being mentored. Resilient people remember one or two adults who made a difference in their lives. Werner’s research showed that being emotionally connected with adults and people in communities is a significant part of what allows nearly 70% of young people in even the worst conditions to thrive.
- Responsibility. Looking out for the welfare of others builds resilience. Children who are engaged in “required helpfulness” are more resilient.
- Reading. Resilient children learn to read early. Werner found that “effective reading skills by age eight was one of the most potent predictors of successful adult adaptation”
- Problem-solving and information skills. Resilient children know how to find and use information to solve problems. When faced with adversity, they will utilise a problem-solving model to determine options for dealing with their problems.
- Social skills. “The chief determinant of a youngster’s popularity during adolescence is his or her social skills”. Popular children have more friends and are more confident. They tend to be friendly, cheerful, good-natured, humorous, and intelligent. On the other hand, unpopular children are more likely to be low achievers in school, drop out of high school, have learning disabilities, show higher rates of delinquent behavior, and suffer from emotional and mental health problems as adults.
- Hobbies and interests. Children who participate in hobbies and activities feel more confident, competent, and positive about themselves. Hobbies and activities bring children in contact with more people and can provide solace during times of stress and turmoil.
- Plans for the future. Resilient children have hope and the capacity to set personal goals and behave in ways to secure them.
Five books to read on resilience:
Broooks and Goldstein, The Power of Resilience, Contemporary Books 2003
Krovetz, Martin L. Fostering Resiliency, Corwin Press, Inc., 1999.
Siebert, Al, The Survivor Personality , Thorsons 1999
Steinberg, Laurence. Adolescence. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002.
Werner,and Smith. Overcoming the Odds: High Risk from Birth to Adulthood, Cornell University Press, 1992.
21 starter ideas for role models for resilience
- Any full-time carer
- Any child who, from an early age and without ever wanting to, has had to adopt the role of auxiliary parent
- Ellen MacArthur. Self-taught sailor of small physical stature who holds world solo yachting records
- Ray Charles. Went blind at five shortly after watching his brother drown, orphaned in his teens and went on to become one of the world’s greatest musicians
- Ben Carson. Surgeon who specializes in separating co-joined twins, brought up by his mother in relative poverty in Boston
- Henri Charriere. Author of Papillon, survived a lifetime of solitary confinement
- Nelson Mandela. Emerged from 26 years of imprisonment to forgive his captors and lead his nation out of Apartheid.
- Ernest Shackleton. Polar explorer who conducted an epic journey across over 600 miles of open sea to rescue his crew
- Kelly Holmes. Spent all her athletic career bedeviled by injury to eventually win double gold at the Athens Olympics.
- Mary Seacole. A black nurse who went of her own volition to the Crimea in a period of Britain’s history when being a woman, black and a nurse was to have every odd stacked against you.
- Jonas Salk. Pioneering discoverer of the Polio vaccine who persisted until he perfected it
- Evelyn Glennie. International percussionist who went deaf at 10 years of age.
- Victor Frankl. Survivor of various concentration camps and author of a best selling book on survival.
- Helen Keller. Coped with profound disabilities to become an inspirational figure for others
- Jo Simpson. Survived a fall in the Andes which broke both his legs by crawling to safety.
- Maya Angelou. Best selling author, rejected by family and publishers alike
- The Dalai Lama. Spiritual leader in exile, Buddhist scholar
- Tanni Grey-Thompson. Paralympic gold medal winning athlete
- Muhammad Ali. Former world heavyweight champion boxer who suffers from Parkinsons disease
- Martin Luther King Jr Outspoken opponent of racial segregation who died for his views
- Steven Speilberg. Film director who from childhood developed a dream of making his own films
Plus - anyone in the front lineof public services who witnesses trauma or suffers abuse and gets on with it.
Outstanding again…
Congratulations to all those schools whose hard work was recognised in the publication of OFSTED’s Outstanding Schools list.*
Particular congratulations to all those schools with whom Alite has worked over the years – we counted nine in total – and to those which have been described as outstanding on more than one occasion. Gable Hall School in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, is one of the seven schools to be mentioned as outstanding a third time. Saint John the Baptist has been mentioned twice.
Gable Hall Head teacher, John King, comments that improving children's self-esteem was vital for success: "The area that we are in is pretty socially deprived. The key part of our job is raising children's aspirations. You have to show the children what's there to achieve and show them how to get through and support them." The school's 14-year-olds choose one of three "pathways" - vocational, technical or academic - which can be combined. The children should be involved at every stage in the running of their school.
They have to become engaged."
We feel particularly chuffed because both schools feature heavily in Close Up: Accelerated Learning in Secondary Schools the Alite DVD of good practice which we recently released. We cover five lessons - each with teacher analysis - and leadership interviews from the two schools.
For full details, please email hilary@alite.co.uk, or visit the alite website.
* …and congratulations to all those schools who work hard and don’t get on any lists! – ed
..and congratulations Mr T!
More congratulations due to Chris Tomlinson, aka ‘the Jamie Oliver of Maths’. Chris has recently been promoted to become Head Teacher at Chafford Hundred Campus in Essex.