Comments on: A Quiet, Thoughtful Afternoon in Mexico http://www.birthofamovement.org/a-quiet-thoughtful-afternoon-in-mexico Birth of a Movement: Entreprenuers Striving to Change the World Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:38:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rita http://www.birthofamovement.org/a-quiet-thoughtful-afternoon-in-mexico/comment-page-1#comment-131 Rita Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:18:48 +0000 http://www.birthofamovement.org/?p=324#comment-131 Diane, Hi I have had Maya's book for a while (we share a publisher) and she and I have talked a couple of times. Your instincts are very much on target. I will definitely recommend it on our site. I might even talk about it here. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I'll get her to write something here. Hmmm. It would serve both of us. Diane, Hi I have had Maya’s book for a while (we share a publisher) and she and I have talked a couple of times. Your instincts are very much on target. I will definitely recommend it on our site. I might even talk about it here. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I’ll get her to write something here. Hmmm. It would serve both of us.

]]> By: diane http://www.birthofamovement.org/a-quiet-thoughtful-afternoon-in-mexico/comment-page-1#comment-130 diane Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:36:43 +0000 http://www.birthofamovement.org/?p=324#comment-130 Rita, I would like to refer you to a new book, The New Global Student by Maya Frost. Although it is really a handbook for parents and students who want a "truly international education," I think it also has useful information about being a "student" in the world. There are lots of stories from students themselves about how they went about getting this education and what it meant to them. Rita, I would like to refer you to a new book, The New Global Student by Maya Frost. Although it is really a handbook for parents and students who want a “truly international education,” I think it also has useful information about being a “student” in the world. There are lots of stories from students themselves about how they went about getting this education and what it meant to them.

]]> By: Rita http://www.birthofamovement.org/a-quiet-thoughtful-afternoon-in-mexico/comment-page-1#comment-128 Rita Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:57:31 +0000 http://www.birthofamovement.org/?p=324#comment-128 Rose, I love your thinking and I would very much like to discuss some of your ideas. I'd like to call you over the weekend. Please e-mail me with your phone number and/or e-mail address. Thanks. Rita femalenomad@ritagoldengelman.com Rose, I love your thinking and I would very much like to discuss some of your ideas. I’d like to call you over the weekend. Please e-mail me with your phone number and/or e-mail address. Thanks.

Rita
femalenomad@ritagoldengelman.com

]]> By: Rose Gordon http://www.birthofamovement.org/a-quiet-thoughtful-afternoon-in-mexico/comment-page-1#comment-127 Rose Gordon Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:03:36 +0000 http://www.birthofamovement.org/?p=324#comment-127 I have some thoughts on this...maybe not completely aligned with your initial thinking...but maybe so! This is kind of long, but if i don't say it now, i probably won't get to it at all. so here goes... I am wondering if focusing on "the gap" years might be tweaked to be a bit larger in scope...gathering data on how travel and involvement in other cultures changes youth attitudes towards themselves, their community of orgin, their own lives and families, and their place in the world -- and how those shifts create better students, higher achievers etc. leading to better outcomes in college. I think there are arguments too, related to how youth travel, especially if it includes involvement with the lives of people in other countries, changes the outcomes of youth risk and resiliency assessments...making youth more resilient. How does that apply to what you are doing? Well, youth who are more resilient do better when faced with the challenges that often lead to dropping out of college...which as I recall, is often due to lack of life skills, using drugs & alcohol, not having a sense of meaning about their studies or what they want to do in life. When I coordinated a community health council I asked the State epidemiologists to identify the resiliences that were statistically valid as effective "protective" factors" for our youth (protecting against involvement in fights, using substances, carrying weapons) One of the top 3 resiliencies was/is hopes and dreams for the future. So we addressed hopes and dreams for the future in every Restorative Justice Circle I facilitated. And WOW, what a difference. Non profits may have some of the stats you need about what makes college students successful. Some of it may give you information to use that can be referred to as "implied outcomes". Basically, you make the point that certain actions are proven to be effective in achieving certain results ie: better college achievements, and you cite those stats and then show that what you are proposing shares some essential components of those successful actions, - therefore, it can be IMPLIED that what you are suggesting/your action will also be successful. Non-profits that work with exhange programs, or youth travel projects may have already gathered data on how travel changed the attitudes of the youth, or led them to do better in school, or get involved in community actions...or decide to go to college, i don't know, but its another avenue of gathering info. Traveling creates a whole new world of dreaming, a whole new perspective on opportunities, a sense of being part of the world in a bigger, more meaningful way. That can lead to better choices and better outcomes in college, work etc. etc. Anyway, just some thoughts. I look forward to seeing how things go with this and believe in what it can mean, for everyone. Wishing you great success from the sunny, snow blanketed mesa of northern new mexico! Rose Gordon I have some thoughts on this…maybe not completely aligned with your initial thinking…but maybe so! This is kind of long, but if i don’t say it now, i probably won’t get to it at all. so here goes…

I am wondering if focusing on “the gap” years might be tweaked to be a bit larger in scope…gathering data on how travel and involvement in other cultures changes youth attitudes towards themselves, their community of orgin, their own lives and families, and their place in the world — and how those shifts create better students, higher achievers etc. leading to better outcomes in college.
I think there are arguments too, related to how youth travel, especially if it includes involvement with the lives of people in other countries, changes the outcomes of youth risk and resiliency assessments…making youth more resilient.

How does that apply to what you are doing? Well, youth who are more resilient do better when faced with the challenges that often lead to dropping out of college…which as I recall, is often due to lack of life skills, using drugs & alcohol, not having a sense of meaning about their studies or what they want to do in life.

When I coordinated a community health council I asked the State epidemiologists to identify the resiliences that were statistically valid as effective “protective” factors” for our youth (protecting against involvement in fights, using substances, carrying weapons)

One of the top 3 resiliencies was/is hopes and dreams for the future. So we addressed hopes and dreams for the future in every Restorative Justice Circle I facilitated. And WOW, what a difference.

Non profits may have some of the stats you need about what makes college students successful. Some of it may give you information to use that can be referred to as “implied outcomes”. Basically, you make the point that certain actions are proven to be effective in achieving certain results ie: better college achievements, and you cite those stats and then show that what you are proposing shares some essential components of those successful actions, – therefore, it can be IMPLIED that what you are suggesting/your action will also be successful.

Non-profits that work with exhange programs, or youth travel projects may have already gathered data on how travel changed the attitudes of the youth, or led them to do better in school, or get involved in community actions…or decide to go to college, i don’t know, but its another avenue of gathering info.

Traveling creates a whole new world of dreaming, a whole new perspective on opportunities, a sense of being part of the world in a bigger, more meaningful way. That can lead to better choices and better outcomes in college, work etc. etc.

Anyway, just some thoughts. I look forward to seeing how things go with this and believe in what it can mean, for everyone.

Wishing you great success from the sunny, snow blanketed mesa of northern new mexico!

Rose Gordon

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