| Manuals
and Guides: Youth
Making
the Rules
A Public Achievement Guidebook
for
Young People Who Intend to Make a Difference, continued
by Melissa
Bass, in collaboration with Harry Boyte, Tim Sheldon, Walter Enloe,
Jamie Martinez, Ginger Mitchell, Rachel Boyte-Evans, Project Public
Life, and The Center for Democracy and Citizenship.
Manual
Index
Introduction:
How To Use This Workbook
Chapter One: The Framework
Chapter Two: Discovering Your Self-Interest
Chapter Three: Stepping into Public Life
Chapter Four: Encountering Diversity
Chapter Five: Building Power
Chapter Six: Taking Action
Resources
Contents
Chapter
Four: Encountering Diversity
The
Story: Making Differences Count
The Lesson: Seeing Other People's Self-Interest
Public Skill: Listening
Exercises:
Getting
It Right
The Un-Common Denominator
Five Things You Are
When Diversity Hurts
Wrap-Up:
Looking Back on Your Work
Chapter
Four: Encountering Diversity
When you enter public
life, you encounter diversity—the
range of differences that people bring to defining and solving
public problems. This section introduces the skills of interviewing
and listening in order to learn from people who are different
from you. See the glossary at the back of this book for definitions
of words related to diversity.
The
Story: Making Differences Count
Tiana Hampton-Newbauer
is tired of hearing people say, "Young people can make a difference."
She says, "Well, start letting them!"
She's one of two
young staffers of the Minneapolis Youth Organization, a program
out of the mayor's office that has put a legion of the city's
and surrounding suburbs' diverse young people to work as community
resources. One group of teenagers led an AIDS-awareness discussion
among fourth and fifth-graders in Minneapolis schools, tapping
into the perspectives of a gay among the group.
When the Minneapolis
City Council was considering building a youth recreation center
to address rising violence among young people hanging out downtown,
MYO members started a petition in support of the idea. The front
of a t-shirt hanging in the MYO office reads "I'm part of the
downtown youth problem . . ." On the back it says, ". . . and
its solution."
When people call
asking for a teen to give "a young person's point of view" at
a conference or meeting, MYO sends a crowd. "We don't want to
send a token kid, which is what they want," Tiana explains. "If
we want to have a voice, we've got to send numbers." It's a reminder,
too, that young people are too diverse for one to be representative
of all.
MYO plans and sponsors
events that help young people handle and make use of the diversity
in the metro area. A "Unity Jam" featured speakers on prejudice
and a dance party with many different styles of music. A weekend
camp to discuss racial issues had a speaker on black history,
a simulation of the Underground Railroad—and
a big turnout of young African-Americans.
Tiana says that young
people learn in situations where they're side by side, exchanging
information about their lives. "You see how different you all
are in how you grew up, in your expectations, in the kinds of
knowledge you have. You recognize that everybody has different
problems; divorce, for example . . . Schools just aren't places
where you talk enough about who you are to do self-identification."
There's plenty of
room for young people with ideas, she says. "Youth has become
a big issue for people in political office. But this society needs
to start using youth not for marketing, but to know what's going
on. New roles are being found, and the potential is already there—we
just need to realize it."
A big part of what
MYO does is to help young people view themselves as part of the
broad public diversity of the area. Young people are all different
from one another, but they're also becoming more active participants
in communities that have different genders, cultures, classes—and
ages—of
people with things to offer.
The
Lesson: Seeing Other People's Self-Interest
You have to have everyone's
ideas, so you could have a good idea. We have to work together in
order to succeed.
- Say
Vongsay, 6th grade Public Achievement team member
Washington Technology Magnet
When was the first
time you noticed you were different? Or, when was the first time
you remember seeing different people? How did it feel to be different?
Was it scary, awkward, difficult?
Living a public life
is about working with differences—different
people, viewpoints and ideas. It can be difficult, but it can
also be exciting and fun. Most important, the many differences
that exist in public life can be a rich source of solutions to
many of the complex problems we face.
If you try to solve
problems by working only with people who are like you, it is a
little like starting a band with four drummers—it
limits the tunes you can play. Working with differences is like
creating an entire orchestra that is versatile enough to play
pop, jazz, classical, or rap.
To act effectively
in public requires learning to listen and learning to see other
people's self-interest. And it means learning that differences
can give answers to some very difficult problems. When people
discuss their ideas together and develop actions based on many
points of view, they tap into a collective "wisdom" that is greater
than any one person acting alone.
Whoa!
Do you agree with
this description of being in public?
Do you think that diversity is a strength when solving problems?
Or does it create more problems than it's worth? Why?
Public
Skill: Listening
Interviewing
for Self-Interest
In a diverse society,
the ones who can listen learn the most. Since we don't think of
other people's perspectives automatically, skills of active listening
and interviewing to discover self-interest are important.
People who listen
well are seldom appreciated in this society. Television—a
one-way street—is
a strong force in the U.S., and value is placed on talking and
passive listening. The office secretary who takes the minutes
at a meeting is not valued, yet whatever he or she reports afterward
will be the official account of what happened. The best part about
listening well is that nobody can have a monopoly over it. Anyone
can be an active listener by using these tips.
Tips
for Active Listening
Ask
direct questions: That
way the talker will tell you what is important to her.
Avoid
asking "yes or no" questions:
They are too quick and you don't learn much. Or if you
do ask them, follow them up with "why?"
Listen:
Build on what your interviewee has already said. This involves
paying attention to what's said. Actually, an interviewee who
feels "listened to" is likely to talk more than someone who feels
ignored.
Ask
questions: Don't allow too much empty time—ask
questions to keep the conversation flowing. Your interviewee should
still be talking more than you, so resist launching into long
stories about yourself.
Check
that you understand: Clarify what the talker is saying
by restating what you've heard and asking if you've got it right.
Keep
it public: Interviewing to discover self-interest is
a good exercise in finding out where public information ends and
private information begins. Of course, it's different for everybody.
If you ask a question that's too personal, your interviewee will
probably tell you. Don't push it.
Report
back to the group: There's no point in having a history
if you don't share it. When reporting to the group, report what
IS. Don't hesitate to report things you don't agree with, but
also, don't criticize. Just report.
Reality
Check Time!
Do you think this
section treats listening as a skill that's more important than
it really is? After all, we all listen, don't we?
Exercises
Getting
It Right
The
Un-Common Denominator
Five
Things You Are
When
Diversity Hurts
Getting
It Right
This
exercise asks you: To practice really listening. To
discuss and disagree without getting to a personal or damaging
level.
It
relates to citizen politics because: In public life,
it's important to understand what's being said, even if it doesn't
match your expectations. In public arenas, it is important to
learn how to argue rather than quarrel. Learning to resolve conflicts
in a public way comes from listening and working with the self-interest
of others as well as yourself.
Instructions:
Small
groups: Get into groups of three. One person states
her or his views on a controversial subject for about three minutes
(some suggestions are below). The second person listens, then
summarizes what was said. The third person evaluates the second
person's listening skills to see how close the summary came to
what the third person heard. Switch off so everyone in the group
has a chance to play each role. Each person can speak on the same
issue, or choose another. Time limit: 10 minutes per combination
(30 minutes total.)
Whole
group: Discuss the follow-up questions. Time limit:
10 minutes.
Sample
issues:
- What should we
do about kids who deal drugs?
- Should there be
mandatory community service for young people?
- How do you feel
about marriages between people under the age of 19?
- What do you think
about capital punishment?
- What do you think
about the minimum age for drinking and the minimum age for driving?
Tips
for coaches/group facilitators:
When working with
a group of younger team members, you may have to brainstorm issues
with which they are more familiar. Take your cue from the young
people.
Follow-up
questions:
1. Were there conflicts
between people's public and private views? How could you tell?
2. Did stories that
people told from their own experience give them more authority,
or did they weakened people's arguments? Did it depend on how
they told the story?
3. Can someone who
didn't actually put the ideas together say what "actually" got
said? Or are people's own interpretations the only thing that
can come from a summary?
The
Un-Common Denominator
This
exercise asks you: To use interviewing in order to
find differences.
It
relates to citizen politics because: Interviewing is
a great way to make sure you're listening—the
key to identifying and using diversity. It is also an important
skill for understanding why people you work with say and act as
they do. It is an essential skill for finding out how and why
someone's self-interest has brought them to the public arena.
Instructions:
Small
groups: Pair up in a way that matches people who are
as different as possible. If there are age or racial differences
in the group, take advantage of these by mixing people around.
If there are differences in academic interest or political lean,
mix these people up.
Interview each other
and find as many differences as you can in how you view things.
After all, it's only in relation to someone else that you can
see how different you are. What music do you like? What makes
you angry? What places would you like to visit? How do you spend
your time? Where were you born? What is your favorite or least
favorite subject at school?
Remember, these are
public interviews. You want to find out what is important to them
and how they are different from you, but don't dig for private
secrets.
Time
limit: 20 minutes—10
minutes per person.
Whole
group: When you have both interviewed one another,
introduce one another to the whole group. Comment on what differences
you've discovered. Time limit: 2 minutes per person.
Whole
group: Discuss the follow-up questions. Time limit:
10 minutes.
Follow-up
questions:
1. How did it feel
like to be interviewed?
2. What did you learn?
Is there more diversity in your group than you thought?
3. How can you use
what you've learned to help solve your team's problem?
Five
Things You Are
This
exercise helps you: Identify the diversity within yourself
and imagine what others see when they look at you.
It
relates to citizen politics because: We use ourselves
to compare others, so we rarely think of ourselves as being the
ones who are different. This change of perspective is necessary
if we plan to work together using diversity.
Instructions:
Individuals:
Complete the activity and questions below individually.
Time
limit: 10 minutes.
Whole
group: Then as a group, write the answers on a black
board. Discuss the ways in which the answers vary and what they
tell you about diversity. Time limit: 20 minutes.
Activity:
Finish the sentence
"I am a(n)______________" five times. Use single words only. (Examples:
"soprano," "Korean-American," "athlete," "Republican," "brother.")
1. ______________________ 2. _________________________
3. ______________________ 4. _________________________
5. ______________________
How many of the things
you listed above would be visible to someone who was meeting you
for the first time?
What does that tell
you about getting to know somebody? Can you "judge a book by its
cover"?
When
Diversity Hurts
This
exercise asks you:
To think about why some people feel threatened by those who are
different, and to explore your own views about diversity.
It
relates to citizen politics because: Not everyone understands
the value of differences, and their fear can sometimes keep them
from fully participating in public problem-solving. Seeing the
world through their eyes will help you to communicate with them,
educate them if possible, and to work with them better.
Instructions:
Individuals:
Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions below.
(The exercise continues on the next page.) Time limit: 15 minutes.
Whole
group: Discuss your answers as a group. See if you
can find out why people in your group feel as they do. Time limit:
20 minutes.
1. The United States
can be thought of as a kind of patchwork quilt because of all
the different cultures that have migrated here and found a place
for themselves in public life. As a country, we're proud of our
reputation for diversity and in theory, we appreciate it.
But in practice,
the diversity of public life is tricky to manage. It's scary for
many people, and they react to it in an emotional way. For example,
many states with large non-English-speaking populations have created
laws making English the official language. Usually that means
that tax money won't be spent on things like bilingual road signs
or bilingual education.
Why do you think
the states are making these laws? Do you agree or disagree with
the states' decisions? Why or why not?
2. Some other examples
might be the stereotypes people in the north of the U.S. might
have about people in the south, or the midwest about the west
coast, and vice versa. Or the tensions between rural and city
people. Or among people of different cultural and racial groups:
European, African-American, Latino, Native American, or Asian-American,
for example.
Think back to our
definitions of public and private, and what people get out of
each. In all of these cases of bias, what do you think the relationship
is between people's private needs and their public actions? What
do you think of the idea that people get frightened because they're
mistaking public and private, and are afraid that they won't be
accepted unconditionally, as they are at home with friends and
family?
3. Make a list of
times when you felt uncomfortable in situations involving people
who were different from you. How did you react? Would you still
feel—and
react—the
same way today?
WRAP-UP:
Looking Back on Your Work
Individually or in a
group, discuss these questions on Chapter Four: "Encountering Diversity."
Remember, we'd like to hear from you!
1. What did you learn?
2. What did you like
about this section? What didn't you like?
3. What was useful
about the section? What wasn't?
4. Were there other
things about diversity that you discovered that weren't covered
in this book?
5. What did you learn
that you could use in solving problems/tackling your team's project?
6. What recommendations
or ideas do you have to improve this section?
Manual
Index
Introduction:
How To Use This Workbook
Chapter One: The Framework
Chapter Two: Discovering Your Self-Interest
Chapter Three: Stepping into Public Life
Chapter Four: Encountering Diversity
Chapter Five: Building Power
Chapter Six: Taking Action
Resources
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