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        Let’s get started working with the Create Your Own Case Toolkit and get some advice and tips from others who have developed their own cases!

 

Photo of Tagasech WabetoTagasech Wabeto, a Community Engagement Team outreach worker, provides some advice on writing cases.

My advice for others who want to write a case is to keep it real and show how relationships with families take time. Highlight a challenge in communication. People often think negatively. Instead, always think, why might a parent act that way? I hope that my case helps others think positively about parents. Writing my case taught me that, in my job, I need to stop and think about what parents and families need. I never used to think like that. Families have a lot of things that they deal with, and my job is to figure that out. To read Tagasech’s case, visit Case 4: Making Your Intent Clear
Photo of Rabeya AktherRabeya Akther, a Community Engagement Team outreach worker, offers a tip on writing a case.

An important tip is to write your case about something personal. For my case, I wanted to portray problems involving the educational system similar to the ones I struggled with as an immigrant parent. I chose to describe a family who needed guidance and support in navigating the complexities of the American school system and understanding the necessity of enrolling in school. In my country of Bangladesh, the education system is much different than it is here in America. In my country, parents do not let their children go out after dark. It is culturally not something that we do. For that reason, when I first moved to America, I never enrolled my children in any type of afterschool activity because here in Boston, the sun sets so early, especially in the winter. However, I slowly learned that there are so many benefits to afterschool programs, and I agreed to enroll my younger children in them. To read Rabeya’s case, visit Case 5: Understanding the American School System and Case 6: The Real Meaning of Back to School Night.

START WITH A STORY:
If you work with families, you have a story to tell. It might be the story of a family that changed your viewpoint. It could be the story of a family with whom you wished you had done things differently. Maybe it’s the story of a family with whom you are still trying to build a strong, trusting relationship. Telling stories allows you to reflect on your work with families and develop ideas about how to support their needs.


TRANSFORM YOUR STORY:
A powerful way to help others learn from your experiences is by turning your story into a case. A case is a story that describes a mismatch between what a family member might want and need and what another person—or you—needs and wants. Unlike a story, a case is written in such a way that mismatches are left unresolved. A case invites the reader to be part of the real-life dilemma and propose action steps leading to its resolution.

This toolkit is organized around six steps that you can take to create your own case.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES YOU MIGHT USE WHEN WRITING YOUR OWN CASE:

Bianchi, A., (2005). I want you to meet Joe: How a riveting story can get your message across. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Retrieved from http://www.ssireview.org/pdf/2005SP_toolkit_bianchi.pdf

Goodman, A. (2003). Storytelling as best practice. Los Angeles, CA: Goodman Publishers.

Simmons, A. (2006). The story factor: Inspiration, influence, and persuasion through the art of storytelling. NY: Basic Books.

Capacity Waterloo Region. (2013). Stories worth telling. Retrieved from http://www.lacrosseconsortium.org/uploads/content_files/Stories_Worth_Telling.pdf

Weiss, H. B., Lopez, M. E., Kreider, H., & Chatman, C. (Eds.). (2013). Preparing educators to engage families: Case studies using an ecological systems framework (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  


 

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