Our theme will include most of the following topics, and some others (student interest will be taken into account):

• aggression & violence, early sexual behavior, substance abuse, illegal behavior, other risk factors
• teen gangs, AIDS & other STD's
• family structure and its relation to risk factors, the role of abuse as a predictor
• the relation of TV and other media to risk factors
• protective factors and how we can advocate for them.

Course requirements:

1. Participate in "hands-on advocacy" service learning of your choice, either direct or indirect service to children's needs or well-being, which should consist of at least 15 hours of work.

2. Submit a report about your "hands-on advocacy" service learning experience. This should also be one page, double-spaced, and should (a) document WHAT you did, (b) REFLECT on what you did / what you learned, and (c) give an ACCOUNT OF THE TIME you spent. If you did something every week for the same length of time each week (such as Paint Branch tutoring or Children's Developmental Clinic) you can just mention the hours (or the times you began and ended) and list the first and last dates and the dates you missed. If what you did was irregular and varied, you should list dates and hours spent on each of those dates. This will be due 12/10/97.

3. Short reading and writing assignments. You do not have to buy a textbook.

4. Do a short reading of your choice and write a one-page response. You may choose your own reading--anything bearing directly on an issue included in our theme of risk and protective factors in adolescence--or you may choose from two readings that I have. One of these is an article by a UMCP professor which I received unsolicited by campus mail about welfare reform; the viewpoint may be different others you have heard, and has some clear strengths and weaknesses. The other article is about contraception, and discussed pros and cons as well as failure rates. Both of these are available from our office (1120 Cumberland), and, for your convenience, Kevin will also have some copies in his room. Your one-page written response should be typed, double-spaced. It's fine if you want to send it to me by e-mail; one page would be about 20-25 lines. You may say pretty much whatever you want in response, but it should be a response--relating to the CONTENT of the article and also voicing some OPINIONS. You should also address the question of what might be DIFFERENT when applied to teenagers or teen risk issues. This will be due 12/17/97.

5. Participate in discussions and special in-class activities, as well as listening to speakers. The "work" of learning something from our speakers is considered to be the most important feature of the colloquium.

6. If you have missed some of our speakers, I would like to give you an optional alternative that would help raise your grade. You may write a paper on any topic directly related to our theme of risk and protective factors in adolescence. Write one page for each speaker missed. (If you're not sure how many speakers you have missed, see Kevin.) The paper should include your own research in the sense that there should be at least one "solid" reference for each page you write. These references should be to a book or journal article; if you use an internet reference, it should be to a web site of equivalent quality. You may also use newspaper articles, popular magazines, personal interviews, and more casual internet references, BUT these don't "count" toward your minimum of one "solid" reference per page. Again, double-spacing is standard. This will be due 12/17/97.

For those who want a more precise definition of "one-page double-spaced," a standard format is one-inch margins all around; 12-point Courier typeface (looks like a typewriter) rather than Times-Roman, Ariel, Helvetica, etc., which are more compact; and indented paragraphs (rather than block).

Any of the above assignments can either be printed and handed in or e-mailed to me (sw125@umail.umd.edu).

SPEAKERS:

Sep. 17 - Stephen Wright, Dept. of Human Development, UMCP

"'This is Your Lifeline': A Simulation of Risk and Protective Factors in Adolescence, based on Cairns & Cairns Lifelines & Risks "

Oct. 15 - Tony Avendorph, Prince George's County Police Dept.

"Gangs as a Context for Adolescent Development"

Oct. 22 - Peter Leone, Dept. of Special Education, UMCP

"Risk and Resilience in Adolescence"

Nov. 5 - Nesse Godin, Holocaust survivor, Holocaust Memorial Museum

"Children of the Holocaust"

Nov. 12 - Elaine Anderson, Dept. of Family Studies, UMCP

"The Legislative Process and Children's Issues"

Nov. 19 - Mrs. Savoy, Teen Parent Program, Northwestern High School

(Two teen mothers and their children will also come to participate in the discussion)

Dec. 3 - Denise Ross, Pupil Personnel Worker, Prince George's County Public Schools

"High-risk Teens and Behavior Problems: Case Studies"

Dec. 10 - Albert Gardner, Dept. of Human Development, UMCP

"Theories of Adolescent Development"

Your TA is Kevin Baxter (x4-9672; bax@wam.umd.edu).

1125 Cumberland Hall University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-9331