Roundtables

A Guideline for Social Action and Group Work with Children and Youth

On October 28, 2005 a Roundtable on Social Action and Group Work with Children and Youth was convened at North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center. The Roundtable was organized by the Long Island Institute for Group Work with Children and Youth (LIGW) In attendance were 25 group workers from across Long Island.

A goal of the Roundtable was to develop a guideline for social action and group work with children and youth; that is - some principles for helping kids to make waves. The following list is not exhaustive, rather a guideline to be added to and amended.

1. To take social action requires that group workers have a dual focus that takes into consideration the near things of individual change and the far things of social reform. This principle is derived from the earliest definition of social group work by Wilbur Newstetter. It suggests that groups have the ability to move from case to cause and to extend their reach beyond the group itself when done so thoughtfully.

2. Social action group work must be organized to help children and youth to develop critical thinking skills, make healthy decisions and become active participants in community affairs. Implicit in social action group work is to encourage children and youth to think critically about important issues. Making healthy decisions means being thoughtful, mindful, and planful - all important components in preparing oneself for active citizenship in later life.

3. Social action group work necessitates group members identifying meaningful issues and social problems that they believe in deeply. For example, one group organized a march against violence in their community after a murder that threatened spill over into further violence. Another group of children who had been abused created a coloring book to support other children who would have to go through the court system. And another group of teenage boys advocated for more humane bathroom conditions in their school. Each of these projects reflected meaningful issues and needs for the participants, rather than artificially imposed service projects.

4. Through social action group members learn that the process of social reform begins with small steps and accomplishments - one brick at a time. Small, modest steps to change are not easily tolerated by everyone. Children and youth can extend their frustration tolerance and broaden their vision by experiencing the natural progression of taking small steps that can lead to great change over time.

5. Recognize the participatory value in social action, the idea that when working towards change you do not have to go it alone and that there is strength in numbers. One youth group organized a door-to-door campaign to support the school budget. Their effort - a joining of forces with the greater community effort - paid off in the end as the budget passed.

6. Social action group work promotes social consciousness and social conscience in young people, as they learn to take a stand for the "greater good." An elementary school group from Oklahoma City provided some solace for children in New York who lost someone in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. They reached half-way across the U.S. by sending them teddy bears and various comforting items and messages to help soothe them during their period of grief. A group of high school students interested in preventing homophobia in area high schools created a traveling art exhibit of life size lockers sprayed with anti-gay grafitti to spread the word about the damage that anti-gay bias can do.

7. Social action helps children and youth to cultivate an understanding of "context" - that the problems and concerns that individuals experience are partly a consequence of the situation that one lives in whether far away or close to home and, therefore, also potential targets of change. Understanding context means broadening one's focus to see that the individual and situational surround (local or global) one lives in can be equally important targets of change.

8. Taking collective social action as a part of a group can be transformative and healing. Effective social action in a group can transform one's perception of him/herself from a sense of helplessness to becoming someone with the power to influence change and bring about healing. For example, a group of young people who created a quilt of remembrance for public display after a terrorist attack that took their fathers and mothers, took action in a very dramatic way that contributed to healing beyond the group itself.

9. Social action in group work necessitates taking a risk and hanging in for the long haul. Not all efforts are going to succeed. Learning from past mistakes is part of the process. If the idea of taking a calculated risk is discussed early on with the group, it reduces the likelihood that group members will lose drive and belief in the cause over the long haul. Supporting a cause means taking the risk that not all others will agree with your position, might oppose you, or will need more information to "see the light."

Making waves suggests that teenagers (and adults) have something to offer and have an interest in changing the world, whether it is the world with a big "W," as in fighting poverty, corporate greed, and school budget cuts; or the world with a small "w," as in coming to the aid of a friend or volunteering one's time for persons' in need. By helping teenagers to make waves we join them the battle for spiritual survival.

For further information on LIGW contact: Andrew Malekoff, Coordinator, Long Island Institute for Group Work with Children and Youth, North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center, 480 Old Westbury Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577.
email: amalekoff@northshorechildguidance.org