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Introduction to Asset Building
Making a Difference for Young People:
The Power of One
In this age of metal detectors, locker
searches and zero-tolerance policies, senior citizens armed with candy
aren’t what most people expect to see as they enter their local high
school. But that’s exactly what students in Worthington, Minnesota,
encounter every Thursday morning.
Bernice and Don Camery and the other adult greeters aren’t paid to be
there. And they aren’t under any obligation – other than their own sense
of responsibility. They are there because they know that their personal
acts make a powerful difference in the lives of young people. With their
simple but profound commitment to helping students feel welcome and
cared for in their school, these senior citizens are demonstrating what
Peter Benson calls, “the power of one” – the potential for one
individual to help, heal, support, challenge, or change the life of
another.
Benson is president of Search Institute, a non-profit organization that
studies and promotes strategies for the healthy development of children
and youth. On the basis of more than 40 years of research and surveys of
hundreds of thousands of young people, the organization has identified
40 experiences and qualities, know as developmental assets, that have a
tremendous positive influence on young people from all walks of life.
These assets form a foundation for positive, healthy development.
The asset concept is simple and based on common sense: young people need
positive external supports and internal strengths in order to succeed in
life. And, most important, they need people to help nurture these
assets.
Consider these examples from Search Institute of how people are acting
on their individual asset-building power: High school students spend
hundreds of volunteer hours working on a youth center that won’t even be
build until most of them have graduated; a star athlete nominates a
supportive, caring coach for the city’s Hidden Hero award, despite a
team season record of 1-14-1; a mayor leads a successful campaign to
include teenagers as voting members on all city commissions and boards;
a school bus driver learns the names of every one of her riders; a
fast-food restaurant manager includes training on peer leadership as
part of new-employee orientation; a single, professional woman mentors a
teen whose family life is fraught with alcoholism, abuse, and neglect.
Search Institute has studied and promoted the developmental assets for
many years. More recently, the organization has broadened its focus to
examining how entire communities can be transformed into asset-building
networks for young people.
Imagine a few hours in the life of a teenager in a community that is
truly committed to asset building: The day would start with a healthy
breakfast with one or more family members. The newspaper delivered that
morning would have a front-page story about a new youth-run,
adult-supported youth center opening up downtown. School would start at
9:00am, because the district would be paying attention to research on
adolescent sleep patterns. The parental figure in the family would be
home until the bus comes because his or her employer would recognize the
importance of family-friendly policies, including flexible scheduling.
The bus driver would smile and greet the student by name; other riders
would also smile and offer to share a seat. Once at school, the young
person would see a clean, brightly decorated building and friendly faces
in the hall. The student would finally settle in to the first class of
the day with a teacher who was well funded, supported by colleagues,
supervisors, and students, and passionate about the subject he or she
taught.
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But is this fictional teen living in a
dream world that can never be real? Can some variation of this become
the norm for more than just a few lucky youth?
It would be naïve and self-defeating to think that it’s possible to
create a “perfect world” for children and youth. And asset building
really isn’t about perfection. It’s about facilitating and helping to
nurture the opportunities, skills, relationships, values and
self-perceptions that all young people need and deserve. That foundation
of strengths will then help them navigate and thrive in a world that
certainly isn’t perfect.
Nationwide there are over 600 communities that are using the framework
of developmental assets to help them think about how they can make their
towns and cities better places for children and youth to live and grow.
Like Worthington, these communities are part of a national movement
known as Healthy Communities * Healthy Youth. Each community has its own
approach to bringing together all sectors (business, schools,
congregations, families and so on) to support and nurture children and
youth.
In the Asset Approach, Search Institute likens asset building to
exercising one’s right to vote: “It’s important, it’s powerful, it can
be done after a lot of deliberation or on the spot, and it’s your power
– no one can do it for you.” Asset building is also like voting in that
one’s personal impact is magnified if other like-minded people act on
their power as well.
To help people think about the range of possible asset-building acts,
the institute has outlined these six principles:
- Everyone can build assets.
Building assets isn’t just about great families or schools or
neighborhoods. It is about each person playing a role in the raising
of our children.
- All youth people need assets.
While it is crucial to pay special attention to youth who struggle –
economically, emotionally, or otherwise – nearly all young people
need more assets than they have.
- Relationships are key. Strong
relationships between adults and young people, young people and
their peers, and teenagers and children are central to asset
building.
- Asset building is an ongoing
process. Building assets starts when a child is born and
continues through high school and beyond.
- Consistent messages are
important. It is critical for families, schools, communities,
the media and others to give all young people consistent and similar
messages about what is important and what is expected of them.
- Intentional redundancy is
important. Assets must be continually reinforced across the
years and in all areas of a young person’s life.
More specifically, Search Institute
offers the following suggestions for action:
What Young People Can Do to Build
Their Own Assets
- Talk about the 40 developmental
assets with your family. Which assets do family members think are
the strongest in your family? Which need the most work?
- Write a note to or call one of your
main asset builders. Thank her or him for making a difference in
your life.
- Ask one of your parents or other
relatives to introduce you to neighbors you don’t know.
- Volunteer to help a neighbor with
babysitting or chores around the home (such as yard work or
cleaning).
- Stay in school and come to class
prepared (homework done, pens and paper for taking notes, and so
on).
- Participate in at least one club,
group, or sport – or find something creative that appeals to you,
like acting or music.
What Adults Can Do to Build Assets for
and with Young People
- Send a friendly note to a young
relative or friend, just to say, “You’re on my mind.”
- Take time to hang out with the young
people in your neighborhood. Encourage them to talk and then listen
to what they have to say.
- Let neighbor youth know when their
behavior is inappropriate or out of founds – and when they’re doing
something right!
- Donate a used instrument to a school
band.
- Volunteer in a school or other
youth-serving organization.
- Build at least one informal,
ongoing, caring relationship with a child or adolescent.
What Anyone Can Do to Build Assets
- Learn more about the assets by
checking out the Search Institute’s Website at
www.search-institute.org
- Write letters or make phone calls to
local media encouraging positive coverage of children and youth.
- Treat people of all ages with
respect and courtesy; expect others to treat you with respect and
courtesy.
- Thank a teacher, youth worker, or
anyone else who volunteers or works with young people.
For more information about developmental
assets and how building assets helps young people visit
www.search-institute.org.
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