Changing Youth Behavior - One Day at a Time (Camille Britton 06-07)

Illustrates how developing a positive self-image and cultural identity can help improve youth behavior.

Understanding the Past So It Will Not Be Our Future: Changing Behaviors One Day at a Time (Camille Britton 06-07)

Member Name: Camille Britton

Service Site: Greenwood Shalom After School and Summer Enrichment Program @ Greenwood United Methodist Church

Location: Dorchester, MA

Project Focus:

While serving at Greenwood Shalom, Camille Britton developed and implemented an extended project to raise awareness of racial and cultural issues among the youth under her care. In this presentation, she describes her motivation for initiating this project, as well as its successful outcomes.

When she first arrived at the program, many of the female teens (ages 11-14) were exhibiting poor behavior, attitude, and language (B.A.L.). As time passed, she determined that the negative way in which they carried themselves was actually self-projection: their B.A.L. reflected the "social/cultural stereotypes and “norms” which were reaffirmed in most households." She further concluded that, through negative B.A.L, they were segregating themselves from those in school and society who had a more positive self-image.

This presentation shows that merely discouraging individual behaviors is not enough; for positive change to occur, one must strike at the root causes of negative behavior. Camille Britton did so through a series of "mock 'Jim Crow' reenactments," with dramatic results.