Assets Program

Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence For the Children of our World:

Bridging the Intergenerational Gap with Developmental Assets.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
— Margaret Mead
 

World Peace

So often we see an attempt to establish programs that will—in and of themselves—create world peace. This is a big picture, world peace.  Can it be that a large part of the path to peace lies in the simplest part of our lives—caring for our children? Whose responsibility is it to care for our youth? Who should be making sure that the young people of our world grow up to be healthy, caring, and responsible adults? If I am not a parent, teacher, minister, or youth worker, how do I support young people in leading thriving lives? What can I, one person, do anyway?

I believe that we all know the answers to these questions simply by looking at the very last one, What can I do anyway? and remembering back to that one person in our own life that did make an incredible difference. Often this person is a teacher or youth minister, but many, many times this person is a neighbor or the aunt or uncle of a friend, or some guy from church, or the lady who lives in the yellow house next door to the fire station.

What did this one person do to make a difference in your life? Perhaps they ‘saw you’ at your deepest level and acknowledged this part of you. Maybe they recognized the dancer in you—or the musician, artist, scientist, poet, cartoonist, or athlete. Not because they wanted anything from you, just because they took the time and had the awareness to really see you.

During this day and age of constant change, where the speed of the fastest modem will likely have doubled by the time this publication runs the press, our young people are having fewer and fewer of these meaningful relationships in their lives. We are living in a time where the vast majority of our youth are experiencing a societal-disconnect —a sort of isolation from life itself. Most young people in our culture do not feel a meaningful connection to our nation, to their state, to their city or town. Many, many young people feel little or no connection within their community or their school. And, many youth even feel disconnected from their family units. This social-disconnect can lead to a feeling of unimportance, lack of personal value, and hopelessness which can make a person’s future seem irrelevant. With a "futureless-future," some youth do not see the importance of developing character, of living with integrity, or even of experiencing their own emotions. This can lead to the belief that since the future seems so bleak it is okay to follow whatever urges arise without any consideration for self or others.

We are not in need of a new program for our youth!

We are in need of a cultural shift—of a new paradigm for relating across the generational lines.

Developmental Asset Building is a structure that can allow youth to develop meaningful relationships with adults as we take steps toward shifting our cultural paradigms from viewing youth as objects to actors; from an age segregated to intergenerational community; from self-interest to shared responsibility. Search Institute as surveyed tens of thousands of young people and adults across our nation and identified 40 key developmental assets which, when possessed, support young people in living meaningful, productive, healthy, and happy lives in harmony with others. With the foundation that has been laid with our Sadhana Peace Group work throughout the last year in alignment with our decade long commitment to creating a culture of peace and nonviolence for the youth of our world, we are spending this year 2002 with a focus on developing positive assets within our youth utilizing the foundational tools of Asset Building.
All are welcome to join us for this important work in our world as we begin first by working in our closest circles of influence—the direct relationships that we have in our families, neighborhoods, and here, in our spiritual community.

40 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS

SUPPORT

• Positive family communication: Young person and her or his parent(s) communicate positively, and young person is willing to seek advice and counsel from parent(s).
• Other adult relationships: Young person receives support from three or more non-parent adults.
• Caring neighborhood: Young person experiences caring neighbors.
• Caring school climate: School provides a caring, encouraging environment.
• Parent involvement in schooling: Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person succeed in school.

EMPOWERMENT

• Community values youth: Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
• Youth as resources: Young people are given useful roles in the community.
• Service to others: Young person serves in the community 1 hr/week.
• Safety: Young person feels safe at home, at school, and in the neighborhood.

BOUNDARIES & EXPECTATIONS

• Family boundaries: Family has clear rules and consequences, and monitors the young person's whereabouts.
• School boundaries: School provides clear rules and consequences.
• Neighborhood boundaries: Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people's behavior.
• Adult role models: Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.
• Positive peer influence: Youth’s best friends model responsible behavior.
• High expectations: Parent(s) and teachers encourage the youth to do well.

CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF TIME

• Creative activities: Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts.
• Youth programs: Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in community.
• Religious community: Young person spends one hour or more per week in activities in a religious institution.
• Time at home: Young person is out with friends "with nothing special to do" two or fewer nights per week.

COMMITMENT TO LEARNING

• Achievement motivation: Young person is motivated to do well in school.
• School engagement: Young person is actively engaged in learning.
• Homework: Young person reports doing at least 1 hour of homework every school day.
• Bonding to school: Young person cares about her or his school.
• Reading for pleasure: Young person reads for pleasure 3+ hours/week.

POSITIVE VALUES

• Caring: Young person places high value on helping other people.
• Equality and social justice: Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.
• Integrity: Young person acts on convictions & stands up for their beliefs.
• Honesty: Young person "tells the truth even when it is not easy."
• Responsibility: Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.
• Restraint: Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.

SOCIAL COMPETENCIES

• 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/ethnic backgrounds.
• Resistance skills: Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.
• Peaceful conflict resolution: Youth seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.
   
  POSITIVE IDENTITY
• Personal power: Young person feels he or she has control over "things that happen to me."
• Self-esteem: Young person reports having a high self-esteem.
• Sense of purpose: Young person reports that "my life has a purpose."
• Positive view of personal future: Young person is optimistic about her or his personal future.

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