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.