The Issues and Assets of African Youth on Staten Island's North Shore:

More documents

Recommendations

Info

people laugh <strong>and</strong> have fun <strong>and</strong> scream for the nicedancing.” 33Issue: Peer pressurePeer pressure impacts youth in school <strong>and</strong> in the community<strong>and</strong> includes being influenced by other youth to smoke, drinkalcohol, steal, lie, take drugs, sell drugs, fight, drop out <strong>of</strong>school, have sex, join a gang, or to have material things thatother youth have.Many parents indicated that peer pressure was the mostchallenging thing about being a parent on the North Shore,feeling that it plays a significant role in why youth “go astray.”Many parents were pessimistic about their <strong>and</strong> otherchildren‟s ability to withst<strong>and</strong> peer pressure:“Kids on Park Hill do not follow the right crowd;they will follow the wrong ones, no matter whatyou do. I believe children spoil because theywant to, not because they have not been[taught] right from wrong… Almost everyonewill tell you the same thing… Don't get mewrong, not all the children are bad, but thosewho want to go astray will go astray”. 34“It is especially in the school were both thegood <strong>and</strong> bad kids meet. <strong>The</strong>y sit in the classtogether, go to lunch, <strong>and</strong> play together <strong>and</strong>give the bad kids enough time to pollute theminds <strong>of</strong> other good children around them.” 36However, few youth surveyed blame their peers for theproblems that they face. Figure 17 shows that although moreyouth blame peers than parents for their problems, mostyouth blame themselves, <strong>and</strong> many blame the overallcommunity.<strong>Youth</strong> felt that low self-esteem <strong>and</strong> wanting to fit in <strong>and</strong>belong to a group sometimes lead youth to submit to peerpressure. But sometimes the decision may relate to otherneeds, such as having protection to “make your life easier<strong>and</strong> safer” (<strong>and</strong> therefore joining a gang) or feeling the needto make money (<strong>and</strong> therefore selling drugs). <strong>The</strong> problemtree (figure 18) shows how youth see the problem <strong>of</strong> peerpressure.Figure 16Who do youth blame forthe problems they face?“Everyone agrees that peer pressure affectschildren in Park Hill <strong>and</strong> [the] North Shorebecause children are most likely to do whatother children do or say… <strong>The</strong> older onesintroduce the younger ones to unsafe things,such as, selling drugs, robbery, <strong>and</strong> manyothers.” 356%12%8%22%52%<strong>The</strong>mselves<strong>The</strong>ir community<strong>The</strong>ir parent(s)<strong>The</strong>ir peersN/A33 Non-assessment youth interview, Century Dance Complex, July 21,2009.34 Parent interview, March 5, 2009.35 Parent focus group, September 17, 2008.36 Parent focus group, November 17, 2008.22
Figure 17: Peer pressure problem treeissues, <strong>and</strong> cause difficulty paying attention. 37 Those whohave suffered malnutrition may have memory orconcentration problems, in addition to not underst<strong>and</strong>ing ornot being able to keep up with what is expected <strong>of</strong> them inAmerican schools. 38Participants in this assessment highlighted the followingsignificant challenges North Shore <strong>African</strong> youth face tosucceed in school, including: Insufficient preparation for American academicexpectations <strong>and</strong> language barrier Low capacity <strong>of</strong> schools to meet youth academicneeds Physical <strong>and</strong> verbal harassment (bullying) Low parent involvementMany North Shore <strong>African</strong> youth are not prepared forAmerican academic expectations <strong>and</strong> struggle withAmerican English. Though each individual‟s situation is likelyto be different, <strong>African</strong> youth may have not ever been toschool, have had their schooling interrupted, or gone to apoor school.Issue: Overcoming educational challengesSchool is particularly challenging for many North Shore<strong>African</strong> youth. Moving <strong>and</strong> adjusting to a new school isextremely stressful for all children. <strong>The</strong> experiences <strong>of</strong> manyWest <strong>African</strong> youth with war, displacement, malnutrition,disease, other traumatic events, can multiply the stressesnormally associated with school transitions. Post TraumaticStress may contribute to problems with schoolwork, behavior“Because <strong>of</strong> the civil war many <strong>of</strong> thechildren have not been in school (or theirschooling has been interrupted), when theycome here they are placed in classesaccording to their age <strong>and</strong> they are fallingbehind their American counterpart.” 3937 Birman 2002, p. 23.38 See: Olga Tuchman. “Refugee Students in American Classrooms.”Indiana Department <strong>of</strong> Education. No date.; R.J. Apfel, Simon B. Minefieldsin <strong>The</strong>ir Hearts: <strong>The</strong> Mental health <strong>of</strong> Children <strong>of</strong> War <strong>and</strong> CommunalViolence. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.; Office <strong>of</strong> Global HealthAffairs Humanitarian <strong>and</strong> Refugee Health Affairs. “Background on PotentialHealth <strong>Issues</strong> For Liberian Refugees.”Bridging Refugee <strong>Youth</strong> & Children‟sServices, US Department <strong>of</strong> Health <strong>and</strong> Human Services. Updated onJanuary 30, 2004.39 Parent focus group conducted by Consortium for <strong>African</strong> CommunityService Providers, April 17, 2005.23
Page 11 and 12: have, and designin
Page 13 and 14: Figure 3:The North
Page 15 and 16: Findings: Issues <
Page 17 and 18: Issue: Lack of mon
Page 19 and 20: Youth and<
Page 21 and 22: Issue: Living in unsafe conditions<
Page 23 and 24: Asset: Visions for a more empowerin
Page 25: Asset: Strength of
Page 29 and 30: after school. When asked about his
Page 31 and 32: Culture of communa
Page 33 and 34: Issue: Few opportunities for constr
Page 35 and 36: Finally, access of
Page 37 and 38: ConclusionThis assessment was explo
Page 39 and 40: Next Steps and Rec
Page 41 and 42: AppendixList of Or

The Issues and Assets of African Youth on Staten Island's North Shore:

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?