Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By IAN MINIELLY
Ironwood — Gogebic County Community College is hosting a Youth Asset Summit on Wednesday between 8:30 a.m and 1:30 p.m.
The summit’s focus is on an asset report of the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development out of Marquette. The GLCYD will discuss the results of a Youth Asset Report in an effort to demonstrate to the youths that adults care and are interested in hearing from them on a wide range of topics.
The report is based on a survey taken by area youths in grades 8, 10 and 12.
The GLCYD desires to engage youth, while recognizing the many obstacles and circumstances they face in life impacting their well-being.
Forty developmental assets are gauged through the survey, which provides a baseline for addressing needs and challenge areas. From the survey results, plans are generated by the kids, themselves, to improve positive traits, while reducing at-risk behavior. Many of the traits are linked, so if students are working on one area, other assets are also being influenced.
Six local entities are planning on sending student representatives to GCC: Ironwood, Ironwood Alternative School, Ewen-Trout Creek, Bessemer, Ontonagon and the 4-H from the Extension office.
Parents and citizens are also encouraged to attend.
Iron County schools noticed there was a lack of “buy-in” by the students for the schools and their programs. The students wanted to address the issue and build greater esprit de corps, feeling an increase in school support would modify a number of assets or variables.
A buddy system was developed to give new kids in the school a “buddy” who would show them where classes were and answer questions regarding the campus. The students also proposed a Birthday Club where every kid would have his or her birthday recognized by the student body, receiving a Yooper bar, while other students decorated their wall lockers.
E-TC students wanted to address the availability of a school counselor by having peer-to-peer assistance among students, without getting adults involved. The students figured many issues can be resolved at the lowest level between fellow students and this would free the adult counselor to focus on larger problems. They call the program Natural Helpers and received a grant to grow and build the program.
Gogebic and Ontonagon youth have taken the survey twice, in 2009 and 2016. Analyses of the results show a shift in the youths regarding beliefs about success and health. In 2009, students only had one category above 70 percent, Positive View of the Future. In 2016, the youths report four categories at 70 percent or greater.
Probably the most alarming perception of the students are their revolving views on substance use. While the students demonstrated very high opposition to alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana consumption in eighth grade, by the time they were seniors, the opposition had fallen in more than half, with the majority of survey respondents no longer opposing the consumption of any of the substances.
