Keys to Quality Youth Development

Table of Contents
8. Youth Expand Their Capacity To Enjoy LIfe And Know That Success Is Possible
Premise
Youth are offered new experiences and opportunities to enjoy life. They learn and grow from successes and failures.
Building a Foundation Social Competencies Personal life skills are essential to positive youth development. The Search Institute identifies important examples: Planning and decision-making - Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices. Interpersonal competence - Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills. Cultural competence - Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural, racial, or ethnic backgrounds. Resistance skills - Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations. Peaceful conflict resolution - Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.	Selecting Outcomes What will be done in your program to make sure youth - have fun and laugh? excel and have an opportunity to be recognized? set goals and work toward their goals? think about life plans and their future? develop hobbies and leisure interests? take healthy risks?
Identifying Practices
Include time for informal interaction with peers. Plan activities that offer adventure and fun. Seek out opportunities that identify special and individual qualities in each youth. Celebrate both successes and failures. Provide a balance of work-time and play-time. Involve youth in planning, implementation, and evaluation. Use brainstorming to generate new and exciting alternatives. Be willing to change.
How It Works    Sean saw TV news clips about an outdoors adventure program at an area camp. Sean wished he could take part in such an exciting adventure, but he knew his parents couldn’t afford to send him.    One day he mentioned to the school counselor his love for the outdoors and referred to the camp he had seen on TV. The counselor knew of a work program available at the camp. Sean applied and was accepted.    The camp director appreciated Sean’s willingness to work and his sense of adventure. Sean was willing to take risks, get up from falls, and try again. He wanted to sail and through hard work and a lot of hands-on learning, he became a member of the Sea Filly sailing team. At the camp’s annual sailing regatta, Sea Filly was one of seven boats to finish the race. The whole camp was on hand to cheer on the teams as they sailed across the finish line.	Things To Think About Set goals with youth that are challenging, yet achievable. Age-appropriate challenges make success possible. Encourage youth to enjoy life by exploring hobbies and leisure activities. Use the media to recognize youth. Inform parents of accomplishments. Use badges, certificates, and other special items to congratulate youth. Provide youth opportunities to assess setbacks and to learn from them. Help youth identify and make changes to make success possible. Words Of Wisdom "Although community programs should address the serious concerns of today's young people, they should also respond to adolescents' desire for fun and friends." A Matter of Time, p. 79.
Questions For Youth
Describe a successful experience you or your group had.    How did you celebrate that success?    How were you recognized for your accomplishments? Tell us about an experience that was new to you. Will you do it again? Give an example of a something that didn’t go as planned. What did you learn from that experience? What will you do differently next time?
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