The Vision for Mighty Girls!

Mighty Girls Proposal Power Point

Educators wears many hats – no longer is our role just about teaching the curriculum. As the student population continues to grow more diverse everyday so does the role of the educator. Yes, curriculum is still important but there isn’t an educator out there who isn’t also playing some other influence role in a student’s life – counselor, care taker, coach, confident, provider, nurse, etc. Being a first grade teacher, I expected to have students who needed my support with life difficulties such as divorce or poverty, but one thing I wasn’t expecting was to have six year olds who struggled with body image.

Assessing the Current Reality

I was frankly shocked to find out I had a first grade who had stopped eating lunch as a form of “dieting”.  How could such a young person already be so dissatisfied with their body that they were participating in such dangerously unhealthy behaviors? It was this event that opened my eyes to the harsh realities of the world we are currently living in. According to a report put out by CNN, “more than half of girls and one-third of boys as young as 6 to 8 think their ideal weight is thinner than their current size. By age 7, one in four kids has engaged in some kind of dieting behavior” (Wallace, 2015).  Once a second first grader expressed her turmoil over the fact that “no one likes me because I’m fat” I knew something had to be put into place to address this growing epidemic in the young girls at our school. “Fat is the new ugly on the school playground. Children as young as 3 worry about being fat. Four- and 5-year-olds know "skinny" is good and "fat" is bad. Children in elementary school are calling each other fat as a put-down” (Hetter, 2012). Yes, the research is horrifying –

·         “Between 1999 and 2006, hospitalizations for eating disorders among children below the age of 12 spiked 119% .

·         It is estimated that almost 1.3 million adolescent girls in the United States have anorexia.

·         Twenty-six percent of 5-year-olds recommend dieting behavior (not eating junk food, eating less) as a solution for a person who has gained weight” (Pai & Schryver, 2015).

But what was worst to me than even the research, was looking into the teared up faces of my beautiful six-year-old students knowing that they were less than satisfied with how they looked and were willing to take on unhealthy habits to change that.

Proposal

            Looking for ways to support my students in embracing their perfect little selves while still promoting healthy habits, I started to research different programs that already existed to promote children’s healthy body image/self-esteem as well as combat childhood obesity. There were a lot of good ideas, but nothing that targeted the age group I was going for and had all the components I wanted. I have recruited two other educators and together we have developed an all-girls after school program, The PES Mighty Girls Club. The goal of this club is to create a space where girls in grades first through fourth can come together to celebrate their differences while empowering them to be smart, confident, courageous, and healthy. We plan to reach out to different community partners to help with both the funding of the program and the education planning. Primarily the program will be funded through the 21^st Century Grant, if the program continues after the grant expires, other forms of funding will need to be secured. 

Vision

Our society paints girls as the damsel in distress or in the role of sidekick. The PES Mighty Girls Club believes that girls are so much more than this! They can be the leaders, the champions, the heroes; they can be the ones that go on the adventure, who find the cure, and who save the day! We want every girl to learn to embrace who she is, define who she wants to be, and rise to any challenge she faces, pursuing her dreams! At PES Mighty Girls we empower girls to be smart, confident, and courageous by recognizing and celebrating all that makes her MIGHTY and to build the skills and strategies to nourish our minds and bodies so that they can achieve all that they dream of. We want girls to learn that they CAN.

Our Core Values

We strive to:

1.       Recognize and honor our self-worth

2.       Embrace our differences and find strength in our connectedness

3.       Use our words, thoughts, and actions to spread love and optimism

4.       Nurture our physical and emotional health

5.       Stand up for ourselves and others

Our principles:

·         Mighty Girls use kind words.

·         Mighty Girls have positive thoughts.

·         Mighty Girls help others.

·         Mighty Girls love themselves and others.

·         Mighty Girls stand up for themselves and others.

·         Mighty Girls take care of their bodies. 

Goals

1.      By the end of the Mighty Girls Club, there will be a 50% improvement in the girls’ self-esteem and body image.

2.      By the end of the Mighty Girls Club, attends will be able to identify at least three ways they can take care of their bodies in a healthy way.

3.      Because of the implementation of The Mighty Girls Club, teachers will see a positive increase in attendees’ attitudes, perceptions, and treatment of others.

Action Steps

1.      Propose program to principal and grant coordinator.

2.      Acquire funding, hopefully through the 21^st Century Grant, under youth development.

3.      Determine transportation options.

4.      Create and release informational fliers about the program to all 1^st – 4^th grade female students and families.

5.      Set up an informational table at Open House to answer questions and promote the program.

6.      Create social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to promote the program and share our mission, vision, and values.

7.      Begin enrollment.

8.      Run program.

9.      Evaluate success of program. Determine eligibility for continuing the program in the future.

Resources

            The PES Mighty Girls Club will rely heavily on funding from the 21^st Century Grant. These funds will pay the three facilitators, provide the snacks for students, and any educational supplies. Donations will also be requested and used to supplement these funds. Members of the club will have the opportunity to purchase shirts, the proceeds from this will go towards funding celebrations and possible off campus field trips. The club will also partner with the Community Fitness Center to utilize their athletic facilities for fitness programs such as dance, yoga, aerobics, and swimming. All curriculum will be created and designed by the three facilitators and turned in the Grant Coordinator for approval.

Strategies and Activities

Because PES Mighty Girls Club is being created to meet the needs of our students, it is expected to be flexible and fluid in its activities and lessons. Each week’s focus will be specifically chosen to match one of our principles and the needs of the girls in the club. It is anticipated that each 8-week term will have an overarching theme or framework, but this will change with start of each new term.

For the first term, the structure of the club will be set up in three station rotations, each ran by one of facilitators. Each station will tie to the week’s principle, one will focus on a healthy snack and the feature of a real life Mighty Girl that embodies that week’s principle, another on a fitness activity, and the last will be the lesson on the week principle.

By our second term, the girls will be familiar with our principles so we will no longer focus on them as independent entities, but rather how Mighty Girls encompass all the principles. Our lessons and activities will be more whole group and resemble more of a club mentality where we start with a healthy snack and then we do an activity together that enriches our growth as mighty girls.

Finally, the third term, will focus on being a critical thinker and challenging society’s perception of girls. We will analyze different Disney princesses to see beyond the dress and find the traits that make them Mighty Girls. We will redefine what it means to be a “princess” keeping our core values at the center of our lessons and conversations.

Conclusion: Evidence Base

As mentioned at the beginning of this proposal, the research is disturbing: “nearly half of the nation’s girls are unhappy with their bodies. According to the Center for Disease Control and National Association of Eating Disorders, by age 6 girls start to express concerns about their own weight or shape. Additionally, around half of elementary school girls are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat” (PBS, 2013). Through programs like PES Mighty Girls, we can “help girls develop positive body images, healthy eating and exercise habits — and to help them not succumb to images promoted by the culture and adopted by their best friends” (PBS, 2013).  Research on a similar program in Arizona, Go Girls, found that participation in the program improved students’ self-esteem and self-confidence (SEDL, 2008). Youth development programs like PES Mighty Girls, doesn’t just lead to more positive thinking kids, it also effects student achievement. “A decade of research and evaluation studies, as well as large-scale, rigorously conducted syntheses looking across many research and evaluation studies, confirms that children and youth who participate in after school programs can reap a host of positive benefits in a number of interrelated outcome areas—academic, social/emotional, prevention, and health and wellness” (SEDL, 2008). When students are not bogged down with concerns about how they look and feel, the have better attitudes about school, can focus better, and can allocate their energies to building on their talents, rather than tearing themselves down. It helps build the confidence students need to take risks in the classroom, teaches goal setting, and how to constructively handle setbacks, in and out of the classroom.

References

Hetter, K. (2012, March 16). Fat is the new ugly on the playground. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/16/living/body-image-kids/

Pai, S., & Schryver, K. (2015). Children, Teens, Media, and Body Image : A Common Sense Media Research Brief (Issue brief). Retrieved Wallace, K. (2015, February 13). Kids as young as 5 concerned about body image. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/13/living/feat-body-image-kids-younger-ages/

PBS. (2013, October 11). Raising a Girl with a Positive Body Image. Body Image & Identity. Raising Girls. Parenting. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/parents/parenting/raising-girls/body-image-identity/raising-a-girl-with-a-positive-body-image/

SEDL. (2008, August). Afterschool, Family, and Community. SEDL Letter, XX(2), 6-9.

Wallace, K. (2015, February 13). Kids as young as 5 concerned about body image. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/13/living/feat-body-image-kids-younger-ages/

A look at Diversity

One of my recent MA assignments asked me to look at diversity. As part of the assignment, I had to be self reflective about my own diversity and then the diversities that make up my current school. Below is what I found:


Being an educator, we wear many hats: teacher, nurse, counselor, assessor, sometimes even parent, in all of the roles we play there is one thing that stays constant, the need to understand where our student come from. Students’ cultural backgrounds, learning styles, and home life definitely effect how they learn, how they interact with others, and how they approach different challenges. “The concept of diversity presents both extraordinary promise and daunting challenges for education employees” (NEA, n.d). The diversities in our rooms enrich it with different strengths and perspectives, but it also brings social and academic challenges. As an educator, being aware of what makes our students different, will better equip us to make sure they are successful within the educational setting.

Part I: Diversity Self Knowledge

Diversity is what makes us unique. It’s the puzzle pieces that when put together create us. Each piece holding a different characteristic – our race, our heritage, our learning style, our personal strengths and weaknesses, our experiences – both positive and negative, our upbringing, our religion, language, gender, etc. As an elementary teacher, perhaps it isn’t surprising that when I think about diversity I think of Pixar’s 2015 film Inside Out. A story that takes place in the mind of child – showing how her experiences and emotions affect her personal relationships and how she deals with complications and change. In the movie, Riley’s memories are stored in colored orbs. These orbs make me think of the puzzle pieces that make up us. When you think about the millions of things that essentially produce who we are – it is almost overwhelming to imagine having 20 – 25 different students in front of you each with their unique puzzles to help construct. But, this is, in essence, what education is about - helping to put all the pieces together to assist in producing the most successful versions of our students.

            When thinking about how I am diverse, I can’t help but think about the poem by George Ella Lyon (1999), Where I’m From. Where am I from? I am from steel mills, church festivals, and annual family garage sales.  I am from a traditional neighborhood complete with block parties and bike parades. I am from Italian Christmas Eves of seven fishes and Polish New Year’s Days of sauerkraut and pork. I am from Lenten nights of reciting the Stations of the Cross and Christmas Day masses often held in our own living room. I am from a family of singers who cannot carry a tune but sing anyway. I am from “miles and miles of beautiful smiles” up and down the New Jersey boardwalk, Carolina moons, and Florida fishing trips. I am from “call me when you get there” and “Buenos noches”. I am from a broken home, that isn’t broken at all, from a single working mother, who taught me what it means how to work hard and sacrifice and a father, a professional clown, who taught me how to let loose and laugh. I am from a sibling rivalry and knock down drag out fights with a sister who has always been my best friend. I am from 4H ribbons, YMCA Indian Princess camp outs, and evenings at the Playhouse. I am from too many warnings to stop talking and not waiting my turn. I am from leading groups to successful endings. I am from so many places, people, and events.

Where I am from is what makes me unique. It is what has led me to believe the things I do and pursue the paths I have. It is what has made me a leader and a teacher, an explorer and challenger. It is also what has made me sometimes too trustworthy and easily persuaded. It has made me appreciate language and choose to learn through collaboration and experiences.

As an educator, I reflect on my diversities – the strengths is gives me in the classroom, but also the challenges it presents to me. While my love for language and the arts creates a classroom that celebrates those things, it also steers me away from embracing all the intricacies of math and sciences. I’m a social learner, so it is easy for me to stray towards more collaborative projects for my students rather than a lot of independent work. I also was blessed with a childhood that was rich with experiences, that at times I may forget that many of my students haven’t had those same experiences. Some may have never left their hometown and do not have schema for beaches and boardwalks. It is easy to bring our experiences into the classroom, what is challenging is remember that our students’ experiences are very different and will at times contradict ours, and that needs to be considered when planning for how we construct their learning experiences. Not appreciating students’ diversities can lead to students’ feeling as though they don’t belong. This can lead to “decreased participation, feelings of inadequacy, and other distractions” (Yale Center for Teaching and Learning, 1970).

Part II: Personal SWOT Analysis

Strengths -          Understanding of Multiple Intelligences -          Integration of different learning styles and modes of representation in lessons and assignments -          Appreciation and tolerance of student diversities	Weaknesses -          Understanding how to support different diversities, especially language learners and specific learning disabilities
Opportunities -          Learn more about different cultures through connections with families	Threats -          Misunderstanding and closed mindedness of both myself and other students that could lead to discrimination and/or bullying

 Part III: Demographic Diversity Profile

Total Student Population	604
Gender:	Male:  51%				Female: 49%
Race/Ethnicity	African American: 3.5%	Hispanic: 11%		White: 84.6%		Asian: .45%		Other: 0.45%
Socioeconomic Status	Free/Reduced Lunch: 29%
Language	English: 88.9%		Spanish: 10.1%				Other: 1%
Ability	Regular Education: 86.3 %		Special Education: 9%				Gifted/Talented Education: 4.7%

When considering the diversities represented at Perry Elementary school, educators and school leaders need to give specific consideration to three particular subgroups: gender, socioeconomic status, and language learners. The data shows that those are our largest subgroups from the 604 students currently enrolled. These subgroups have impacted our decision making when it comes to curriculum, teaching methods, and supplemental before and after school programming. Our community outreach is also tailored to support our Hispanic and low income families.

            Catherine Pulsifer said, “We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring.” I couldn’t agree more, the diversities within our classroom makes for a beautiful tapestry of strengths in which we can all benefit from. These diversities should and need to be celebrated. Not only should we look for and appreciate the diversities of others, but we also need to look inward to find what it is that makes us unique and reflect on how that influences our daily lives, both the strengths and the weaknesses that come from it. This is even truer of those of us in education, who are blessed with the opportunity to add to the puzzle pieces that make up our students.

References

Docter, P. (Director). (2015). Inside Out [Motion picture on DVD]. United States: Walt Disney Pictures Pixar Animation Studios.

Lyon, G. E. (1999). Where I'm From . Spring, TX: Absey & Company.

NEA. (n.d.). Diversity Toolkit Introduction. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from http://www.nea.org/tools/diversity-toolkit-introduction.html

Yale Center for Teaching and Learning. (1970, January 05). Diversity in the Classroom. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from http://ctl.yale.edu/teaching/ideas-teaching/diversity-classroom