By Alice Barnes
Willie Amison, an adviser at the University of Kansas, helped found Can We Talk at LHS and other district schools. Amison answered questions about the program for the Budget.
What is Can We Talk?
Amison: Can We Talk is a mentoring program designed for high school and junior high students. Our intent is to help raise academic achievement of a number of students in high school and junior high communities, also to provide resources for them on how to do better in school. It’s also a support system for students that need it. It first started out as being for African American males. Now we take anyone that wants to come in as far as getting support in school and doing better down the line.
How do you think it helps?
Amison: Well in certain situations it helps a great deal when the school has made it part of their program in their building. We as guys coming in, we don’t really see a whole lot of value because we aren’t there every day to see and support students in that regard. My thing is that it’s not necessarily a couple guys’ program, it’s a school program, and if the school wants to take it on and make sure that it’s successful then it will be because the teachers buy into it, administration buys into it, students buy into it. That makes it a complete program, that’s how it works.
What do you enjoy about being a part of Can We Talk?
Amison: The interacting with students number one. I think we’re going to try to break it down into smaller groups. When they’re in larger groups it’s kind of hard to get a chance to know students in that regard, so they’re trying to break it down because the interacting with students is probably the key for me, interaction with young people and hearing what they have to say.
Why do you do Can We Talk?
Amison: I do it because I know that a lot of our students that are in our program have so many untapped resources, untapped talents, that we want to make sure they know they have. We’re trying to create that notion of being successful down the line and how can they do that, and provide guidance and how you can approach certain issues and what are my skills, what are my talents in this kind of thing early on, you’re more likely to be successful down the line. Everyone needs support. Everyone needs to know what their strengths are. Everyone needs to know how to navigate the system and how to do better personally and academically.
Why is it important?
Amison: It’s important because we want every kid to have an opportunity to be successful. We think all kids can learn, all kids can be 4.0 students if they want to be, if they’re motivated to do that. We feel that it’s important to do that because every student in our school needs a support system. Even the kids that are scoring a 4.0 need support. Even those that are scoring a 2.5 need support. And for sure those guys that are getting Fs need support. So once we provide the whole system of support throughout the student body, everyone benefits.
How has it made a difference?
Amison: Well it’s made a difference academically at one of our schools a lot more so than at another, but we feel that it makes a difference when teachers buy in. It makes a difference academically and behaviorally. We are trying our best to get Lawrence High in that category as well, and so we need more support and more teacher understanding about what we’re trying to do, and I think we’re going to get there eventually at Lawrence High.
What are some of the best memories that you have?
Amison: The best memories are interacting with certain students and how they respond to things we talk about, that’s one of the good memories, and taking them on certain field trips are also important as well, and seeing the way kids gravitate toward knowing that there’s people out there they can talk to and go to to get advice.
Can you describe what happens at Can We Talk?
Amison: Well, we get students together and we bring in people to talk with them about certain areas of expertise. We also have them go on field trips to see how universities run, how to get into universities, how to be successful there, all key things as far as making this work and be beneficial to all students.
