"Very often in a traditional school, the adult
monopolizes the first action, the action of planning
(i.e., an action withhigh degree of subject
transformation) letting students participate
only inthe second action, the action of "implementing"
(i.e., an action with highdegree of object
transformation). Jackie Baker-Sennett, Cindy
White, Barbara Rogoff, and I studied children's
playcrafting activities under direction of child vs. adult (novice parent
volunteers in school). We found
that when adult directed the playcrafting, s/he
did planning ahead before entering the classroom
and then tried to implement his/her plan with the
children making children marionettes of this plan
and objects of his/her activity, allowing the children to be involved only in
planning of minor details. When child directed the children's playcrafting,
although the child also
prepared some ideas, the ideas were open for
transformation and negotiation (and were always
transformed at high degree by the group). Under child direction, the children
spent more time in planning
overall and especially in thematic, detailed, and
mindstorming types of planning."
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This kind of finding can also be found in noninstructional settings of
afterschool public health programs, with
important consequences for prevention. The more
young people are involved in planning their own
programs to reduce substance abuse, violence, and
AIDS/HIV, and to use adults as resources in this regard,
the more "buy-in" public health programs typically have.
This may be the real value of "peer programs"--not that
young people are working with other young people, but
that young people who participate in program planning
develop a deeper, more textured understanding of
risk-taking behavior and its meaning in their own lives.
Bill Penuel
____________________________
PreventionInventions
139 Holly Forest
Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 646-9682