Working with Youth at Risk

Some time ago, I trained as a volunteer coach with a charity called Youth at Risk.

Youth at Risk is a groundbreaking charity, dedicated to making a positive and lasting change to the lives of disaffected and vulnerable young people.

http://www.youthatrisk.org.uk/

To say that I found my training challenging, especially after years of working on my own as a freelance writer and journalist, would be an understatement. However, the experience of being taken so rigorously outside my comfort zone stood me in good stead when it came to working with the students on the charity's Coaching for Success programme. I knew exactly how they felt when being challenged in this new way! And it was really exciting to watch their "light bulb moments" as the issues that they were struggling with clarified, and they started to identify some of the habits and attitudes that were getting in the way of being able to make the most of their education.

These were bright, lively kids, but some of the choices they were making - always going into a reaction, rather than a response; adopting the sorts of "masks" and behaviours that prevented them making progress; constantly blaming others for their lack of success rather than taking responsibility for what they could do to make a difference; not allowing the possibility of engagement with anyone who might champion them and support their goals - it was riveting to watch the trainers open up areas of insight and self-awareness that created the possibility for some real, positive change.

Our job, as volunteer coaches, is to do the follow-up work. To make a commitment to regularly meet with the students to whom we are assigned, helping them identify their goals, and work out the steps necessary to make progress.

Small steps, big changes.

Sometimes it would mean working out homework schedules that would fit in with their domestic commitments. Sometimes it would be talking through handling anger, and the choices made in response to provocation - this was really important for some of the young men who could potentially make choices that might put their lives at risk. Sometimes it would mean helping to plan an approach to a not-very-interesting coursework assignment. Sometimes it would mean talking through a disciplinary incident at school, or a personality clash with a staff member or other pupil. Sometimes it was about the importance of eating breakfast - or, at least, a banana! Basically it was their agenda, but within the context of creating a more successful approach to reaching their goals.

There is no doubt, too, that all the students I have worked with have taught me a lot: never to make assumptions about what's behind their "mask"; never to assume that you know better than them about their lives; never to underestimate their ability to find a way in or out of a tricky situation! Or spontaneous acts of kindness, like offering me the last carton of fruit juice.

It's a two-way process, this learning thing, and that's what else we share.

http://www.youthatrisk.org.uk/

Jamie Oliver proved right...

The proportion of 11-year-olds in Greenwich, south London, who did well in English and science rose after Oliver swept "turkey twizzlers" and chicken dinosaurs off canteen menus in favour of creamy coconut fish and Mexican bean wraps, according to a study of results in the south east London borough.

The number of "authorised absences" — which are generally due to illness – fell by 15% in the wake of his 2004 Feed Me Better campaign, brought into the nation's sitting rooms via the Channel 4 series Jamie's School Dinners.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/29/jamie-oliver-school-dinners-meals

Finding flow...

We all are capable of reaching that state of effortless concentration and enjoyment called "flow." Here, the man who literally wrote the book on flow presents his most lucid account yet of how to experience this blissful state.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199707/finding-flow

The benefits of water

By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated – and this can affect your concentration.

Your brain is 80% water, and relies on being well hydrated for its connectivity – it works best when well lubricated! – and dehydration can reduce both concentration and mental performance.

Kids are particularly affected by this. A study carried out by paediatrician Dr Terry Brocklebank at Leeds University in the UK, in 2002, showed that children’s ability to do arithmetic was impaired even if they were only 1-2% dehydrated – which is not even enough to register a feeling of thirst.

Symptoms of poor hydration can include tiredness, headaches, reduced alertness and less ability to concentrate. Mental performance, including memory, attention and concentration, deteriorates progressively as the degree of dehydration increases.

So much so that, in 2008, the UK’s Expert Group on Hydration published their recommendations in a report, Drinking in Schools.

http://www.montgomeryspring.co.uk/pdf-downloads/Drinking-in-Schools.pdf

Recommended fluid intake is 1.5 to 2 litres a day. This doesn’t have to be just water, but bear in mind that some caffeinated fluids – coffee and colas – can have a diuretic effect, actually increasing your output.

So hit that tap, and drink a glass of water.

Can T'ai Chi help you concentrate?

Not only are external noises a distraction, but the internal “chatter” of our minds may be equally difficult to ignore or switch off.

What can we do to help concentration? How can we manage the internal noise of our thoughts, that may intrude on our ability to focus?

The art of anything takes study, observation and practice, but in the abstract this can be tricky. So it’s useful to consider activities that might help. Activities that utilise the mind/body connection to your advantage.

Focusing on any sort of physical activity – from digging the garden to swimming – forces you to use your brain to use your body, however automatically you think you are doing it. You can take this a step further by deliberately choosing a physical activity that is designed to create a mind/body link and also to extend the challenge.

Like T’ai Chi. Sometimes referred to as a “moving meditation” it takes study, observation and practice. What’s great is that it’s something you can do whatever your age – from three to 90 – there’s nothing to stop you working with a teacher, creating your own practice, and benefiting from the physical and mental rewards.

Physically, T’ai Chi improves muscle tone, co-ordination,flexibility, strength, circulation, blood pressure, and breathing. It is also a martial art, so this physical activity also focuses, sharpens and consequently quiets the mind – poised and ready for whatever it needs to do.

Clearing the slate, as it were, allowing your brain the chance to concentrate more easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa74hPHOHCM

Take a walk

It seems that the natural environment is good for your attention and memory, according to research published in Psychological Science. Carried out by professor of psychology and neuroscientist John Joindes, and graduate student Marc Berman, at the University of Michigan, they looked at the impact of urban and natural environments on the way our brains work.

A group of volunteers were tested for memory and attention. Then half were sent for a walk around town while the other group were sent for a walk around a nearby arboretum.

Then they tested their memory and attention again, and these tests showed a 20% improvement in those who had gone on the rural, rather than the urban, walk.

Why?

It has something to do with what's called Attention Restoration Theory. We all utilise two kinds of attention: directed attention is when we pay attention to something because we need to - like work, or school, or something else that takes a lot of concentration (we eventually tire, often lose focus, and need to take a break) - and involuntary attention, which captures your attention simply because it interests you.

“The idea behind the theory is that if you’re in an environment that’s rich with inherently interesting stimulation, it’s going to activate the involuntary attention and allow the directed attention to rest,” says Marc Berman.

But why doesn’t an equally interesting urban walk work?

"When you’re walking in an urban environment you need to be careful that you don’t get run over by a car,” says Professor Joindes. “You have to be careful that you don’t bump into somebody walking down the street."

In other words, when you walk through an urban environment, your brain is still in directed attention mode. You need to be vigilant. You can't allow your mind to wander, you need it to ensure your safety.

Freed from this by walking in a natural environment enables involuntary attention to kick in, which allows your mind to rest, says Berman. After this the brain works better because it's refreshed, so we are more able to concentrate, focus and retain information.

But what if you can’t go outside? The researchers did a second experiment where participants quietly looked at pictures - some looked at pictures of the natural environment, some looked at pictures of urban environments. As with the walks, when the pictures were of nature, scores went up, but volunteers who looked at pictures of urban scenes showed no improvement.

What can you do to help yourself?

· Bring nature inside – plants, flowers, pictures of rural scenes – surround yourself with views of nature

· Take a walk in the park – literally. If you live in a city, get off the pavement and walk amongst trees in the park

· In the summer, aim to spend more time outdoors – working, if possible, but socialising, eating and walking

· Outdoor exercise – forget the gym, walk in the outdoors, choosing rural or near-rural areas, take up gardening, or even nature photography

The Life Book... Concentrating on getting more out of life

Sometimes we make promises to ourselves about how we are going to rebalance and get more out of life...

Sometimes we need a little help.

The Life Book by Nina Grunfeld will help you do just that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf1p-UAnVwU