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!