Generation
Girl
Providing girls with a safe space to discuss issues
that are relevant to their daily lives.
Overview
Harmony Generation Girl is a six-week program designed to provide a group of girls in grades seven and eight with a safe space to discuss issues that are relevant to their daily lives. These issues may include identity, media influences, and peer and family relationships. There will be a focus throughout the program on advocacy and making a positive change in one’s community.
At the completion of the program, the girls will unveil a resource for their school and/or community. This resource may take the form of a video created by the girls, an awareness campaign within their school, or facilitated workshops for other classes.
Goals and Objectives
The ultimate goal of Harmony Generation Girl is to empower girls to make a difference in their own lives, and the lives of others, in their schools and communities by providing a safe space where each person is free to discover the power of her own voice.
- Community Building through the creation of a youth resource for the school and/or community.
- Leadership Skills through the advocates for female youth in their schools and communities.
- Life Skills through the development of problem-solving, relational skills and a sense of community.
- Technology skills through the use of Internet activities, as well as movies, music videos and TV.
Some Statistics
- In fourth grade, the number of girls and boys who like math and science is about the same. However, by grade eight, girls are much less likely than boys to think they are good at math and science.1
- Girls are less active than boys; 62% of girls are not considered active enough for optimal health benefits.2
- In a sample of 400 girls in grades seven and eight, 61% of them were dieting to lose weight and a significant number of them were engaging in extreme weight control methods.3
- Girls are two to three times more likely to experience sexual abuse than boys.4
- Girls between the ages of 12 and 17 are diagnosed with depression almost twice as often as boys.5
- Girls attempt suicide four to five times more often than boys do.6
When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed, but when we are silent we are still afraid, so it is better to speak ~Audre Lorde
The Message
Clearly, girls and boys are not equal in today’s society and girls continue to face many barriers in their lives that must be overcome. Harmony Movement’s Generation Girl program seeks to aid girls in this pursuit by encouraging them to develop tools and strategies to increase their resiliency. Through the creation of a forum where girls are free to discuss topics related to identity and media influences, as well as build on communication skills and foster relationships with others, Harmony Movement aims to empower girls to rise above the challenges in their lives.
Participants will also be able to contribute to their school and community through the program, as the objective of the program involves creating a resource to educate others about issues relevant to girls today.
Outcomes
Student Outcomes
Build student’s leadership skills in a community setting and provide students with media literacy tools to assist them in navigating both positive and negative media messages.
Parent Outcomes
Encourage parental involvement throughout the process and invite them to attend the final session of the program where the resource will be presented to the school and assist parents to develop healthy relationships with their daughters.
Teacher Outcomes
Students in the program can bring what they gain into their own classrooms.
School Outcomes
Promote a positive climate within the school for diversity through the presence of the group and positive youth leaders.
Community Outcomes
The creation of a youth resource to be displayed in schools, community centres and libraries would provide information and support to youth and adults on specific issues relevant to girls.
Session Format
Harmony Generation Girl takes place over six weeks of intensive training. Each week, the group comprised of 15 to 20 girls in grades seven and eight, will meet for 1½ hours. Sessions are facilitated by staff from Harmony Movement. Teachers’ participation is welcomed, but not required. Each of the weekly sessions will focus on a topic relevant to the girls in the group and students will also work towards the completion of a resource for their school and community.
1 Educational Equity of Girls and Women, National Centre for Educational Statistics, 2000
2 The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls
3 McVey et al., 2002
4 www.harbour.sfu.ca/freda/reports/gc01.htm
5 Canadian Mental Health Association, 1995; National Health Population Survey, Statistics Canada, 1995)
6 Debold, 1995; Health and Welfare Canada, 1994
