Negative school experiences were the most frequently cited difficulty for youth
returning to a learning environment. As Helen Campbell Murphy and Julie Cool
wrote, "teachers and teaching methods are what the youth disliked most about their
school years many of the youth ... expressed a great deal of anger toward past
teachers and the structure of the school system"
(1991). Dr. Linda Jessup
found that "Dislike for School" was the most frequently cited barrier to literacy
participation in the 16-20 years of age group (1997). Most studies found that youth
learners were quick to express a dislike for school…but I think it is important to
consider the possible personal meanings embedded in a dislike for school. Such
“dislike” is formed by repeated negative experiences, including shaming,
discrimination, inability for teachers to meet student needs, poor matches between
learning styles and teaching methods, and a general sense of powerlessness and
hopelessness added to year by year. As the list of difficulties encountered in learning
grows, the more a student will resist the whole process for fear of repeating the earlier
negative experiences. Thus a reparative educational experience needs to both
acknowledge the long history of difficulty, and emphasize every opportunity for
success.
Discrimination and racism have a profound effect on learners' sense of self and the relevance of schooling. Both the Peterborough Native Youth project and the Toronto ALF A (Youth of the Diaspora) project found the experiences of racism and cultural/systemic discrimination to be key negative school experiences for their youth participants. Within the Peterborough focus groups, the top problem with learning in the school system was that it "teaches nothing up to date about Native people" and that stereotyping and racism affected the youths' daily experience of schooling. Curriculum for at-risk youth ( who have often experienced discrimination) needs to incorporate critical thinking activities to give learners the tools to externalize damaging self-messages. For example, a youth may have internalized the message that she is a second-class citizen through open or covert discrimination. Empowering learning allows her to see that this second class status is not about herself at all - instead, it is about systemic inequities, biases, and power hierarchies. Externalization of the "problem" goes a long way to helping learners outgrow shame and develop a sense of compassion for their own journeys.
Not surprisingly, successes encountered in learning occur when youth are valued and
accepted, when curriculum and teaching styles match their learning needs, and when
specific cultural practices and experiences form the framework for a critical
investigation of schooling practices within the dominant culture. The National Anti-
Poverty Organization found that successes were often noted on a self level; "The said
they were more hopeful, understood themselves better, had greater independence, and
have healthier lifestyles"
(1992). Murphy and Cool also found that skills upgrading
had a globally positive effect on self-respect, attitude, employment opportunities, and communication and interpersonal skills. The support,
flexibility, respect and individualized nature of upgrading programs were critical to
the students' experience of successful learning (1991). Perrin (1999) echoes the need
for individual attention to ensure youth needs are addressed, and the need for program
flexibility to accommodate the "often extreme differences among individual youth".