Oh the difference a couple of years can make...

So this past week I've been doing contract work for the Women's Centre. I've been going to different schools/grades around the county holding focus groups with young women to try to figure out what programs they feel they would most like to see in Pictou County. So far I've done three out of six focus groups: one with grade 6's, one with grade 8's, and one with grade 11's.

I basically asked all the girls four basic questions after bribing them all by giving everyone a lifesaver sucker:
1) Where do you hang out outside of school?
2) What do you do when you're not in school?
3) What do you think is going on with girls these days?
4) What programs would you like to see for girls in Pictou County?

The first day was the grade 6's. I was a bit nervous because I had no idea what to expect or how it would turn out. I was pleasently surprised at how fun it was sitting around talking to grade 6 girls, plus they gave up some great general info and some specific ideas. They also seemed to really enjoy the session and asked me if I'd be back... great kids, very friendly.

The next day was the grade 8 girls. Oh. My. God. That age group is such a pain in the ass. The principal told us that the group we were going to be talking to was pretty vocal so it should be okay. Yeah, right. I felt like I was some evil dentist trying to yank teeth out of these girls. They would barely even tell me where they like to hang out or what they usually do when they're not in school. Good god. These are not trick questions, kids. We got some info by the end of it, but I felt that it was no where near as successful as the first focus group. All I really found out was that they mainly like to eat, sleep, and text. Not joking, that is actually what they said to me.

So yesterday was the grade 11 focus group, and I have to say that it might have been my favorite so far. Maybe it's just because the girls are older and have more of a concept of what is going on with girls these days, I don't really know. The group I talked to was just very open and willing to tell us what's up. We probably could have stayed for even longer than our allotted hour if the girls didn't have another class to go to. Another interesting tidbit that came from the grade 11's was that they mentioned trends among young women that they have noticed, such as high pregnancy rates and hyper sexuality at younger ages, which matches quite well with the stats that we have at the Women's Centre from a professional point of view. Lots of great stuff from that group, and it boosted my morale after the grade 8 zombies.

Next week I have three more groups to do, and I'm interested in seeing the response from the same age groups in different schools. I'll keep you posted :)