CHAPTER 2 - MASTER TEACHER PROGRAM: ENCOURAGING THE DISCOURAGED

This chapter focuses on the use of the Master Teacher in Family Life Program as an agent to support long-term change through ongoing information sharing and community building.

Table of Contents

THE MASTER TEACHER IN FAMILY LIFE MODEL

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

WHY THIS PROGRAM IS DIFFERENT
STRATEGIES TO ENCOURAGE FAMILIES IN POVERTY

BUILDING COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT CHANGE: CREATING AN ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENT

MASTER TEACHERS AND THEIR HELPEES: BUILDING INTERNAL INFORMATION NETWORKS

ENCOURAGEMENT WORKS

THE MASTER TEACHER IN FAMILY LIFE MODEL

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he Master Teacher in Family Life Program is an educational approach to addressing the needs of the rural and inner-city poor. The program teaches natural leaders in targeted communities family life information and community development strategies. With this information and the support of the program trainer, these natural leaders will be able to help friends, neighbors, and relatives within their community. The availability of ongoing community support and timely information about important issues will empower families in poverty to begin to address issues of hopelessness that often keep long-term poor from effectively using opportunities for growth.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

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he program begins with the commitment of a professional educator to work in a specific community. That educator then locates and trains natural helpers in the community to become Master Teachers in Family Life. (The recruitment and training processes are described in detail in Chapter III of this manual.) Once trained, Master Teachers in turn act as trainers and mentors to those in their neighborhoods. By creating this chain of mentoring, the Master Teachers in Family Life Program will:
- increase knowledge and skills by creating an effective internal communication system to educate poor individuals about health issues, substance abuse, money management, parenting, family planning, interpersonal skills, school issues, AIDS, and other concerns specific to the targeted neighborhood.

- address issues of personal isolation by creating and sustaining a network of support for children, teens, and adults who want to use their learned knowledge to make more appropriate choices in their life - especially relating to health, employability, and education.

- address issues of isolation from mainstream society by creating a chain of mentoring (beginning with the program educator) that will link families immersed in poverty with others in mainstream society.

Increasing Knowledge and Skills: The Internal Communication System

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urrent information-sharing strategies have had little impact on families caught in long-term poverty. Many poor adults cannot read the flyers circulated on issues such as AIDS. They view educational programming with disdain, recalling their own negative school experiences. They seldom buy newspapers. They tend to turn to their peers for help and information rather than to professionals.

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he Master Teacher in Family Life provides information through one- on-one interaction and small group activities. The sincerity of these teachers and their ability to provide information that specifically matches the unique needs of each individual will be much more effective than the generalized information circulated via a flyer or TV program. Knowledge of decision-making skills and communication skills, plus an information base on topics related to education, employability, parenting, health, sexuality, substance abuse, and family life will prepare Master Teachers to help their friends, neighbors, and relatives learn to help themselves. The ongoing availability of quality information and support from the Master Teacher is important to promoting gradual but lasting changes.

Addressing Personal Isolation: Creating a Network of Support

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hort-term connections of outsiders to the targeted community have a limited effect in promoting long-term change. When agency professionals provide programs in a community, many members of the community will resent the programming, seeing it as an intrusion from outside - something that they have had no part in developing. They often resist committing to the program. Other families and individuals may participate in the programming and manage to maintain positive changes as long as the program is available, but, once outside support is withdrawn, slip back into familiar negative patterns. Some individuals may want to change, but have to fight the resistance of family members who fear the repercussions to the family system. Without long-term support from someone who shares his/her goals, such an individual is likely to fail.

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he Master Teacher in Family Life addresses all these problems. By being a member of the community, the trained natural leader has the status and trustworthiness of an insider. Commitment to programs sanctioned by him/her is likely. By being an ongoing presence in the community, the Master Teacher can provide the long-term support that is essential to those who want to change.

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s with most new programming, the numbers of those who choose to connect with Master Teachers may be small at first. The Master Teacher community building model will often be challenged by generations of the discouraged who see no hope for change. However, unlike many poverty programs, with consistent community building strategies, many will slowly join in the community building process. The numbers will increase as the trust in this model increases.

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y providing individuals who want change with a network of support, including Master Teachers and other residents with similar desires, long-term personal isolation will be positively addressed. Individuals will not need to deal with problems alone. Feelings of isolation will be alleviated. When times get tough, when too many stressors make positive change difficult, knowing there is someone to talk to within the community is likely to help the struggling individual through that difficult time. When individuals who have lived for generations with the some unsuccessful problem-solving strategies begin to try out new ideas, having someone close by to help the first time and in the future will result in successful change. For all human beings, support from others is essential for developing self-confidence. For a family moving out of poverty toward self-sufficiency, a strong supportive network is especially important.

Responding to Community Isolation: Connecting with Mainstream Society

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o maintain an improved quality of life, poor people need to build connections with mainstream society. In many cases these connections are difficult to form because of fear and suspicion on both sides. The Master Teacher can begin to form these links because he or she is one of the members of the poor community who is perceived as most competent by both outsiders and insiders. The Master Teacher can make contact with trainers and other professionals outside the poor community and gradually bring them into the community. He or she can also bring community members out to meet those mainstream professionals. Eventually, the Teacher's helpees will be comfortable seeking effective outside resources on their own. The Master Teacher can also educate outsiders about the realities of living in poverty through participation on boards, encouraging positive media coverage in the neighborhood, and joining coalitions that address issues of poor families at risk. He or she can encourage participation of friends, neighbors, and relatives in programming offered by "outsiders" through organizing and insuring high quality follow-through within the targeted community. Ultimately a reciprocal relationship between the poor community and the rest of society will be forged, breaking down the walls between the two communities and improving the quality of life for the poor.

WHY THIS PROGRAM IS DIFFERENT

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he Master Teacher in Family Life Program works because it encourages the discouraged, gives people skills and knowledge to help them take control of their lives, and provides an environment to maintain positive change. The Master Teacher in Family Life Program is unique in that it relies on the strengths within the poor environment. It views the educator/trainer as merely the resource available to offer training, support, and encouragement. The community residents are seen as the important agents of long- term change.

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he Master Teacher approach can seem rather unrealistic given the barriers outlined in Chapter I. How can families constantly facing their own problems possibly have the energy left to help others? How can discouraged individuals not only change themselves, but create opportunities for others to grow in self-sufficiency? Finding agents for change within the poor community and giving them the strength to make a difference is a major challenge for this program. The Master Teacher in Family Life Program responds to this challenge first by looking at strategies that have not worked in the past, strategies that in fact are disempowering. It then reverses these strategies into methods that can empower individuals.

Encouraging the Discouraged

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ost poor families are caught in a situation that, despite the good intentions of many agency workers, creates a dependence on "the system" (Elwood, Murray). According to a 1985 Los Angeles Times opinion survey, "Poor people say the system works against them. Forty percent of welfare receivers see the system as making them more dependent." The effect of this system of dependence is similar to the "good parent" syndrome described by Rudolph Dreikurs.

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reikurs, a student of psychologist Alfred Adler, describes the "good parent" as the loving parent who does everything for his/her child: chooses the wardrobe, cleans the child's room, acts as referee in childhood disputes, and helps with homework. The result of these parenting behaviors is a child incapable of planning his day, organizing possessions, compromising in interpersonal relationships, and following through on responsibilities. The child fails constantly when on his own and has no clear self- concept. His feelings of inadequacy may be reflected in antisocial behavior, school failure, or general apathy to the world around him. The parent is creating a helpless, dependent child who will likely always need a "parent" to care for him throughout his life.

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parallel situation can be observed in our current social service delivery system. Our current system is the "parent," identifying needs and giving resources to families in need. It focuses on weaknesses - teenage pregnancy, homelessness, drug dependence - as conditions for help. It assumes the poor are unable to care for themselves and develops programs from their perspective for the poor. The assumption of many families, especially those who have been a part of this system for generations, is: obviously the agencies know we cannot make it on our own, so we cannot make it on our own; and we might as well not try, because they will want us to do it their way anyway. The longer the period of poverty, the more inadequate family members feel. These feelings of inadequacy may be reflected in contempt for our social system, escape via alcohol or drugs, or just plain apathy and dependence. When given opportunities for growth, individuals avoid the opportunity or intentionally fail because deliberate failure is less damaging to one's ego than trying hard and yet not reaching one's goals (Frankel & Snyder, 1978; Kernis, Zuckerman, Cohen & Spadafora, 1982; Miller, 1986). In cases where social service interventions have been given to families for generations, not only are there attitudes of hopelessness, but also limited interpersonal skills which promote independence and responsibility. These skills have not been useful in their limited environments.

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dlerian theory tells us that the dependent child does not have to remain dependent for the rest of his or her life. Effective intervention can turn around these behaviors. Dreikurs believes that the "good parent" of the dependent child can turn this phenomenon around - by offering space, skills, and opportunities to the child, encouraging responsible behavior. The parent can teach the child interpersonal skills and problem-solving strategies. Parents can teach such children how to solve their own problems and then give them the encouragement and space to take control of their own lives. The parent can give the child resources and suggest ways to use them wisely and then offer encouragement while letting the child make appropriate choices. Gradually, the parent can empower the child to become independent and responsible, ready to become a self-sufficient contributor to a society in flux.

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any families living in long-term poverty can benefit from the same approach. They need opportunities that promote independent behavior rather than dependence on a system. They need to be given information relevant to their lives and then be allowed to apply it. They need opportunities to gain control of their lives and support to maintain those feelings of control. Each successful decision will reinforce hope for a better quality of life and eventual self-sufficiency. For first generation poor, the approach will maintain hope. For the intergenerational poor, this approach will begin to promote long-term change. Just as parents who have always encouraged a child to be dependent on them cannot suddenly insist that the child be completely independent, so a social welfare system that has fostered dependence in the poor cannot suddenly withdraw all support and expect immediate, positive change. The Master Teacher, as a teacher and community builder, however, can begin to facilitate this process. He or she can build the bridges from dependence to independence.

STRATEGIES TO ENCOURAGE FAMILIES IN POVERTY

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n every poor community there are those who, despite the difficulty of their own lives, are natural leaders. They have the potential to help move their communities toward a better quality of life and yet they need help themselves in order to realize this potential fully. Though skilled and successful in their own family lives, they may hesitate to intervene in the lives of others. They may lack some of the information they need to effect change in the community. They need reinforcement of their own attempts to help.

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n the Master Teacher in Family Life Program, a professional educator functions as the mentor to these natural community leaders. The educator acts as a role model to the Master Teacher and funnels information to the Master Teacher. The educator is also there to listen when the Master Teacher encounters problems in the community.

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onversely, the natural leader is there to educate the professional educator (and, indirectly, the mainstream community in general) about the poor community. Natural leaders know which strategies work and which do not. They know the needs of the community. Perhaps the most important task of the professional educator is to make natural leaders aware of just how much they do know and to encourage them to follow through on their own beliefs.

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f you become an educator in this program, the following specific strategies which focus on encouragement will help you be effective:

1. Respect the Individuals You Work With. Families in poverty wait for everything: social workers, welfare checks, buses, housing repairs. Make sure you have the time to give to this program so you can fulfill your responsibilities in a timely fashion. Be prepared and on time for meetings. If you say you will "find the answer," find it - or admit you took on a task that you could not accomplish. Inconsistency and unkept promises give the discouraging message that you do not really take this program or the needs of the clients seriously.

2. Recognize Efforts. Do not wait until a trainee comes to five training sessions before noting his or her dedication to the program. Comment on the creative ways program participants have discovered to get babysitting or transportation - let them know you are aware of their efforts. When a trainee becomes a Master Teacher, do not withhold praise and encouragement until he/she has made a major achievement in turning around another's life. Notice each step of the way - the building of trust, the consistent support....Remember that when Master Teachers help others, they are giving a part of their emotional self away; that missing emotional part can be replenished by the educator through encouraging remarks.

3. Display Effective Communication Skills. In the skills part of this manual (Workshops 2 and 3), Master Teachers are taught effective ways to communicate with their clients (e.g., how to talk openly with people rather than talking to them). As the first link in the mentoring chain, you must display the skills that really keep communication open.

4. Maintain Confidentiality. Communication will remain open only if sensitive issues are kept confidential. Poor families fear that shared personal problems may become a matter of public record. Once group members begin to speak frankly, maintain their trust.

5. Keep Expectations Realistic. Don't expect to change the world overnight. It will take helpees a long time to learn and practice new skills. Some barriers to change will never completely disappear. Some goals - for example, those related to high levels of employment - may be totally unrealistic given the political and economic realities of the community. Be patient. By noticing and praising even small positive change in trainees and clients, you will encourage helpees and also feel encouraged yourself.

6. Project Faith in Your Trainees. Try not to give all the answers, even though it is very difficult sometimes! Remember, the more an individual is encouraged to rely on the educator, the less internal control he or she feels. Work with others to find solutions relevant to the community. Admit readily that you do not know the answer if you do not. If you have never lived in poverty, do not pretend that you know how it feels - you do not. Families struggling with limited resources find such attitudes patronizing and discouraging.

7. Find the Strengths in Each Trainee You Work With. Remind them of their strengths frequently. These people may be unaware of how powerful they are. The discouragement of poverty causes many to deny their talents and abilities. When trying to identify positive aspects of the Reagan cuts, Rev. William Payne said, "...it may enable us to rely on our own strengths which lay latent, like a sleeping giant." There are aspiring, talented artists in situations of poverty who have not been able to use their talents appropriately. There are caring, talented human service providers who have been told to take clerical courses or (in one case) lose their food stamps. By helping each trainee discover his/her talents, you will be creating a powerful community.

8. Find as Many Positives in a Negative Situation as Possible. To those in poverty, many barriers seem insurmountable. If the educator, the trainee, or the client gets stuck on the negatives of the situation, there will be no movement - only discouragement. Find the solutions that do work, and use each as an encouraging sign to keep moving upward.

9. Be Prepared with Programming, Resources, and Answers to Questions. The more prepared you are, the more the trainees will trust your sincerity in wanting to make a difference.

10. Get to Know the Neighborhood in Which You Are Working. In every neighborhood there are individuals who view themselves as the leaders. In some cases, these leaders are caring individuals who want a good quality of life for all. In other cases, the leaders are survivors who control situations within the community, often to their own benefit. Understanding how the formal and informal leadership in a community operates is essential. If the trainee associates you, the trainer, with a local power structure (for example, the housing or government authority) that they view as oppressive or corrupt, your effectiveness will be severely undermined. Even if the local power structure is popular, you will want to define your independence from it. In general, powerful community leaders can be useful in helping you begin a program, but be careful not to present them as key to the program's success.

BUILDING COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT CHANGE: CREATING AN ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENT

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ith individual empowerment individuals will gain the self- confidence to reach outside themselves and connect with others inside and outside their environment. The natural leaders who become Master Teachers will decide how to use their training in a way that matches the goals they set to help their neighbors, friends, and relatives. Master Teachers will often choose to work on formal programs; however, with good training, Master Teachers also seem naturally to create an informal sense of community as families begin to talk to each other. The talking and sharing result in increased awareness of information that can improve family and community life, and an ever-expanding support system. The specific direction a given Master Teacher takes will match his or her personality and current goals.
- Some will use the program for self-improvement, finding the energy to finish a GED program or enter college. They will become role models to others.

- Some will become mentors to individuals in the neighborhood. They will let isolated individuals know there is someone nearby who cares and has the skills and knowledge to make a difference.

- Some graduated Master Teachers will want to use their learned knowledge to build programming that will help groups of others - youth groups, groups of young parents, families struggling with a specific social issue such as AIDS.

- Some may want to use their connections inside and outside the poverty environment to begin community development work - long-term improvements in the structure and function of the neighborhood.

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y the end of the training, each will know what she or he wants to do. Know that with each Master Teacher Training you are empowering natural leaders to build formal and informal communities of mutual support. This will bring success to a community building process that will create long-term encouragement and long-term change.

MASTER TEACHERS AND THEIR HELPEES: BUILDING INTERNAL INFORMATION NETWORKS

Family Life Issues

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s the Master Teachers share quality information about family life issues with their helpees:
- parents will learn more effective ways to deal with their children; the potential for abuse will lessen.

- individuals will better understand health issues; the frequency of early death due to disease will lessen.

- teens will care better for themselves before, during, and after pregnancy; infant mortality and disability will be less frequent.

- families in crisis will know where to find good help immediately; suicides can be prevented, children will be safer.

- adults and teens will be more likely to hear of good educational and job possibilities; they will have more success in the job force.

Group Activities

As some Master Teachers begin group activities:

- young mothers will have a place to go to support each other and share information about parenting; parenting styles will become more child-centered.

- youth will have enrichment and academic activities to motivate them toward academic success; with success will come decreased dropout rates.

- youth will begin connecting with the "good kids" in order to "belong;" gangs will not be the only alternative.

- the isolated rural will find mentors and support outside the home.

- families at risk will be able to join support groups.

- the employed will find others with whom to problem-solve issues related to the family and work.

- group educational programming addressing money issues such as management, consumer rights, and job skills will be available.

Reaching Out

As some Master Teachers reach out to mainstream society:

- Master Teachers will join organizations that can help them achieve long-term change.

- Master Teachers will identify and initiate activities that will enrich youth living in poverty.

- Master Teachers will become the consumers who identify programming that works to help their neighbors at risk; support services will be motivated to provide good programming or be passed by.

- Master Teachers will become the role models, encouraging others from their neighborhood to move toward the mainstream.

- Master Teachers will teach others about the real needs of the poor; programming will become more practical, and stereotypes will break down.

ENCOURAGEMENT WORKS

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or the past three years I have been working in inner-city communities. One evening at an appreciation picnic for members of a particular black and Hispanic community, I asked if the fact that I was a white, middle-class woman born and brought up in a small town was a disadvantage to my implementing this program. If I had been of a minority background, a person who had survived poverty issues myself, would I have been even more successful with this program? Their immediate reply was no, neither color nor personal experiences had any effect on the success of this program. The reason they listened to me was that they knew I cared about the issues that affected them. They felt that I respected them and gave them the energy to guide others. Our conversation then turned to incidents when they had been disappointed by others. These others were not remembered by their color or origins either; they were remembered for their discouraging style.

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