COMMENTARY about the term
Addressing Barriers to Development and Learning

While the response to the term "Addressing Barriers to Development and Learning" has struck a positive response across the country, a few colleagues have expressed mild concern that it could appear at odds with the "paradigm shift" that emphasizes child and youth development (assets, strengths, protective factors, and resilience). Indeed, a couple of feedback responses related to the policy statement reflect a bit of an Us vs. Us dynamic that we are seeing occur among those of us trying so hard to improve outcomes for children and youth.

We know that we and all the other organizations participating in the Coalition value and emphasize the importance of promoting healthy development and primary prevention. At the same time, we all know that a big part of the problem is that too many youngsters grow up and go to school in situations that not only do not promote healthy development but are antithetical to the process.

A major commitment to enhancing child and youth development efforts and improving instruction can help redress these conditions. But, effective prevention also requires direct and comprehensive action designed to remove or at least minimize the impact of major external and internal barriers (hostile environments, individual vulnerabilities, and true disabilities and disorders). Otherwise, such barriers will continue to interfere with youngsters benefiting from programs designed to promote development and provide the best possible instruction

In addressing barriers to learning at schools, much of the intervention focus must be on enhancing the school-wide and classroom environments and, as much as is feasible, engage with the community to prevent problems and enhance every youngsters strengths. At the same time, for the few individuals who need something more, schools and communities, separately and working together, must provide essential supports and assistance.

Our concern is with any paradigm shift that ignores these matters or assumes that they will be rectified if only schools will make a greater commitment to youth development. Such a shift will allow school reform to continue to marginalize efforts to address barriers. There are important resources at every school and in every community that need restructuring to be fully integrated with efforts to promote child and youth development and instruction. Policy makers and practitioners can ill afford to ignore the contribution these resources can make to strengthening school, home, and neighborhood by addressing barriers. Ignoring what they can contribute will only continue to marginalize and fragment policy and practice.

When it comes to child and youth development and addressing barriers to development and learning:

It's not either/or.

It's not first/then.

It's not about a positive vs. a negative emphasis (or excusing or blaming anyone).

And, It's not about what's wrong vs. what's right with kids.

It is about building up and building on assets, strengths, protective factors, resilience.
And it also is about continuing to face up to the reality of major environmental problems and problem conditions that are intrinsic to or have become internalized by some youngsters. It seems clear that we all share the responsibility of promoting healthy development AND addressing barriers.

We hope others will weigh in on this matter

Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor

Center for Mental Health in Schools