Introducing WhyTry’s “Surrendering the One-up” Workshop

Here at WhyTry, we believe that the key to creating positive change with youth doesn’t lie in interventions alone, but in the relationship you establish with youth. That’s why we’re excited to announce the new “Surrendering the One-up Relationship” Workshop, which provides staff members with several strategies for building positive relationships, and improving even the most dreary or frustrating classroom environments. The half-day workshop includes:

Tools to foster positive paradigm shifts
A strength-based approach to relationship building
Strategies to acknowledge accomplishments and build value and worth
A set of “lifetime rules” to establish in your classroom
Ways to create an environment of safety
Overcoming the fear of failure
Coaching on “giving second chances”
Discussion of WhyTry’s 3 R’s: Relationship, Relevance, and Resiliency

If you schedule a “Surrendering the One-up” before the end of June, you qualify for $1000 off.

Click here for the workshop flyer, or contact us to learn more.

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Ask a trainer: How do I motivate a classroom of diverse learners?

WhyTry Training Consultant Chris Brown answers:

My wife Annette and I are the parents of five children, ranging in age from 12 to 25 years old. We have been blessed with very diverse learners, each motivated in very different ways. Their life experiences are varied. One has dropped out of college twice, while another has been accepted into the Air Force Academy. I have one child who most would say needed special education assistance in school, who was able to learn to speak a dying language fluently in six months. One loves school and traditional learning, and another hates school, still gets “A’s,” but would rather do ballet all day.

I would love to tell you that I know the perfect formula to build motivation in our youth, but that would be far from the truth. So I decided to asked experts in the field – my own group of diverse learners. The following is “The Brown Children’s TOP TEN Motivation Builders.” They each drew from their home, school and peer experiences. These motivators can be applied in the classroom while using the WhyTry Program or at home as a parent:

10. Consequences – I’m going to make mistakes. Please give me positive feedback.
9.   Boundaries – I need life rules that will always assist me and are patterns for success.
8.   Plug In – Show me how to connect, to make friends, and to contribute to others.
7.   Second Chances – I can do things a different way even though it may not work.
6.   Challenges – Learning is exciting, fun, and has a purpose.
5.   Listen – You don’t have to talk or solve anything. Just listen.
4.   Safety – My opinion and perspective matter, and I feel I’m enough or loved.
3.   Dreams – Support me in my search for MY passion, purpose or interests.
2.   Relevance – Provide me with diverse opportunities to learn how this applies to me, right now.
1.   Relationship – Understand and appreciate my world and surrender the one-up relationship.

On December 9, 2012, The Division of Child and Family Services called my wife and asked if she would be willing to take some children who had been removed from their home. They lived in a house where their father was not present and the adults present were not working. There was no running water or electricity. The warmth came from a wood burning stove that was also used for cooking. On the 14th, five children ages 4–14 entered our home. The clothes they were wearing were the only ones they possessed, and they carried a Wal-Mart bag of their possessions. I would love to tell you that we did marvelous things for these children, but truly the beneficiaries of the experience were me, my wife and our five children that frequented the house quite often over the next month.

We had the opportunity to put every one of the “Top Ten Motivation Builders” to the test in a very challenging, heart wrenching, and time consuming experience. Because we did everything in our power to apply these principles, I can tell you that with the support of seven people, a caring neighborhood, and two schools, those five children left our home on Jan 8, 2013 knowing that:

They were safe and loved;
Their parents’ choices may affect them, but do not define them;
Their challenging experiences can be converted for good and become an amazing influence in their lives;
School, learning, and reading is fun and exciting;
There are rules and consequences for choices, and it gets to be that way if they want opportunities and freedom;
It is OK to dream;
And anything is possible if you are willing to work for it.

Chris Brown is a WhyTry training consultant, motivational speaker, and former wrestling coach. To learn more about WhyTry’s strategies for motivating youth, contact us.

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Ask a trainer: “At a recent conference, the WhyTry presenter mentioned ‘The 3 R’s.’ What are they?”

WhyTry Trainer Chris Brown answers:

1. Relationship

Whenever I get this question, my initial reaction is to say, “Relationship, relationship, relationship!” That’s because relationships are the number one thing you need as a counselor, teacher, or administrator working with youth. The entire WhyTry Program is founded on the idea that if we aren’t creating relationships, the kids aren’t going to trust us or be willing to change. If you understand relationships, you understand the program.

2. Relevancy

The second “R” is relevancy. I usually ask people at trainings, “Who in here was a math major in college?” Most of the time only one or two people raise their hands. Then I ask the entire group to think back on that college algebra class that we all had to take to graduate. I ask them if they enjoyed it, and most of the time the only ones to raise their hands are the one or two former math majors. Then I ask, “So if we were all required to take that class, why wouldn’t we enjoy it?” Responses usually include: “I couldn’t even understand the teacher”; “I didn’t like math in the first place… I hated it in elementary school as much as I did in college!”; “It made no sense.”

But the most common answer? “The class didn’t relate to me. It didn’t apply to my life in any way whatsoever.”

So in the end, it all comes down to relativity. A lot of teachers never bring the things that we know in this life and crash them together with the things we don’t know, like algebra. Our college math teacher never explained that the building we were learning in, the desks we were writing at, and the chairs we were sitting in were all created using math. So to this day we look back on our math class and say, “Pointless.”

If we want our students to value their education and stay engaged with whatever subject we’re teaching, we’ve got to keep it relevant. We’ve got to apply it to the lives they’re leading today.

3. Resiliency

WhyTry is the only program I’m familiar with that is actually teaching kids resiliency. In this program, it doesn’t matter what a student’s background is. No matter how much that student has been through, we can teach him or her to take life’s experiences and view them in a different way – a way that will make them stronger and better and equipped to reach their biggest goals.

One of my favorite stories is an Indian legend about a farmer who woke up one morning to discover that his only horse had escaped. The horse was extremely valuable, serving as the family’s only source of transportation and an indispensable asset during harvest season.

When the farmer’s neighbor saw that the horse had disappeared, he hurried over to say, “I can’t believe how unlucky you are to lose your horse during harvesting season! What horrible luck!”

The farmer calmly looked at his neighbor and replied, “Maybe.”

Later, the farmer returned home with his own horse and another wild horse he had found during his search. The neighbor hurried over to say, “You’re so lucky! Now you have two horses to help you during harvesting season! What luck!”

The farmer looked at his neighbor and said, “Maybe.”

The next day, the farmer’s son went outside to begin training the wild horse. In the process, he got bucked off and broke his leg and his hip. The neighbor was soon at the farmer’s door. “You are so unlucky to have a bedridden son during harvest season. It’s horrible!”

The farmer was composed as he again replied, “Maybe.”

India was at war during this time, and recruiters arrived at the farmer’s house the next day to take his son. When they saw his broken leg and hip they said, “We can’t accept you into our army,” and moved on. All three of the neighbor’s sons were drafted.

In tears, the neighbor came to the farmer and said, “Your son is here and safe. All three of mine are going to war and may never return. You’re so very lucky.”

The farmer simply smiled at his neighbor and said, “Maybe.”

The moral of this legend: Our experiences alone do not determine whether we thrive or crumble in life. Rather, it is the meaning we attach to those experiences and the perspective we give them. That’s what we are trying to teach youth through WhyTry.

Chris Brown is a WhyTry trainer, motivational speaker, and former wrestling coach. To learn more about how the “3 R’s” can improve your classroom, contact us at 866.949.8791.

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Meet the WhyTry Training Team

They love what they do. They’re passionate about youth success. And they’re wholly converted to the WhyTry Program. Here’s what this talented group has to say about what they see in WhyTry:

Chris Brown:

“I truly feel that the WhyTry Program is the umbrella and/or starting point of a comprehensive education. Aristotle said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education… WhyTry is about the HEART and Relationships. It’s about life skills and how math, english and the sciences must be relative to understanding and appreciating each of our worlds. It is about courage and getting up every time we get knocked down. Rocky said it best in this clip: http://youtu.be/_Z5OookwOoY”

Gina Purcell:

“WhyTry is a program designed to motivate children and youth (as well as adults) using videos, music, visual analogies, and activities. It is unusual in the sense that the methods implemented are very effective yet rarely used. I used the program with youth for 9 years and it was very effective in motivating youth, helping build relationships with them, and teaching them basic life skills. One of my favorite things about this program is that it’s not just giving kids skills to get kids through school, it’s giving them skills to get through life.”

Steve Robinette:

“WhyTry is much more than social/emotional curriculum for youth who are at risk. WhyTry helps kids and adults at all levels in life to take a look in the mirror and build a game plan for their future starting day one. Many educators have told me that their experience with WhyTry has not only helped how they work with their kids but has been a life changing experience for them as well!”

Bruce Bushnell:

“This program teaches social and emotional life skills in a multi-sensory approach, catering to all the learning styles. We’re helping students look at their challenges differently and helping them turn their challenges into positive motivation. Essentially, we’re helping them answer the question, “Why put effort into life?”

Mark Fuller:

“The key in helping our youth is to make today relevant. That’s what most teachers are trying to do for their students day in and day out. And the WhyTry Program helps them meet that goal.”

To learn more about the varied and inspiring backgrounds of the WhyTry trainers, click here.

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Relevancy = a classroom blog

Looking for a great way to keep your students engaged even outside of the classroom? Think relevance. Think “classroom blog.”

Mrs. Sweeney of Village East Elementary has been implementing a classroom blog with her fourth graders since 2009. Each week, she posts a picture or video with a thought-provoking question on the “Sweeney Scribe” blog. Her fourth graders then have the opportunity to respond in the comment thread, with the expectation that their comments will be appropriate for others to read and be at least five sentences long.

"The Sweeney Scribe" is a great way for Mrs. Sweeney's 4th graders to express themselves in a non-threatening virtual environment.

When WhyTry’s Dr. Erika Joye came to Mrs. Sweeney’s classroom to teach students about the “Reality Ride,” a reminder of the lesson went up on the blog – with a YouTube rollercoaster video – almost instantly. Sweeney wrote, “On Friday, Dr. Joye visited our classroom and talked about the first metaphor in a series of ten. The first metaphor compared life to a roller coaster. She discussed the importance of choosing the right track to take in life. Using your own words, compare the ‘easy-fast’ track and the ‘harder but worth it track. Think about the choices you make every day. Do those choices help you move along the easy-fast track or the harder but worth it track?”

Before long, a thread of comments appeared below the question, with every student pledging to take the “harder but worth it” track. Read a few of their comments below:

Well, the “harder but worth it” track is harder but you can get through life easier. The “easy-fast” track is fun until you hit the bump and you have a hard time getting through life. I know that nobody’s perfect and that’s ok. My choices sometimes make me go on both tracks. right now my friends are recovering from the bump that most people hit. Most the time I am in the loop that is hard to get out of.

if I make choices that show caring and respect for others around me, we all win. That path might be harder, but I’d say it’s worth it, woudn’t you.

When you go on the good track that means your working very hard and you problem is like, “Hey this is hard but i know i can do it.”

I would take harder but worth it rollercoster because I always have troble in schoole and my house I want to take harder but worth it rollar coster I alway get in trouble and I want to get out of troble so I wanted to go on harder but worth it rollar coster.

I’d pick the “harder but worth it” track because I have done alot like the one I picked. I’ve also done hard staff but worth it staff. For example, math I have been stuck on it that was hard but worth it. So thats why I picked “harder but worth it.”

Hmmm… I would pick the harder but worth it track. I would pick that track because sometimes i get stuck on problems but it’s worth it, i have to try. I always have to do a lot of work but i have to deal with it all the time.

If you have ideas on how to make your classroom an engaging and relevant setting for the youth you work with, or if you’d like more information on how WhyTry uses multimedia to engage students, comment below, on our Facebook page, or contact us.

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A life-changing final project

Audrey Cordova looked around at her 8^th grade WhyTry class, notebook and pen at the ready. For the first time in her teaching career, she was relinquishing control of her classroom and letting the students take the reins completely. So far, it wasn’t going well.

The students’ assignment was to design a mural representing the principles of WhyTry as their final project. Some students rigorously huddled at the whiteboard, making lists and writing plans, while others arm wrestled, sat quietly at their desks, stood on tables, or passed around mints.

Defense mechanisms were being used as students realized their ideas weren’t being acknowledged. If they were excluded, they found other activities to distract them and show that they didn’t care. “The class has now split into three groups,” wrote Audrey in her notebook. “One group is having off-topic conversation, and one group is just sitting. I think the group that is planning thinks they are the only ones on task, but in reality, it is their exclusiveness that has left the others feeling unheard. So the others resort to their defense mechanisms of acting like they don’t care or just being off task, or sitting silently to protect oneself.” Frustration and anger became increasingly evident as the day wore on.

Watching this process unfold was a huge learning experience for Audrey, who generally runs a structured classroom. “I’m questioning my own teaching strategies this year and have to wonder if we had had several chances to try this where students led the classroom, would they have learned to be more productive now?” wrote Audrey. “I’ve taught enough years to know the answer to that is of course. They need opportunities to practice and apply what we learn in WhyTry in ‘real-life activities.’”

Finally, the students came to Audrey to announce that they had finalized their idea. But when Audrey inquired further, it was evident that not everyone had contributed. She shared the observations she’d made in her notebook, and a profound silence fell over her students. “Every person in the room knows they have to take accountability for why this day, in the end, was a failure when it came to one group coming together to accomplish this challenge. No one was perfect today,” Audrey later wrote. She challenged her students to go home and think about how they could truly apply the principles and tools of WhyTry to come together and create their project. They agreed, vowing to do better tomorrow.

At the end of the day, Audrey wrote in her notebook, “Although today’s objective of getting a group plan down on paper that everyone was involved with, failed, I feel the students and I learned a lot from today, and I will consider this one of the best teaching days in my career… even if I stumbled into it by accident.”

Despite her usual insistence on deadlines and order, Audrey let the students run the show again the next day, and was impressed this time. She wrote, “Students are way different today, and in a good way… All of them seemed very aware of their behavior, and this introspective way of thinking is allowing for progress. 35 minutes into class, everyone agrees on a plan and wants to get to work.”

There were, however, still roadblocks. Five days into the project, the students decided they weren’t happy with it and voted to start over. Audrey wrote, “My mind is racing as to ‘now they will never finish.’ However, how can I stop them when all they want is to create something of the highest standards? … They clearly don’t want to let me or each other down. They are 8^th graders who typically only care about just getting the assignment done as quickly as possible, and today that is not the case.” The students spent the rest of Day 5 formulating a new plan.

Finally, in the last few minutes of class on Day 10, the class proudly finished the mural. They wanted to march it outside and show it off immediately. “I wonder what happened to my 8^th graders who shy away from looking smart and wanting others to see how hard they worked. It excites me to see the level of pride they take in their mural,” wrote Audrey.

Audrey told the class she was proud of the ways they had used the tools of WhyTry during the planning and executing of the mural. Afterward, they held a well-deserved celebration party. “Interestingly,” wrote Audrey, “They tell me that had they not fallen on the first day of working together, they didn’t think they would have accomplished the challenge.”

Audrey’s class is living proof of one of the fundamental messages of WhyTry: that the process of tackling a challenge can be just as valuable as the end result.

The description of the mural, as written by the students, is below:

“Our mural has two sides. One side represents what life is like when you use Why Try and one side represents what it is like when you don’t use Why Try. (They call them the good and the bad side.) It begins with the words “Why Try” on each side. On the good side, the words are clear and easy to read and on the bad side, the words are being torn up. The bridge is central to the theme. The first mural did not have a bridge. We added the bridge to show that a person can travel to either side depending on whether they use the tools of Why Try or not. The bridge is also slanted upward to represent that getting to the good side is an uphill climb, as we learned in the Reality Ride. It is much easier to slide down to the bad side. On the good side, there are paths that can lead you somewhere. On the bad side, people are just left roaming aimlessly with no real direction. This is symbolic again of what Why Try does for you. The mural itself is very representative of the lifting the weight in that it is split and one side is better for you than the other. On the good side, the playground offers opportunities to play and have fun. The opposite is true on the bad side. The people on the good side have made good choices to keep their river clean and therefore have the opportunity to fish. You cannot do this on the bad side. The sky is clear and the view is clear on the good side whereas on the bad side, it is cloudy and dark. In general, the overall climate is just better on the good side. The view is clearer because you have climbed the wall. You have freedom, opportunity, and self-respect.”

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Announcing WhyTry’s Learning Activity Expansion Pack

The WhyTry Activity Expansion Pack gives you an exclusive sneak peek into the future of the WhyTry Program.Its features include:

-Over 150 learning activities – many of them brand new – for students of all ages and learning types.

-Also includes a bonus pre-release of the new Fall 2012 WhyTry PowerPoint DVD, which contains beautifully updated versions of the visual metaphors and five new hip-hop music videos (This feature is only available to existing customers.)

The WhyTry learning activities are key in helping students from diverse backgrounds create unity in the classroom. The WhyTry Activity Expansion Pack will increase your ability to engage your youth in an experience that will meet their specific needs using their specific learning styles.

The activities in this packet are easier to read and understand, easier to implement, and easier to integrate into your flexible lesson plan. The activities begin by giving you at-a-glance parameters, such as grade level, time, group size, and spatial requirements. Each activity also provides a powerful tie-in to the visual analogy, better enabling you to effectively process the learning experience with your students. There are more diagrams, picture illustrations, and online resources to make it as simple as possible for you to implement the WhyTry learning activities with your youth.

The activity expansion pack more than doubles the number of activities in the elementary teacher’s manual, and quadruples the number of activities in the secondary manual. The full activity packet/DVD combo is a special offer for our existing customers and isn’t available online.

Check out the full product description here, or call us to learn more about how this packet can enhance the WhyTry experience in your classroom or organization: 866.WHY.TRY1

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Making today relevant

Mark Fuller, former Olympic wrestler, knows the reality of reaching his dreams against all odds.

WhyTry keynote speaker Mark Fuller recently spoke before an audience of counselors, teachers, students, and other youth mentors to talk about finding relevancy with today’s youth.

Mark began his speech with a passionate statement: “What you do day in and day out saved my life.” He repeated this statement once more, visibly emotional, before diving in to his own personal story.

Mark’s childhood memories include divorce, loneliness, and a suicidal mother who drank constantly to fight the nightmare of schizophrenia. “I would go to school every day wanting to be like the other kids… wanting to be a person that understood love… but it wasn’t that way for me,” he said. “My acting out at school became pretty proliferated.”

When Mark was 11 years old, however, people around him began to reach out. He started to participate in school wrestling. He was encouraged to reach his dreams by coaches and teachers that Mark says literally saved his life.

Mark began to set goals. He wanted to win a league wrestling championship. He wanted to win state. He wanted be on the U.S. Olympic wrestling team.

Because Mark was surrounded by a network of support, he reached every one of these goals. He owes his success in the Olympic games to one coach who encouraged him to break down his training schedule into six months, then into three-month quarters, then into each month, each week, and each day leading to the games. “The key in helping our youth is to make today relevant,” said Mark.

Often, Mark said, youth have a perspective of life that is limited to what is happening today. If we can help them see that the choices they make today have long-term consequences, he said, we can help them “climb over the wall” that is blocking them from seeing their potential and help them reach their dreams.

Contact us to book Mark as a keynote speaker at your next event.

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“Keepin’ it Real”: How to make your classroom relevant for today’s youth

A key element of the WhyTry resiliency formula is becoming relevant with the youth we work with. This doesn’t mean you have to change your clothing style, know how 2 lol in a txt msg, or start calling everyone “dude.” It does mean stepping away from the chalkboard and entering their world: the world of multimedia. Here are some ideas for getting started:

1. Talk the talk. And do it on social media sites, like Twitter or Facebook. If these sites are as foreign to you as an alien planet, surrender the one-up by asking your youth to give you some lessons. Keeping a regular blog about the goings-on in your classroom will also help your youth feel more comfortable and excited to go to class. A recent study, titled, “I’ll See you on ‘Facebook’: The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher Self-Disclosure,” showed that students who “accessed the Facebook website of a teacher high in self-disclosure anticipated higher levels of motivation and effective learning and more positive classroom climate.”

Do note that ”friending” and “tweeting” with students is a controversial topic in some school districts, so make sure you are aware of the rules and norms for your area.

2. Watch the vids. Sites like YouTube can be a great resource to engage students. James Sanders, a middle school history teacher at KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy, says YouTube has become the most useful tool for engaging his students. He recently wrote in the official YouTube blog: “I’ve used YouTube in my classroom in countless different ways. I use videos to spark classroom discussions, increase instructional time by assigning videos as homework, and create playlists for each lesson so students can dive deeper into specific areas that interest them. I also found countless educational videos on YouTube that energize and excite students about a number of topics…”

3. Know the tunes. Nursery rhymes are out, and some new sounds, like the ever-growing genre of hip-hop, are in. Gavin Sheppard is the founder of the “Remix Project,” a program that helps troubled youth develop their creative gifts. In a recent interview with the TED organization, Sheppard said, “Hip-hop [music] can be that gift, that Trojan Horse, that gives you the ability to get past the defenses [youth] put up. Once you’ve gotten past that, and you give them that gift and they’re engaged, that’s when you can start to hit them with life skills. That means helping them develop everything from business etiquette to refining the natural raw talents they have. Whether it’s in graphic design — maybe they are really cool graffiti artists. Or maybe it’s as a music producer or an engineer, or something else.”

Finding it difficult to sift through the hundreds of songs that give off negative messages for a few inspiring tunes? Your best source is the youth themselves. After teaching them the motivational principles found in the WhyTry curriculum, have them share the songs that motivate them or remind them of these principles. Have them explain why. They’ll remember your lesson every time they listen to that song.

The WhyTry program uses video, hip-hop music, hands-on learning activities, and other media to help youth develop social and emotional skills. To learn more, visit our website or contact us.