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Community Bridges is important to girls because...
"...young girls can develop positive self-images, experience a supportive community of peers and role models, and learn skills to help them succeed now as well as in the future." |
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Frequently Asked Questions | Child Development | Learn More
Information for Parents & Guardians on Child Development
Popular Education: The Foundation of Community Bridges
By Alex Desautels, Former Elementary Program Leader
In his native Brazil, Paolo Friere was imprisoned and exiled for teaching peasants how to read. His method, what is often referred to as Popular Education, threatened his oppressive government because the newly literate people of Brazil came to recognize that they were being dehumanized.
Friere’s educational process opened a space for discussion on what needed to be done to change an oppressive situation, and to plan a course of action.
Popular Education methodology is thought to be effective because it moves away from passive learning to interactive learning and mutual exchange of information. In passive education, it is assumed that the teacher knows everything about a given subject, and the students are empty banks into which information can be dumped – what Friere calls “the banking method.” The roles in this type of learning are presented as “teacher-of-the-students and students-of-the-teacher.”
Popular Education, on the other hand, assumes that both students and teachers can learn from each other. This method assumes that students have a base of knowledge through their own experiences and preconceived notions, and that they are not simply empty vessels waiting to be filled.
In the Popular Education method, the teacher/facilitator recognizes the person’s or group’s current knowledge and builds upon it. Friere represents the roles in this type of learning as “teacher-student and students-teachers.”
At Community Bridges, we believe in the potential intelligence and knowledge of every girl. Our program leaders act as guides to facilitate a group learning process, where the girls feel safe to share their experiences, to trust, and to learn from one another. We use a Popular Education methodology to create a dialogue between students and teachers. We spend the year getting to know the students in depth, in order to facilitate the group’s process of changing oppressive situations.
An outstanding example of our success with the Popular Education methodology is with a former 8th-grade group – a very quiet, reserved, and passive group at the outset. Over the course of the year, the girls decided to create a film about a social issue that was of concern to them. It was very hard for some of them to speak above a whisper, let alone appear in a film.
However, they worked all year long, through team-building activities and dialogue, to build their confidence and voice. Through extensive discussion, the group decided that sexism in the home was a common experience that they all felt strongly about changing.
By spring, they had been transformed into serious playwrights and actresses. They showed great commitment while being filmed by a professional camera operator in the performance of their play on sexism and inequality in gender roles. They used this film to educate their families, friends, and community. We saw tremendous growth in self-esteem and self-confidence in this group, which has now moved on to high school.
We can’t help but think that Paolo Friere would be proud.
Six Ways to Help Your Daughter Transition from Child to Adolescent
Most girls will grow up to be emotionally, mentally and physically healthy young adults. However, the transition from childhood to adolescence can require extra care and attention from parents and relatives. Here are six suggestions from professionals on how to provide your daughter with the support she needs.
1. Do your best to provide a safe home and community for your daughter, as well as nutritious meals, regular health check-ups, immunizations, and exercise.
2. Encourage your daughter to express her feelings; respect those feelings. Let your daughter know that every experiences pain, fear, anger, and anxiety. Try to learn the source of these feelings. Help your daughter express anger positively, without resorting to violence.
3. Promote mutual respect and trust. Keep your voice level down. Listen to your daughter. Use words and examples your daughter can understand. Encourage questions. Provide comfort and assurance. Be honest. Focus on the positives. Express your willingness to talk about any subject.
4. Encourage your daughter. Celebrate your daughter. Help your daughter deal with life. Discipline constructively, fairly and consistently. (Discipline is a form of teaching, not physical punishment.) All children and families are different; learn what is effective for your daughter. Show approval for positive behaviors. Help your daughter learn from her mistakes.
5. Love unconditionally. Teach the value of apologies, cooperation, patience, forgiveness, and consideration for others.
6. Most importantly, do not expect to be perfect. Parenting is a difficult job!
Source: The Girl Power! Campaign, under the leadership of the Center for Substance Abuse prevention and the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.