Empowerment and Teen Power

HAPPY APRIL EVERYONE!!!!

It's hard to believe that it's actually April and that my time at Not My Kid is beginning to come to a close. But before I give you some super interesting results, I promised I would update you all on my week off in Washington DC.

Last week I had the honor of attending the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) Policy Conference in Washington DC, joined by 4,000 other students and 18,000 attendees. Perhaps what is most special about the work the AIPAC does, is that it is committed to being bipartisan. What does this translate to? a very diverse group of individuals joining to fight for one cause. Especially in such a heated political season, there's a lot to be said about the power of unity.

What it looks like to have 18,000 passionate people in one room. 

The three days in DC were spent going from session to session, learning about topics (such as the Iran deal, the Syrian Civil, and the role of women in US-Israel relations), hearing a myriad of speeches, lobbying our congressmen, and embracing in conversation-- the thing that truly shaped the meaning of the conference. Each person there was not only eager but willing to join in conversation on they believe we can ensure Israel's safety. And each person had a different view of how it can happen. Yet, unlike so many conversations we see today, these characterizing conversations were all united by one goal. It was this mutual goal that pushed a group of teens and I to engage in conversation on how we would react to Donald Trumps speech at the conference. It was this mutual goal that allowed us to approach our congressmen on capitol hill with confidence. And it was this mutual goal that turned what would have been a political fiasco of protest and argument elsewhere into a truly inspiring and motivating three days.

Meeting and Lobbying Congressman David Schweikert

Throughout the conference, my friends and I had the pleasure of always surprising people with our presence there as high school students (as we were the minority among the college students). So often we heard words along the lines of "oh it's so important for the youth to be here", "you are our future", and "it's so special that you all care!". Whether it came from genuine appreciation or shock that we weren't a "typical rebellious teenager", it says a lot when older generations are willing to unite with teens as well for a cause. I couldn't help but be reminded of the big picture of Not My Kid: empowerment. Just like my involvement with the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) has empowered me and given me opportunities such as attending the AIPAC conference, and just as AIPAC empowered every one of those 18,000 people with its strength through unity, Not My Kid works to empower teens to make healthy life choices. Not by talking down at them, not by yelling at them, but by showing them why these choices are important and by putting power in their own hands. And, when looking at the results of my research, it makes perfect sense that all of the results come back to empowerment. 

A couple weeks ago I mentioned a pattern I started to notice with the presence of staff support from the school and the presentations success. If you recall, I explained that the presentations ran incredibly more successfully when the school's administration, staff, and/or teachers made it a priority by 1)framing the presentation in a respectful way, 2)explaining the importance of the presentation without reprimanding the students or making them feeling (eg not saying "I know we've had these issues so you all better listen up!!!"), and 3)remaining in the room to set an example and to enforce respect. In other words, when the school is committed to empowering their students and setting them and our presentations up for success, the students were more respectful, understood the reason behind the presentations, and were more affected by the presentation. The primary data collected from observations clearly showed this pattern, and so did the secondary data. Take a look:

	Average comfort in taking issue to an adult on a scale from 1 to 5
presence of staff	staff support present	staff support not present
	3.83	3.646667
	3.95	3.775934
	3.818	4
	3.53	3.76
	4	3.85
	4	2.8285
	3.69
	3.89
	3.69
	3.419355
average	3.7817355	3.643516833

Students reported being more comfortable talking to an adult about the presentations topic (Substance abuse, suicide/depression, bullying, healthy relationships, internet safety, or body image).

	%plan to use at least 1 skill
presence of staff	staff support present	staff support not present
	0.9433962264	0.8466666667
	0.8181818182	0.9004149378
	0.9090909091	0.7333333333
	0.8571428571	0.8913043478
	0.7179487179	0.9
	0.7636363636	0.6571428571
	0.7272727273
	0.9468085106
	0.8117647059
	0.7419354839
average	0.823717832	0.8214770238

% of students who reported they plan to use at least 1 skill learned during the presentation.

	% can use voice to ask for help
presence of staff	staff support present	staff support not present
	0.8867924528	0.8466666667
	0.9090909091	0.887966805
	0.8484848485	0.8666666667
	0.9285714286	0.8260869565
	0.9230769231	0.9
	0.9215686275	0.7428571429
	0.8545454545
	0.9574468085
	0.8117647059
	0.7258064516
average	0.876714861	0.8450407063

% of students who reported they believe they can use their voice to ask for help.

	%using resources
presence of staff	staff support present	staff support not present
	0.8490566038	0.7333333333
	0.8068181818	0.867219917
	0.7878787879	0.7
	0.75	0.7934782609
	0.8717948718	0.925
	0.8235294118	0.7142857143
	0.7636363636
	0.8829787234
	0.7529411765
	0.7580645161
average	0.8046698637	0.7888862043

% of students who reported that they would feel comfortable using at least one of the resources given in the presentation.

	%think topic important
presence of staff	staff support present	staff support not present
	0.9811320755	0.88
	0.9772727273	0.9253112033
	0.9393939394	1
	1	0.8804347826
	0.9743589744	0.95
	0.9607843137	0.8571428571
	0.8909090909
	0.9468085106
	0.8470588235
	0.9193548387
average	0.9437073294	0.9154814738

% of students who reported they think the topic is important.

Consistently, students who attended presentations that were clearly supported by the school's staff reported more often that they thought the topic was important, that they feel comfortable asking for help, and that they feel comfortable using new resources. And, even if it seems that the difference is represented by a seemingly insignificant number, these percentage differences are truly significant in that they are consistent despite all other factors. Students got more out of the presentation when their administrators, staff, and teachers believed that they could. Because the school showed the students that they cared,  the students were empowered to care as well. 

The thing one has to remember about working with teens, is that often people assume the worst in us. When an school, a youth movement, a role model, or an organization like Not My Kid comes in and shows teens that they're not here to assume the worst, doors fly open with positive possibilities and opportunities.

Whether it's bringing a student like me into passionate conversations or settings as I experience last week in DC, or treating students with the utmost respect in approach to prevention methods, empowerment works.

Looking forward to sharing even more results,
Shir