When I say Y you say DEV !

What is YDEV?

Youth Development is a collaborative effort of working with youth to improve their social, emotional, and developmental skills. Often times this collaborative effort takes place outside of school hours for example an after school program, or community based program. Youth Development has been around for a very long time, but it's identity has changed over time. Today there are three ideologies that a Youth Development space can be. Those are Risk and Resiliency, Positive Youth Development, and Critical Youth Development. A Youth Development space can be more than one of these ideologies but most of the time there is a focus on just one of them. What's so special about Youth Development is that it is a very different approach to working with youth than a typical school or academic program. Youth Spaces usually focus on strength-based approaches and putting the youth's needs first instead of just "fixing the problem".

RIC Open House

RIC OPEN HOUSE

For my second event I went to the RIC Open House in November with Dr.McKamey. It was a lot of fun! It made me realize how much I miss seeing the other YDEV students and Dr.McKamey. It was also a little sentimental because I'm graduating in May and won't be coming to these things anymore. I went later in the day so I didn't really get to talk to many prospective students. Instead I really got to catch up with Dr.McKamey and the other YDEV students. I even talked to one of the juniors about possibly interning at Beat the Streets next year, so that was awesome. Events like these just solidify how close the YDEV community really is. I had probably met like 2-3 of the other students that were there, but all have something in common and that's YDEV. I feel like the people who chose this major seem to have really similar values and views on things because I always get along with any YDEV major I meet. It's an amazing feeling. I was a psych major before at my previous schools, and I didn't experience anything like what I've experienced here at RIC as a YDEV major. I wish I could've had more opportunities to express this to prospective students! Don't worry though I'll be coming back a lot next year as an alumni :)

Growing up Hearing/Growing Up Deaf

The first event I attended was during diversity week at RIC. It was held in the SU Ballroom. The title of the event was Growing Up Hearing/Growing Up Deaf. I also attended this event for my sign language class I am taking this semester, ASL 102. The reason I am counting this event for YDEV is because I  plan on using ASL in my career as a behavior analyst. This involves working with youth with autism in a school setting that may be non-verbal. ASL is often used as a form of communication for these students. It is more used with much younger children with autism, but can be used in schools as well.
This was a great event. It was facilitated by two women. One teacher who is deaf and works at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, and also Marie Lynch who is hearing and is the head of the ASL dept. here on campus. The teacher talked about her struggles growing up Deaf especially when it came to her education, and not having access to sign language until college, which was very surprising to me. Marie talking about growing up hearing with two Deaf parents and often times having to be the translator and advocate for them. This forced her to grow up much faster than her peers, and made her involved in every aspect of her parents lives.
I actually had my first interaction with a Deaf person since learning ASL. (Besides my Deaf professor). I was pretty nervous but it went very well! I was able to sign that I had been taking ASL for about 3 months, and the reason I was taking it was because I want to work in a school someday and teach it to children.
Going to this event made me realize how much more advocacy work has to be done for the Deaf community. As a person that may be working with this population there are things I can do as a hearing person. For example, I can insist on closed captioning at the movies, even if I don't know if there is a Deaf person in the audience. Also, try to get more places with drive thrus to allow text orders for drive thrus. These are just some small actions I can take to make the hearing world more accommodating for Deaf people.

Here is a video of me from ASL class. We had to make up a fake family.

Care and Leading With

Care

Care in youth spaces is such an important responsibility as a youth worker. There are many different ways to display care as a youth worker. In an afterschool space showing care could be providing snacks for the youth so they are energized to participate in the activities. Another way of showing care is making sure the space is clean and organized for the youth. This communicates a lot to the youth about respect. Keeping the space clean for the youth is an act of care because it sets up a safe space for youth to allow themselves to be vulnerable and go out of their comfort zones.

Leading With

Leading With can take many different forms in a youth space. The biggest ideal of Leading With is giving the youth equal responsibility and leadership with facilitating and planning. It is about making youth apart of the conversation and not talking to them, but with them. Leading With is a collaboration with the youth and the adults. It is bringing the youth to the table and giving them a voice in their own programs. The middle school wrestling team I coach for is a great example of leading with. The wrestlers know the expectations and responsibilities and were apart of making them with us. We have gotten to the point in the season where the captains could run a practice without us because everyone know what is expected and there is a level of trust and respect throughout the whole team.

YDEV Ideology

I got positive youth development which didn’t surprise me at all. I got the same result the last time I took this quiz which was about a year and half ago. My values when working with youth definitely align with the beliefs of positive youth work. I believe that all youth have assets it’s just a matter of finding them, and sometimes making the youth aware of them. If these assets don’t exist then as a youth worker I try to incorporate positivity in what I can control. So, the biggest thing I can control is the environment and space I bring the youth into. It is always a priority as a youth worker to create a safe space for the youth to feel comfortable to go out of their comfort zones. When addressing an issue with a youth I like to frame the conversation a certain way. I always like to address the youth’s strengths before addressing the “issue” or something they might need to work on. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with one of my wrestlers. This particular student was known for always getting trouble. He would start issues with the other students and talk back to the coaches. Towards the end of last season he really started to take wrestling seriously. There was a tournament he wanted to attend, but it was only for the serious and committed wrestlers. He knew it was up to the executive director who got to go the tournament. He told me to put in a good word for him. He said to me, “I’m not a bad kid, sometimes I just make bad decisions”. This broke my heart. I had hoped we didn’t give him the impression that he was a “bad kid”. There is no such thing as a “bad kid”. That interaction has stuck with me, and made me think about the language and discourse I use with the students.

injustice in the workplace

Most of the injustices I have personally experienced have had to do with sexism. I have worked in many sexist environments. I have also experienced sexism growing up as an athlete, often times playing with or against male athletes.

While working at a Liquor Store for three years I experienced being treated differently because I am a female. Not only was I treated differently by the other staff, but the customers as well. The store only hires men to be managers and “stock boys”. Females are only hired there to be a cashier. As a cashier I was also responsible for stocking the shelves, and organizing the floor of the store. More times than not I was told not to lift heavy boxes, or someone offered to help me when I would be carrying a case to a customer. This made me so angry. The assumption that I wasn’t strong enough because I am female was so insulting.

One of my most prominent memories is when I was assisting a customer, and she actually asked for the male manager to bring the case to her car. She said it was too heavy for me to carry. I told her that I was more than capable, and it was actually part of my job. She insisted, and didn’t trust me carrying the case to her car. This happened all the time. Many times customers didn’t like seeing females lifting or carrying heavy boxes.

Now I am less polite when situations like this arise. I might even ask the customer why they feel like I am not able to carry of lift the box. Depending on their response I will either call them out on being sexist, or explain to them why I am more than capable of assisting them. Also, I would be a bit more outspoken with my boss and talk to him about why he only hires men for certain positions. Starting a dialogue is the first step to making someone aware of an injustice they might have inflicted upon you.

teaching work is caring work

There are several different ways of teachers showing care that are discussed in this article. The first is modeling care through presentation and dress. This is something I would not even think about, but can be an extremely effective way of showing care for LGBTQ students. This can say so much to the students in the community who looks to this “out” lesbian teacher as a role model.

Another way a teacher shows care to their students is by providing snacks. Especially, in an inner-city community snacks can make a whole of a difference to students moods and energy. Also, understanding that students need food to learn, and that not every student is getting enough food at home to quench their hunger.

The last example I am going to talk about is keeping the classroom clean. This is another effective way to show care that I wouldn’t necessarily think about. When students walk into a clean classroom they should feel like it is because they deserve it to be clean. A teacher can control the environment in which they bring their students into, they cannot control the environment outside of school. Creating a safe and clean space is so important, and makes the classroom feel more like home.

At the nonprofit I work for we provide snacks for the students after school. I work for an after school wrestling program. We realize that after school students need an energy boost, especially before they are about to engage in a sport. We also provide them with activities on the weekend which is not outside of the program hours. We take them to tournaments all over New England allowing them to experience an array of opportunities outside the state. The program provides great support for the students, but needs to work on more academic support. We are implementing development fridays which to address homework and personal development.

My YDEV Story

There are a lot of ways I can approach this blog. I can explain why I became a YDEV major, or why I enjoy youth work so much. However, I am going to take a different spin on this. When did I admit to myself that youth work is the field for me? Because to be honest, for awhile I tried to persuade myself that I didn't like working for kids, I was just good at it.
My first job as a youth worker was at a summer camp in Bristol. I attended this summer camp as a child, and absolutely loved it. It's an art camp that focuses on music, dance, theater, and art. I became a volunteer when I was in middle school because I loved it so much, and wanted to stay involved. I quickly realized what it took to become a counselor, and how different that was than being a camper.
I have always approached working with youth the same way, even when I was still considered a youth and took on a leadership position. This approach has been to treat the youth with respect and as equals. I have always done this because my best experiences as a youth were when I was treated this way by an adult. Whether that was a coach or a teacher.
So I guess this brings me to why YDEV? Well, one of the biggest themes of this major is "leading with". In my eyes I have always done that, and fully believe in this mantra. Since being a YDEV major my skills as a youth worker have gotten so much better. I have so many different perspectives. I think the best thing about continuing this journey is learning more about what youth work is and how closely I connect to the ideals and values. Youth development has become a part of my identity.
Now, I have accepted that youth work is the field for me because I absolutely love it. There is so much reward that is received in this line of work. It's incredible to watch youth succeed in a variety of settings, and know that I played a small or large part in their success.

YIA LEADING WITH

The organization Youth In Action appears to be a very empowering program for high school students. Their collective phase seems to highlight the most the idea of leading with. This phase doesn't just get students involved, but gives them power as well. The youth are able to have a position on the board of directors, giving them a seat "at the table". They also participate and organize fundraisers for the organization allowing them to have a hand in the finances of the nonprofit. Also, this gives them the opportunity to fundraise for what they think is most important to the program. The biggest way this organization creates a leading with environment is creating and changing policy WITH the youth. This type of relationship between youth and adult is not commonly seen.

Play IS Learning

I’ve been involved with lots of different youth spaces in my lifetime. My first position as a youth worker was at a summer camp that I went to as a child. I started out there as a volunteer aid, then became a camp counselor for five years. When I think back to why I became a youth worker this experience always comes to mind. Working as a camp counselor at Linden Place in Camp in Bristol was a great experience. I realized that it was something I’m good at it, and thoroughly enjoy. It was also the first time I worked with a student that has autism which is the population I know want to work with. After that I worked at a different summer camp in Ashby, MA. This camp was for teenagers, eighth and ninth graders. My experience there was not the best I ended up leaving early actually. This issue was not the campers, but the staff specifically my boss. The conditions were terrible, and I did not agree with a lot of the policies. The camp was a leadership-based camp. I was the express leader (so I did art activities). I learned a lot about leadership at that camp, and walked away with a lot of problem-solving skills as well. The current youth space I am in is an after school wrestling program. This has been an amazing experience, and one of the best spaces I’ve worked in so far. I am an assistant coach for a middle school wrestling team in Providence. Before starting this program I had never wrestled or worked in an inner-city school. Learning the sport has taught me a lot about myself, and being a coach to “at-risk” students has taught me a great deal as well.
At Linden Place play was very organized and was a part of the campers routine. There were set times where the campers could play, and set times where the campers had to work or do activities. They did not frame the activities as play even though they were. I was a music counselor, and we played with instruments and sang all day long. There always had to be a lesson attached to each day, even though the children were learning a great amount just by playing the instruments and learning songs.
At Camp Lapham in MA the campers didn’t play very much. Similar to what Jenkins talked about they tried to disguise learning as playing. So tried to make the activities about leadership more fun.
At Beat the Streets we allow lots of playing to happen. The students enjoy wrestling very much, and we try to incorporate games as much as possible. We participate alongside the students, so the coaches get to play as well. It’s a great environment.

TEENS AREN'T ALIENS

So over the summer I took a class with Dr.Bogad called teenagers in the media. She was right when she told us all that by the end of that course our view on teenagers would change. I now realize how damaging our attitudes and beliefs towards teenagers can be, and also how important the language is when talking about them. We also read this text in my summer course, and I think it’s a great read. Bogad writes about the LIFE magazine cover with Katie Holmes on it. We talked a lot about this cover in my summer course. She says, “there is an emphasis that suggests that young people are self-indulgent and uninvested in more sophisticated ‘adult’ concerns (such as work, health, money, etc) “(Bogad, 2002). If we as youth workers assume that teenagers are lazy, and treat them that way then we are not setting them up to be successful leaders. Teenagers often get tagged with all these labels that are usually not positive, or empowering. 

“These historical roots that emphasized the separation of youth from other groups in society and young people’s inherent inferiority charted an influential course for public attitudes and scholarly investigations of youth” (Bogad, 2002). Why do we often treat teenagers like they are an alien species? This was one of the themes in my summer course. The us vs. them mentality can very dangerous. Instead of looking and treating teenagers as a different species we should be treating them like individuals with respect. One of the main mantras in youth development is “leading with”. I love that idea so much and I believe it is also the most effective. Even the playing field, and youth will be more successful leaders. 

What Makes a Good Youth Worker

Jason Wood, Sue Westwood, and Gil Thompson list seven characteristics of youth work. The first listed is youth work is an educational practice. This means that as youth workers we are educators in the field. We meet young people where they are to create opportunities and start conversations to empower them. Youth work wouldn’t be looked at as formal education, but more informal. We are not usually licensed teachers, but work in many different environments including schools where the need for our work is most. The second characteristic is youth work is a social practice meaning working in groups a lot of the time. This is to allow youth to work with other youth in contexts they may have not worked in before. The third is youth workers work towards social justice. Similar to a social worker, a part of a youth worker’s job is to promote social justice. Often times this type of work is taking place in an environment where there is a lot of social injustice. This is working with youth on power issues, and discrimination issues. The next characteristic is about young people choosing to be involved. In an ideal world youth work would take place in environments where youth are voluntarily there. However, this is not completely realistic seeing that youth workers often times work in schools. The fifth characteristic is youth work strengthens the voice of young people. I very much agree with this characteristic. Most of the youth work I do as a wrestling coach, and a mentor aims to strengthen the voice and influence of young people. I look at my job as a coach not only to teach them wrestling, but to also teach them they have a voice and how they can use that voice in the environment they are put in. The second to last characteristic is youth work is a welfare practice. This means that youth workers not only educate, but make the welfare and safety of the young people a priority. The last characteristic, and in my opinion most important is working with young people in a holistic way. To me this means as a youth worker you don’t just focus on the problem, but instead the young person as a whole. It can be easy to fall into that trap of feeling like you’re there just to “fix things”. This isn’t our primary goal as a youth worker. We are there to lead with the youth and figure out problems as they arise, but there is so much more to being a youth worker than just that. I work for a nonprofit that works with “at risk” youth. When I first started I would sometimes get overwhelmed with the stories my students would tell me about their lives at home, or the environment I was entering when working with them. There are so many  problems I see as a coach in this inner-city school. A student is more than just the problems they may come with or encounter on a daily basis. The focus should be helping the student holistically, and making sure they are a part of the conversation. 

About me :)

Hey everyone! My name is Arianna. Here are a few pictures to try to sum up my life!

This is me in Portland Maine this summer. I love it there and hope to live there someday!

I'm looking to go to Graduate School in Fall of 2018 to study Applied Behavior Analysis.

I work as a mentor for students with Intellectual Disabilities at the Sherlock Center on campus.

My boyfriend and I coming back from Prudence Island on the ferry.

I took this a couple weekends ago at Race Point Beach in Cape Cod--I loveeeee the beach!