Please use the following as a discussion guide to maximize the use of the short film here, which can serve as a tool for teachers and school staff members to better understand students’ experiences of youth empowerment.
The story told in the film is an example of students’ challenges, successes and obstacles as agents of positive change at their school. The film is not intended to demonstrate an ideal model or template for teachers or schools regarding youth empowerment in a school setting.
Description
Students and their teacher describe a school initiative to mobilize students in supporting their peers who are sitting alone.
Message
The positive impact of young people using their voice and their power to support one another.
Issues
- Negative consequences of social isolation for young people
- Power of bystanders and witnesses to make a difference for those who are isolated
- Value of compassion
- Importance of adult support in enabling students to take action
- Need for digging deeper when reflecting on inequity in schools
- Importance of listening to students’ voices, including those that are different
- Connections between health, equity issues and character development
Strategies
- Being guided by our students’ passions and ideas when developing projects and initiatives
- Listening to students’ voices and believing in their wisdom and capacity
- Cultivating students’ caring about and for their peers, especially those who are most vulnerable
- Placing a high value on compassion and weaving it into classroom and school projects and activities
- Recognizing and fostering the power of those who have experienced bullying and other forms of violence
- Recognizing and fostering all forms of leadership among students, including those students who are quieter
- Facilitating the creation of practical strategies to help students put their ideas and interests into action
- Mobilizing students throughout the school to create a positive shift in whole school culture
- Building character development and equity issues into all facets of the curriculum
Questions for Group Discussion
- What are some of the messages this story offers?
- What elements of this project enhanced its impact and increased its success?
- What role do peer relationships play in enhancing students’ well-being?
- How can teachers and school staff elicit students’ voices and place them at the centre of school and classroom activities?
- What are other strategies to facilitate collective empowerment among students?
- What connections can be made between the health curriculum, character development and equity issues?