Pursuing MY Dreams Curricula
The Pursuing MY Dreams (PMD) curricula is consistent with the goals and objectives for Positive Youth Development (PYD), sexual risk avoidance education, Title V and many of the common core academic standards required by school districts.
Each of the age appropriate curriculum stated below teach avoidance from youth risk behaviors (e.g., drugs, alcohol, violence and sexual activity), in order to stay focused on their future aspiration.
Our program philosophy is to teach students that the decisions they make today shall effect and affect their lives in the future. By protecting themselves today, they are protecting their future self, health and wealth.
FLON Positive Youth Development Program Hypothesis: When teens are equipped with skills to be career and or college ready as a result of avoiding youth risk behaviors to include teen pregnancy, their “Pursuing MY Dreams” personal vision becomes an achievable reality.
Since 2004, the Pursuing MY Dreams curricula have been taught in middle and high schools in Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City MO, Arlington, Crowley, Dallas and Fort Worth, TX.
Middle and High School Curricula:
The name of the age appropriate curricula is “Pursuing MY Dreams – Let MY Journey Begin! (Grades 6 -12), Pursuing MY Dreams – I Can Do It! (Grades 6-9) and MY Journey: The Rites of Passage To Responsible Adulthood (Grades 9-12).
Curricula covers are currently being revised
The curricula lesson plans are basic healthy life skills, youth risk behaviors prevention and pot-secondary planning educational information are age-appropriate and relevant for all teens, no matter what the grade level is.
The universal message for all middle and high school aged teens is to set behavioral boundaries from youth risk behaviors which are drugs, alcohol, all forms of violence and pre-mature sexual activity, in order to stay focused on pursuing their dreams.
The Pursuing MY Dreams EAGLE Club Project curricula and other alternative activities are developed from utilizing many of the 40-Developmental Assets. Promoted as avoidance from all youth risk behaviors in order to stay focused on “Pursuing MY Dreams”, has made statistically significant impact on teens and young adults since 2004.
The names of the curricula are intentional as it relates to teens and young adults consistently being reminded about “Pursuing MY Dreams”, which is a goal that every young person strives to pursue.
The name Pursuing MY Dreams is also one of the personal affirmation that young people set for themselves. In short, positive affirmations are statements that are spoken, and often repeated, to encourage and uplift the person speaking them.
Overall, students will hear and be affirmed to stay focused on pursuing their dreams while simultaneously reciting “Pursuing MY Dreams” and youth risk avoidance messages that include but is not limited to:
“I am an emerging and aspiring leader, focused on my future career. I will not get involved in using drugs, drinking alcohol, perform any violent acts (verbally or physically) and will avoid all sexual behavior”.
The power and purpose of the students PMD affirmations is what students think, say, or feel that becomes their reality. The student’s personal affirmations and the list of affirmations included in the curricula are short, powerful, yet simple statements designed to manifest a specific goal.
By and large, facilitators share with their students that their positive thinking affirmations are designed to encourage a life filled with positivity and gratitude.
The MY Journey: The Rites of Passage to Responsible Adulthood, developed for students, grades 9 – 12 equips students to be career and college ready as well provide them life skills to secure their future to be self-sufficient adults.
Curricula covers are currently being revised
The Pursuing MY Dreams curricula, includes five “Journey Steps” that consist of thirteen (13) 45-minute lessons. lessons developed to clearly communicate that teen sex is a risk behavior for both the physical consequences of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; as well as sociological, economic, and other related risks.
The curriculum affirms teens to celebrate who they are and what they can become, it empowers them to seek positive futures but engaging in risk behaviors may cancel their dreams.
Contents of all three curricula align with FLON’s Positive Youth Development, healthy life skills, youth risk avoidance and post-secondary program education goals and objectives.
Lessons use various interactive mechanisms; music, videos, creative writing discussions, workbooks, journaling, skits and practice in specific skill building as well as discussions with parents and caring adults.
Future Leaders also teach students the following evidenced based age appropriate curricula.
Project A.I.M. (Adult Identity Mentoring) – https://www.teenpregnancysc.org/curriculum/adult-identity-mentoring-project-aim
Choosing The Best – www.choosingthebest.com
Each of the curricula include the following:
Click on the page titles listed below to review the lessons included in the Pursuing MY Dreams curricula lessons. .
True Colors™
Career Exploration
Unlocking Your Potential: Increasing Human Effectiveness
Financial Literacy
Job Readiness
FLON uses medically accurate information from peer-reviewed publications by health organizations as it integrates research findings into practical implementation for students and parents. This holistic approach is essential to reducing teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other youth risk behaviors (i.e., drugs, alcohol and violence).
FLON has a major focus of encouraging family formation, education, job skills and financial literacy as a means of teaching success sequencing for poverty prevention. Teens and parents want to learn about healthy relationships, goal setting, while resisting sexual coercion, dating violence, underage drinking and the use of illicit drug.
The Center Disease Control (CDC) considers teen sex to be a risk behavior, together with other risk behaviors, such as drug use, lack of physical activity, and failing to use a seatbelt when riding in a car, as indicated by inclusion in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
An integral protective factor built into each curricula is parent teen handouts. These handouts review classroom content and foster communication on parental understanding about risk behaviors. Discussions allow parents and teens to share their expectations for positive futures.
Resource: Healthy People 2020 Family Planning Objectives. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [Cited August 10, 2016]. Available from: https://www.healthypeople.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Program: The entry and exit surveys administered to the teens are developed to be age appropriate and not intrusive. FLON’s goal is to design age appropriate surveys/questionnaires that evaluate the goals and content of the curricula and other program activities.
Overall, survey questions capture information in several categories, including, but not limited to, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
For more information or training to replicate the Pursuing MY Dreams EAGLE Club Project curriculum program, contact Dr. Diana Clemons at (817) 678-4695 or email to dclemons@flon.org.