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Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

Last post 16/12/2008, 10:22 AM by Saima Ahmed. 9 replies.

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  • Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    The Government has been running a major project to invest in the future of the next generation. REACH aims to make sure that Black boys and young Black men aspire to more and achieve more.

    REACH was driven by a group of over 20 key stakeholders who have direct experience of the realities of young people’s lives in the Black community. Please see our REACH pages for further information.

    The aim of this forum is to engage with people who are interested, including those already involved in work aimed at raising aspirations and attainment of young Black men, and young Black men themselves, to shape and influence the way in which these recommendations are implemented.

    This forum will be available for comments for at least the next 6 months and will be updated on a regular basis.

    Officials from the Communities and Local Government will be regularly posting specific questions and ideas on the forum and will be asking you for your feedback. This feedback will be used when making decisions about the project.

    To start off the discussion we would welcome your comments on the following question:

    • What do you think makes a good role model?

    Michelle Nutt (Moderator)

    Filed under: ,
  • 480 in reply to 457
    17/07/2008, 9:49 PM :: Posted by SaveTheWorld (Posts 13)

    Re: Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    It would be totally wrong to let this forum page pass by without drawing attention to the Reclaim project run in Greater Manchester at The Urbis.  These are young people taking part who have positive ideas and have produces a young peoples manifesto about what needs doing in to make their streets safer.

    Please take time to contact The Urbis - noteably Ruth their Learning Director - in Manchester and let the DCLG see what excellent role models young people can already make - it shames many adults to think they have found in the streets of Manchester something in which many of the youngsters from these BME families share as hope. 

    Reach was driven by 20 key stakeholders - now let us be bold and take it to the heart of communities and ask the young, the parents, the schools and yes - Ruth at The Urbis - what the grass roots want to see.

    It is my guess this approach will find the common threads in both stakeholders and local public - and if that is the case they please formally invite those stakeholders, young people, parents and schools to go on line and help put together a really heartwarming forum.

    Thanks and keep this important journey going further and further across our nation to get us better communities 

    Filed under: ,
  • 516 in reply to 480
    01/08/2008, 10:59 PM :: Posted by Chessman (Posts 1)

    Re: Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    So here we are at the start of a new thread.  Raising aspirations and the achievement levels of young black boys. Tough one this I think. Maybe a back to basics approach would be a very good start.  But how far back do you go?  Is it when the boy is 8 or 6 or shall we say 2 years old?  And what about the nature or nurture school of thought; does that have a part to play also?

    I believe we all have a part to play.  Mums, dads, siblings; the whole family actually. Hey, even the whole community and I mean everybody.  So what's wrong with trying anything and everything just to see if it works.

    There is plenty of time.  It is never too late! 

    Right then......picture this for example.  You have a group of fourteen year olds who occasionally don't want to listen.  How do you stimulate; engage and shape their young minds?  How do you even start to communicate with them?  Well, I have tried this and it works.

    First of all you arrange to go into their school, then into their classroom.  You take them on a journey; an adventure.  Sit amongst them.  Talk with them and share your story.  Tell them about your mother and how she brought you up. Tell them what is was like when you were younger and explain to them what happened when you were at school and when you were their age. Tell them some of the things you got up to.  Make them laugh and ask them questions as to how they might deal with your situation.  What would they do if it was them in that situation? How would they feel if those things happened to them?  Talk and share!  Ask and listen. Tell the story.  Get them to think.  Make them laugh!  Make it fun!

    And.......get this;  LISTEN TO THEM.  ALL OF THEM.

    There is so much more to say but I will continue when I come back!

    Chessman 

  • 559 in reply to 516
    15/08/2008, 12:17 AM :: Posted by NowsTheTime (Posts 1)

    Re: Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    Chessman I must admit that I like how you think positive. The thing with some black people is when they themselves cant help or understand they drag down. Same reason why MARCUS GARVEY did not fullfill all his dreams.

    One way to help our young people is through the church. Some may say how, but trust me when I say that because our churches are divided so is our children, community and our finances. Just picture 50 black pentecostal churches all donating £100 pounds a month into one account. I make that £5000 a month. For one whole year this money will be saved, while we form a charity or organisation and discuss the best way to use that money to help the less fortunate black folks in the community.

    If you would like me to tell you more of my vision then reply more to this thread.

  • 570 in reply to 457
    15/09/2008, 11:40 AM :: Posted by Jaidee (Posts 1)

    What do you think makes a good role model?

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    What to I think makes a good role model?  Well in my opinion a good role model must possess a multitude of qualities and attributes which are debatably all as important as one another.  The characteristics that I have listed below are in no particular order of significance: 

    1) Charisma - this is an essential attribute that will permit an individual to influence, persuade and convince people that they can achieve, that they can succeed, that they are WINNERS!

    2) Moral Integrity - this is an imperative characteristic that all role models must possess as it allows them to gain trust from others.  It is an important quality to uphold because it often governs the way other people view you, and as a role model it is important to maintain and elevate this quality.  To a large extent, moral integrity allows people to distinguish right from wrong; it helps them to live righteously and is one of the factors that facilitates the aspirations of others.

    3) Sympathy, Compassion and the ability to listen to others - these attributes are essential because they allow role models to empathise with others and see their issues from a different perspective.  Listening is a critical characteristic because it permits role models to understanding the obstacles, issues and problems confronting individuals on a daily basis.

    4) Good communication skills - this is a critical skill that all role models must have because it will permit them to effectively engage with a multitude of individuals, social groups and organisations.  Communicating clearly, cogently and with clarity is imperative when lobbying individuals, politicians and social enterprises for change.

    5) Motivation - this characteristic is extremely important as it allows role models to maintain a strong belief in what they are doing, it also helps pull them through the hard times when things are not looking to bright.  Motivation is also important because it’s contagious, if people see a happy, hard working, dedicated and extremely motivated individual these qualities will radiate from them and in many cases rub off on others and encourage them to strive for success and achievement.

    I believe that a role model should possess and be able to execute all these attributes and qualities effectively, with passion and sincere conviction.  If they are able to do this they will be extremely successful in elevating the self-confidence, motivation and aspirations of others.

    James Dawkins (Jaidee)

     

  • 580 in reply to 570
    26/09/2008, 12:57 PM :: Posted by Saima Ahmed (Posts 6)

    Re: What do you think makes a good role model?

    This forum is closing and a new question will be posted  

    The REACH team would like to offer their thanks to all those who participated in this discussion. 

    Of interesting to note were your opinions about whole community involvement in raising the achievements and aspirations of Black boys and young Black men. We hope that the role modelling programme will facilitate this.

    We also agree that a good role model will have (among others) the qualities of charisma, moral integrity, sympathy, good communications skills and motivation!  

    The REACH team have found your comments helpful and very interesting. On Monday 6 October a new question will be posted. Please look out for this as we will look forward to reading your comments. Thanks!

    Saima Ahmed (Moderator)

  • 806 in reply to 457
    24/11/2008, 10:15 PM :: Posted by The Analyst (Posts 5)

    Re: Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    I hope that this information has been of assistance, however please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any further queries.

     

     

    A good role model must display the following key skills:

     

    • Good listener, essential part of all leadership roles, understand the message before responding
    • Savvy – able to connect on multiple levels, children often use different techniques in communicating and it is vital to spot cues not commonly used in adult circles
    • Good time keepers – young people become disillusion when kept waiting so mentors cannot afford to be complacent
    • Good understanding of how schools operate, governors, inspectors and social service.
    • Good rounded understanding of the Mentee’s culture, if the understanding is not good encourage the Mentee to improve your understanding
    • Good motivator – able to create drive in others
    • Patience – last but not least, the ability to stay focus under challenge time constraints

     

    The Analyst

  • 832 in reply to 559
    06/12/2008, 12:17 AM :: Posted by The Analyst (Posts 5)

    Re: Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    Look, I know the power of charity and it begins at home, I do not for one minute believe money is our issue, its more like how we use it. Look around these so called neglected groups and I bet they will be wearing togs outside your earning possibilities.

     

    The old story about teach me to fish, might be a more appropriate angle to adopt, I am sick of the money can solve everything attitude. We need knowledge, charity is about begging, we are a strong and healthy people and should not be begging, there is a massive void amongst us, that of knowing what it is we are living in, what is around us, how it works and how it affects us. We need to know how we fit in the puzzle that is community, we need to know what we are about and only then will our pennies begin to turn into pounds, sadly not enough of us know who they are, what they are about, how they fit into the community and how the community affect their lives.

     

    Give thanks for highlighting the fact that our ignorance is allowing religion to divide and destroy us from inside our hearts. It high time these cults were taken to task. We are the only community in the UK with more churches of different denomination per square mile, yet we are at the bottom of the food chain, is there a correlation here?

     

    Proverbs 24:4
    And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

  • Re: Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    Why Black role models are necessary and important?

    Within our Community work at Wilson & Knight Consultancy we have seen that the success of an individual has on many occasions been down to an important role model within his/her life. 

    The success of an individual is somewhat related to having a good family background. This could be from having a strong family unit.  A strong family unit in this century is not your normal 2 point 4 family mum dad and children.  The strong family unit consists of having strong decent, respectable, honorable, educated, ethical, and understanding law abiding, individuals within that family unit. Regardless of being raised from a single parent family we have seen from our work within the community that having someone to look up to in a positive way is very important and is inspiring to an individual especially to an individual that lacks in confidence and self worth. 

    At Wilson & Knight Consultancy we have exceptional mentors that when approached to become mentor did not believe in them self.  As strange as it may seem they did not feel that what they did could inspire an individual!  Yet years of studying for a certain profession or years of working hard to be the best that they can has proven to Use at WKC that these individuals are silent role models.  These individuals are role models within their own family unit and role models for our Black community.

    To date it still amazes us that an individual who has achieved so much within their life cannot see what they have achieved. This could be because they themselves inspire to do more. To be better than they are at present, so with that attitude it blocks them from see that they are actual achievers!

    With unemployment at its highest and recent knife crime killing among our black youths there is no doubt that we are in a troubled community. The media portrays black people to be of low worth and unemployed and those who are employed in low paid jobs. They attack us on our music, culture and our historical past and instill disbelieve that as black people we cannot become or inspire to be anything. Role models are needed to motivate our young people and inspire them to developin to something more.

    It needs to be recognised that witin this society it has always been hard and recognition has to be given to a multitude of black people for example our grandparents, we take advantage of simple things, like they may own their home, but to acheive this they had to work hard, be organised and commited to achieve a goal. This is a great example of a role model, giving examples to young black people of small achievements which inevitable results in an ultimate goal is the key.

    it is necessary and important to have role models to understand that your inner goal is achieveble, many people come from similar backgrounds, but it depends on the strength and confidence of a person. A role model can come from a similar background of disadvantage, explaining there situation and ther journey will allow young people to understand that choice is available to everyone, Role Models are an upliftment within a persons moral, a reality to a persons development.

    With all the years of negative attention it is now having an effect on our black youths therefore we need to push forward all silent role models who are not known to make a positive impact on our community.  

  • 844 in reply to 841
    16/12/2008, 10:22 AM :: Posted by Saima Ahmed (Posts 6)

    Re: Welcome to our REACH discussion forum

    Thank you for your comments so far. Thank you, also, for drawing our attention to the reclaim project. We are looking into the possibilities of this.

     We can see that our contributers believe in the importance of role models, not just those with a high profile but also the 'silent ones'. Please continue with your comments as we find them both helpful and interesting.

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