Blog #5

 When reading Youth Work, the quote "young people have traditionally chosen to be involved with youth work, rather than participating because they are compelled to" stuck out to me. I was drawn to youth work for these very reasons; having been put off by the restraining and limited nature of the education system that teaching would have placed me in, and yet I'd never identified that this would go both ways. Youth being more receptive to youth work because of the flexibility and personalization that comes with it makes a lot of sense, and it excites me more than ever about the thing's I'll be doing in my future career. 

    Alongside the idea that youth work is a voluntary practice for not just youth workers but also the youth in question, another idea that stood out to me and helped to reshape a piece of my understanding of youth work is the lasting impact that the "uncool" youth worker had in an example from the text that compared a "cool" young youth worker with an "uncool" older and more responsible one. I of course understood that it's our responsibility as youth workers to discourage unhealthy behaviors in our youth, but it had never occurred to me that despite being a youth worker who didn't connect with the general youth as well, the "uncool" youth worker connected with a small group of the youth more strongly than the "cool" youth worker connected with anyone. I've always struggled to find the balance between connection and responsibility when working with youth, as I've always placed a lot of weight on my ability to relate to my kids. However, the idea that making myself a more ideal resource will draw the kids that really do need me and will benefit from my guidance to me has never mentally clicked for me before, and it's something I'm going to take to heart in my future youth work. 

    Three significant vocabulary words that stuck out to me in Youth Work are "voluntary" (because of the importance found in youth being able to choose to engage with youth work rather than being coerced into it), "purposefully intervene" (because of the role youth workers play in guiding youth and providing them with the tools and experiences they need for growth, stepping in to grant these things when necessary), and "strengthen" (because the ultimate goal of youth development is to strengthen our youth and ensure that they both have and are confident in their skills necessary for success). 

    Reading through Youth Work, I was reminded of my experiences in my middle school's Gay Straight Alliance, the first club or activity I had ever joined willingly rather than being pressured into by my parents. The GSA wasn't a particularly well organized club, but I have lots of memories from sixth and seventh grade of my friends and me working hard to make posters promoting acceptance or fundraising for trips to places like True Colors, a pride event at UConn. This connection being something I myself experienced helped to cement my value in the idea that youth work being voluntary for the youth is important to creating an impact. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog #3

     Though I'm no longer on track to be a teacher, I am still set to be and passionate about working with kids, and I strongly believe that the key value in improving kid's lives, skills, and own mental well-being is through strong relationships between guiding figures and children. This is, without a doubt, my biggest value: always be kind, patient, and supportive with children. It is so often what makes the difference in whether a kid makes themselves successful later in life, and also affects how they'll react to the generation after them. By being kind and maintaining strong relationships, you can set a whole lineage of kindness and encouragement to follow in your path.      Attached here is a link to an article discussing this very concept. In my own life, I've found something I often struggle with is conveying the tone I intend with my words and ideas in everyday conversation. With that in mind, something I always try to do with others is always see...
Read more

Blog #4 - Acceptance

     When I entered high school, I was struggling in a lot of ways. Socially, I was behind most other kids because of at the time unrealized neurodivergencies, I was struggling with my grades for the same reasons, and I was (and still kind of am) experiencing a gender crisis. I really did not know who I was or what I wanted to be, and going into high school was an opportunity for me to hit the reset button at a new place with new people.     It really is hard for me to describe what Arts at the Capitol Theater Magnet High School is like. It's a very unique experience both in terms of curriculum- having all the basic building blocks of education effectively entirely abandoned and replaced with arts that aren't all that well taught either- as well as culturally, transitioning from a school where slurs for queer people were pretty regular and 9 times out of ten you wouldn't know a given student in the hallway, to being in wildly queer dominant space where ever...
Read more