Monzer Dodar and Bianca Giese

 

Overview
The neighborhood in question, in the Danish city of Odense, had long been on the city’s “ghetto list.” The majority of the residents were low-­income families, many of whom came from immigrant backgrounds. In addition to families, many elderly citizens also lived in the area. For a while, the area was plagued by a great sense of insecurity, caused mainly by a group of male youths who had chosen a life on the fringes of society.
In 2018, we began working with a select group of young males, ages 14 to 17, who (still) lived in the area. They were young petty criminals who exhibited violent behavior, and some residents felt threatened by them. These young men did not participate in any supervised recreational activities and had chosen to join the criminal street gangs.
The local housing association wanted to make the area safe for everyone again and instigated a joint venture with the local youth school “Ung­Odense.” These young men were also to be offered opportunities for self-development, with the aim of empowering them to make better life choices and find their place in society. The ultimate goal was to help them develop a positive self-image, present themselves in a positive way, and become a good team.

 

Topic
The youths had already been meeting with their mentor once a week for three and a half years. They had developed many skills in numerous team-­building activities and gained communication skills and other social skills relating to teamwork and trust. In the meantime, the youths knew each other well, were loyal to, and looked out for each other.
The young men came from non-Danish ethnic backgrounds and had been brought up in a cultural context where only personal success in life counted. In such an I-centered culture, the children were taught that they should use every possible opportunity to achieve their goals for their own ends. This was the exact opposite of the Danish we-centered culture, where cooperation and thinking as a team were encouraged as the path to success. The young people encountered this Danish social culture both at school and later at work. Thus, learning to cooperate with others was important for their own successful development and for the success of this project.

 

Setting
Before we started working with the group using METALOG training tools, the group had already been meeting regularly for quite some time. The meetings were held in a space created specifically for the group in their neighborhood. Time and resources were invested in making the meeting place their space. Initially, the focus was on developing trust between the mentor and the group, such as over lunch every Tuesday.
So, the group already felt comfortable and safe when we introduced the METALOG tools and started to work with them in a more focused way. They were already used to reflecting after a collaborative activity and evaluating what had happened.

 

Tower of Power
a. Performance
When the young men first saw the tower, they were very skeptical and couldn’t see any point in the learning project. The task just seemed too childish to them. We always try to treat the young people as equals, valuing their perspective and contributing our experience. So we explained that we were just as skeptical at the beginning as they were now. This enabled us to gradually overcome their resistance.

 

b. Progression
Since they trusted their mentor and teacher, they were ultimately willing to try the experiment. They quickly found out that it was not as easy as they had imagined. In the first round, they tried it without intervention on our part. But frustration quickly took the upper hand and they started to argue, ­blame each other, and work against each other.
We interrupted the activity and reflected with them on their behavior. We asked them what had gone wrong in their eyes and what they would most likely need to successfully complete the task. Initially, they blamed each other and did not see the extent to which each individual had contribut­ed to the failure.
After some time, a few of them could understand that their communication was not working very well. They decided to try again, listening carefully to each other. They promised not to interrupt each other and to actively cooperate with each other.
Even on the second attempt, things didn’t go completely smoothly, but the young men improved how they cooperated and slowly started to listen to each other better. They occasionally worked against each other, but there were hardly any conflicts.
Then the tower fell down again. We interrupt­ed the process again and got the boys to reflect on the situation. They noted that the components were of different types: straight and slanted. And they noticed that maybe the slanted components were not really ideal to be used as a base. Most importantly, they realized how important the foundation was.
We interrupted the group several more times and they experienced very specifically what it real­ly meant to collaborate successfully. For them, this was a much more effective way to learn how to collaborate than had previously been possible in the classroom.

 

c. Finish
Towards the end, the group appointed one of the young people as the leader. That was not so easy, because it takes a lot of courage to tell the others what to do! In retrospect, however, it became clear to everyone that this kind of solution was the best for them. They then set about the task of completing the construction of the tower. When they succeeded, the group was very proud of themselves.

 

d. Reflection
The lesson learned was that the group could accomplish much more if they helped each other. Building the tower made them happy and motivated them to learn more about collaboration and communication.
In later conversations and discussions, we repeatedly referred back to the experience of building the tower. The youths reported that they were also able to benefit from this positive experience in their school lives. The “Aha!” moment was that each individual is important for the success of the group and that you can’t just sit back and look on passively.
Even when we addressed topics such as vocational training, jobs, or other opportunities for the future, we drew on the lessons learned from Tower of Power. We wanted to make it clear to the young people that in life, as in building a tower, you need a stable foundation. And that, even if components fall over again and again, these are just normal challenges in life that we can tackle successfully through perseverance and creativity.
The group was enthusiastic about Tower of Power and kept talking about it. The young men even used the experience to practice their presentation skills, tak­ing turns to talk about the entire program and what they had learned together in front of the others. The concept of collaboration took on a completely new meaning for them and became a key element in successfully becoming part of a positive community.

 

Team²
a. Performance
The next step was to train the young men’s team skills with Team². This tool is very different from Tower of Power, but requires the same understand­ing of group dynamics and collaboration.
At the beginning of the activity, we divided the group into two, so that eight youths worked at each table. We distributed the parts for eight squares each and then gave them brief instructions: “You will each build your own square. You will be finish­ed when you all have built your own squares. You are not allowed to talk to each other while you solve the puzzle.”

 

b. Progression
On their first attempt, both groups eagerly threw themselves into the task. A few of the boys quickly assembled their own puzzles and then sat back to watch the others. Naturally, this meant that the majority of the participants were unable to complete the task. After a while, we stopped the activity to allow the boys to reflect on what they had experi­enced and observed.
They concluded that it was impossible to solve the task: there were not enough pieces for everyone. They were convinced that it was a trap and we were trying to wind them up. They were annoyed and found the task ridiculous. We, on the other hand, assured them that the task could be completed and that they had to help each other to find a method that would work for everyone.
They tried again. But with the same approach, again some of them finished in a few minutes, and the others were annoyed because they didn’t have enough parts. We let them continue without interruption.

 

c. Finish
Suddenly, one of the young people threw all his pieces back on the table. It was as if they suddenly understood the point of the activity, and they started all over again, this time taking a new approach.
It dawned on them that the best way to assemble their own squares was by helping the others. Indeed, the group could not finish until everyone had completed their squares, and that they could only achieve their goal by paying attention to the needs of others. They had to be willing to give up or swap their parts.

 

d. Reflection
In the subsequent reflection process, it became clear that individuals sometimes have to make a sacrifice in order for the whole group to succeed. The young men had actually experienced what it meant to work together, to see the big picture, and to help each other.
In addition, the apparent stagnation of the activity had been a challenge. It was frustrating that they could not talk to each other, and they wanted activities that involved more action and physical exertion. However, after some further thought and discussion, they began to understand that they would be successful if they took more time, gained an overview first, communicated through body language, and focused less on their own personal outcomes.
When we talked to the young people after the activities, they said that they had truly grasped the importance and power of cooperation and what it meant to be part of a team. They had also discovered for themselves that they could take on a leadership role, but that at the same time no one was expendable and that it was okay to take a back seat now and then.
For the young men, it was a great achievement that they were able to successfully complete a task they thought was impossible. And they experienced firsthand what it meant to pursue a goal with determination.