- One of the first questions I had while watching the videos about restorative in California I wondered what restorative looks like in our communities. Students say that they do have circle in class if they misbehave but it has no impact on overall class behavior.
- On the video of school to prison pipeline, one students at one of my schools mentioned the school wide announcement that any student that gets into a fight will be arrested. This made the video more than relevant. I wondered how this made students feel, what if they were attacked and defended themselves would this also get them "arrested".
- I remember around 2012-2013 the start of restorative practices became the new "detention"/"in school suspension" however I wonder if any schools have taken it on as an after school program or class period like some of the schools in the video.
- I feel like restorative practices/ justice is a good alternative because sometimes students need a space to feel like they are being listened to or be able to talk about their side.
- Many of the times students get pulled from class they are asked what they did wrong and what they can do to fix it. They dont get questions on their emotions or what triggered them to have the reaction they did. Many students feel that teachers are "out to get them" however if they were able to have a real one on one conversation with a moderator maybe they can come to a better conclusion/understanding.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Restorative Practices
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Leading with Youth
My biggest take away from these readings was the
chart below.
x
x
I really like how this spectrum describes youth roles of leadership. I never
considered Youth as clients and noticed that a lot of the work I do in my organization
is with Youth as Clients. This session of my after-school clubs I have tried to
move more into the youth participation/involvement without knowing it. This
chart really put into perspective the different categories of youth
participation. I want to have a program that is more youth driven. I wish this is
a chart I would have learned about before. As someone who is a visual learner
seeing this spectrum drawn out helps me see the path of becoming a youth led program.
Youth Work/Development is about working with youth as their allies. Most
programs have youth as clients and I never noticed the distinction. As people
youth or otherwise, we become more invested in something if we have stake in
it. The more youth are involved, the more they become invested in what is going
on. Giving youth a chance to have input makes a big difference. Last weeks
readings about Ethnic Studies was proof of how important and impactful it is
when youth are driven. Providence students advocated for themselves with adult
allies and were able to get a curriculum that offers them what they want to
learn about. Youth with adult allies can do amazing things.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Ethnic Studies
I chose this topic in class because it is always an issue that has always bothered me. I hate that I had to wait until college, in which I chose a class specifically about world history to learn about anything outside of the US. Even in High school we would get "world history" class and we would learn about world wars and not actually about other countries. We constantly tell students that the more they learn the better they will become but limit them to the history written only in these books. These books however are not accurate and sugar coat the history of this land. These textbooks talk about the natives that helped settlers plant corn and not about the natives that were displaced into reservations. The history books dont mention the Japanese Interment camps, and so much more. Like one of the students in providence said African American history in the US only starts and ends at slavery. Hearing about banning books was really upsetting. This mentality that anything that isn't this "white" america somehow means it is not american? America was to be the place of freedom and has become what it is today because of all the amazing races, ethnicity and cultures that have made this place home.
I've seen a lot of students come from their native countries and come to the US lost and confused. All they see is a language and culture they dont feel connected to at all. Many students say they dont want to learn English because they just want to go back home. However, many students find joy when they see other students from their home, and teachers that speak their language. When they get to show others and teach about their culture they find excitement and pride, but to think people are trying to take that away because "this is america" is just sad.
As someone born in the US I never had a big connection to my parents native land. I love visiting and going to museums while we are there, and I love to see the natives dressed in traditional clothing. In elementary and middle school I enjoyed projects that let me talk about the amazing food from Guatemala and the bird on the flag. However, as I got into my middle school years I found myself wanting to learn more. Not just about Guatemala but I began to want to learn about Asia. Everything about Asia, specifically Japan, was so different than US and Guatemala that it drew my attention. In class all we learned about Japan's role in the war but we didn't learn about the Shogun Era or the Samurai, we didn't learn about their bomb in production or how their Emperor was just a guy that got to dress up and had no real power over the country.
It is important to know our history and see ourselves included in the stories of our history but it is also important to learn about others. By learning about other peoples history, culture, belief and religion we can shape people to be much more open about someone seen as "different" and more accepting to those differences.
I've seen a lot of students come from their native countries and come to the US lost and confused. All they see is a language and culture they dont feel connected to at all. Many students say they dont want to learn English because they just want to go back home. However, many students find joy when they see other students from their home, and teachers that speak their language. When they get to show others and teach about their culture they find excitement and pride, but to think people are trying to take that away because "this is america" is just sad.
As someone born in the US I never had a big connection to my parents native land. I love visiting and going to museums while we are there, and I love to see the natives dressed in traditional clothing. In elementary and middle school I enjoyed projects that let me talk about the amazing food from Guatemala and the bird on the flag. However, as I got into my middle school years I found myself wanting to learn more. Not just about Guatemala but I began to want to learn about Asia. Everything about Asia, specifically Japan, was so different than US and Guatemala that it drew my attention. In class all we learned about Japan's role in the war but we didn't learn about the Shogun Era or the Samurai, we didn't learn about their bomb in production or how their Emperor was just a guy that got to dress up and had no real power over the country.
It is important to know our history and see ourselves included in the stories of our history but it is also important to learn about others. By learning about other peoples history, culture, belief and religion we can shape people to be much more open about someone seen as "different" and more accepting to those differences.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
PLAY !
Shall We
Play: Part 1
[Blog post] (Henry Jenkins)
Children
at Play : An American History (Howard Chudacoff)
Forum
Theatre: A Tool for Social Change [Blog post] (Naomi Joseph)
Theater of the
Oppressed New York [5-minute video]
In
Youth Development we often hear about play. Purposeful play is one of the first
things that I learned while working in an after-school program although I didn’t
know I was doing it. However, after going through the readings I realized that
play doesn’t necessarily need to be purposeful. Play is many things and has many
benefits but as adults we tend to look at things too rationally and dissect the
concept of play. With play children can build on their social skills,
imagination and much more. But play is a time to let loose and not really think.
This made me think a lot about youth and kids and how we don’t give them enough
credit for not over thinking or analyzing. An example of this is when conservative
parents’ worry about their children seeing a same sex couple. They argue “how
will I tell my kids” and if you do tell kids their response is along the lines
of “Okay” and they quickly dismiss it and move on with their day which in my
opinion is a much better response than many adults have.
While
reading these articles I also found the concept of gamification. While reading
the definition given in Henry Jenkin’s Blog, I realized that this is something
I have been doing in my own after school programs. I try to create lessons that
will be fun and engaging but still based on learning. Although I do this, I
also make sure to always leave a few minuets of free time at the end. I do this
unconsciously without any thought than a break for the students and myself. Looking
back at the Youth study we did I realized that it was during this free time
that my very quiet and shy student joined a conversation about a k-pop group.
This allowed me to see a different side of her I have not seen during any
lessons previously.
The
more I think of play and how play is associated as a waste of time in the adult
world the more I think of the definition from the Tom Sawyer books in the
Children at Play: An American History article “Work consists of whatever a body
is obligated to do… Play consists of whatever a body is not obligated to do…”.
I began to look back on this month and wondered if I had participated in on
play. I began drawing again recently for fun, not to improve my skills or for a
project, just because its fun. Due to work and class I have not been able to do
that these past two weeks and noticed just how much my mood has changed, however,
if I did take the time to draw I would have regretted it as well because it
would have been a “waste of time” if I choose to draw instead of do my work.
There was a lot more to play than I realized and it connects to a lot of the
work I do, the students I service and myself.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
WHAT’S CARE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
While
reading this week’s readings I noticed myself stopping many times and self-reflecting.
While reading Corinne McKamey’s Restoring “Caring” in Education, I began to
read and ask myself the same questions she was asking the students she
interviewed. I began to answer them myself and came to the same realization
that every answer I had came with an accompanying story that would help me
define what this caring or lack there of was. One story that really resonated
with me was the narrative of Ruby. Ruby was trying to legitimize her knowledge
of a word that she knew but no one else understood. She searched for teachers,
family and other adults to help her show that she knew what she was talking
about. In the end she had the dictionary in class to prove her knowledge to the
rest of the class. I can recall the feelings of insecurity I’ve had when saying
the “wrong” answer in class and how it made me feel. I can imagine what Ruby must
have felt in that moment considering she had the right answer but because the
majority did not know it, she was made to feel wrong. There are different types
of English in the world and sometimes its just a difference in vocabulary, but
because of the way’s schools are structured to have on language and that one
language be “American English” any other form of speaking is out the window.
This idea
of only one way of doing things made me look at ‘Caution, we have power’. This
article talks about the way the systems of schools and society make it difficult
for undocumented students to continue their education. Because of the way
standards in schools are set, there is one “correct” way of doing something and
if you cant do it that way then you are seen as less than even if you have an
alternative that works just as well. This systematic failure creates that pipeline
of “school-to-sweatshop” pipeline. Students that are undocumented can not
continue their dreams and goals of continuing their education. DACA the
Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals has helped many children brought to the
United States undocumented by family is one resource that due to the xenophobic
culture of our Government is struggling to keep its doors open, without this
many young people could face leaving the only home they have ever known. I can
recall classmates in High School that were brought to the United States as infants,
never knowing their parent’s native countries, fearing that they would one day might
have to forced out. I remember the disappointment of classmates who could not afford
tuition and had to hold off of school and work “sweatshop” jobs to earn money
to afford a semesters worth of tuition. I did not have to go through those
fears because I was “privileged” to be born in this country. I think back to
these classmates and I don’t feel like I “deserved” this any more or less than
they did. My mother just gave birth to be on this side of the border. Nothing
else makes me any more worthy of being able to apply for financial aid than
this and it angers me that my classmates deserving of high educations had to
take a step back and do a job they didn’t want just because of where they were
born.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Locating Yourself
I
found this week’s articles relatable to my work. I always make it a point to identify
myself to my students and their families. In my experience being open and telling
my students and families that I am Hispanic has really helped create an
immediate bond with them. Working in Central Falls, a predominantly Hispanic
community, the parents felt at ease being able to communicate with me in Spanish
and showing their kids that it is possible to go to school and get a job even
if you come from another country. I become a role model for the parents to
confide in and a friend/mentor to the students.
In
Locating Yourself for Your Students by Priya Parmar and Shirley Steinberg
on of the students in Steinberg’s class said “she had never heard a white person
say they were White” and that made me think a lot to the conversation we had
during our retreat around race. It is not often that a “white” person openly
states that they are white. In my experience peoples of other origins, races
and nationalities openly and happily express where they/their families come
from. There is a sense of pride within their culture. I can not recall a time where
a teacher told me they were “white” it was just something that was not spoken
about/ needed to be address. As if it wasn’t important.
This
spoke to Jamila Lyiscott’s videos. She speaks about how the classroom structure
limits one’s diversity. She sees herself as “tri-tounged”. I saw this as her
code switching between how she speaks around the different people in her life.
Code switching is something we all do; we speak differently to different people
depending on who we are around however as students when we hear codes that are
not “articulate” in schools it is deemed as wrong. We should celebrate this
ability but also learn from the diversity it brings into the classroom.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
YDEV Retreat
On Saturday morning we attended a retreat for our YDEV
class. I was sleepy and honestly not looking forward to being in “class” all
day. But YDEV has this magical way of creating such a safe and empowering space
that really changes what it means to be in a “classroom”. The idea to journal
our journey was an amazing place to start. It was rewarding to hear everyone
being so open and honest about their journey and story. I think it helped create
that safe space to have the types of discussions we did.
The theme for the day was race. I thought that by now I knew
what race was but when asked to define it I couldn’t put it into words. I was
most shocked with Dr. Natalia Lopez’s question on whether race was real or not.
That began the discussion of the History of race and when the word came into existence.
I was most shocked when she stated that Mexicans were considered “white” when
needed for their labor. I found it interesting that a whole peoples race
changed when it was convenient. When speaking and learning about race I had never really LEARNED the history of how it came to be and I think that it is an important piece of information that is missing from the story.
I think the pre-retreat assignment was also helped me in a self-discovery
of who I am and who my people are. I liked being asked questions that really
make me think. At first it seemed easy but the more I thought about it the more
complicated the question became.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
YDEV Ideology
For this I post I decided that it would be best to
start off by describing which YDEV philosophy’s I resonate with. I remember
doing an ideology inventory previously but don’t remember my outcome. I’m curious to see if my ideologies have
changed over time with my experience and newfound knowledge.
My inventory was interesting because Positive and
Social Justice YDEV were tied as my most dominate with a total of 9. Where my Civic
and Risk Prevention YDEV where 19 and 22 respectively and I see that’s a big
difference in numbers. I think its important
to know what style suits you and which is an area you need to work on. Although
the numbers were surprising, I do agree with the beliefs from both of my
ideologies. My reflections will reflect how I feel and connect to the text with
both ideologies in mine. The text I have chose to read and reflect on is Principles
of Youth Development by Stephen F. Hamilton, Mary Agnes, and Karen Pittman.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Marcus: On Being Good
Marcus: On Being Good by Carla Shalaby was this week’s
reading and my favorite so far. It brought to light the reality of a student
“Marcus” and his struggles within the classroom. At first glance it would be simple
to say that he is a “troublemaker” that interferes with day to day operations
of the classroom, but as the reading goes into depth it makes you take a step
back and observe rather than judge.
Some of the visible codes of conduct that govern the classroom are the rituals put in place by Mrs. Emily. Things like their morning circle, the take a break table, the buddy room, timeout desk, and bathroom pass are all examples of the rituals and rules that the class follows. The invisible rule/goal that seems to govern the classroom is independence. As stated in the reading Mrs. Emily’s core principle in teaching was independence.
Trouble making in my after-school space would be in the form of someone talking over me during instruction or being rude to any of the other students. I have had students that have fallen asleep, or just constantly on their phones. One thing I like to do in my youth spaces is create those visible codes of conduct but create them with the students. Making the rules with the group helps them set expectations for themselves and for me so that we all feel heard. In order to keep my group engaged I set up time for a break and leave enough time in the agenda for free time; if we finish everything we get free time, if there are issues that keep us from going the work then we wont have that extra time. When it comes to the students, I would constantly have sleeping in my class it was easy to be upset and make him wake up and expect him to participate at the same level as everyone else. However, what I did was pull him aside and asked him why he was always falling asleep. It turned out that there were some issues at home, had I not taken a step back to understand then I would not have known how to approach the situation. Its tough on teachers when they have a classroom that is typically over the class size average but its important in understanding the students to take a moment and understand.
My experiences vary from youth space to space. Once constant is the similarity that I too want for my youth to be independent. That is not to say that I will not be there to aid them, but I don’t want to be a source of power and fear. I like my students to try on their own or even use each other as aid before coming to me. In addition, I like the idea that there are stages in Mrs. Emily’s class before being “removed”. In many classrooms I have seen a student like Marcus would immediately be removed from the class. Having areas for students to take a step back for a little is very beneficial. This gives them independence and a chance to regulate their own emotions as well. There are many times as an adult that I need to just take a break for 5 minutes.
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Stereotypes of Youth
Unfortunately,
stereotypes are a part of our society. Stereotypes are mistaken beliefs put
upon a group of people. In this week’s readings we explored 3 stereotypes of
youth. Youth/ adolescence are a large group to stereotype, from difference in
age, race, class, gender and sexuality it's ridiculous to keep them under a
single umbrella.
Adolescence
are described as being hormonally driven.
Being hormonal is a stereotype in itself. This stereotype keeps people
from seeing youth as people that can make responsible choices. This sets up
youth to fail. If people do not see these youth as capable then they are only
expected to reach a certain point and are not given the space to rise above and
beyond. However, that is one single outcome. Another crosses race/sexuality.
Young Black females are hypersexualized and considered to be more aggressive
than their white and even male counterparts. These stereotypes change how the
worlds sees them and acts based on false realities.
Another
stereotype is that young adolescents are peer oriented. This means that youth
are reliant on peer culture usually as a result of peer pressure. Although this
occurs the stereotype dictates that their social standing is more important than
their education. This is not the case for all youth which is why stereotypes
are so constricting. Stereotypes are typically based on a white, middle class male perspective. In the video we watched the narrator states that children that come from a good home where they are spoken to often and read to are in a better place when they start school. Unfortunately, this is not how every household is.
Stereotype; Adults are "more than" youth |
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Unlearn
In our class reading Reclaiming Community: Race and the Uncertain Future of Youth Work [Chapter 1] (Bianca Baldridge), the author states "...youth work in Black spaces has been focused on literacy and learning in ways that will help students unlearn false histories taught in school...". What stood out to me were the final words of "unlearn false histories" which reminded me of this video I watched during a teacher orientation. Tell me what you think!
Understanding YDEV
Know
|
Learned
|
Although I have
been a youth worker for many years (whether I knew it or not) one thing for
sure was that Youth Work is important. These articles reinforced that Youth work
is important for the healthy development of young people. Since it is an important aspect of Youth it
should be noted that Youth workers are also an asset to their
communities. Youth Development is
about empowering youth and working alongside of them, making sure that their
voice is valued.
|
These articles were
great in helping me learn the origins of Youth Development. I have never sat
down and thought about where the term came from and how it have evolved over
the years. I was also intrigued to learn about the Deficit approach. Looking
back at past programs I have worked with or attended as a student it is clear
which programs were aimed towards the “high
risk” communities. “High Risk”, “At Risk”, “Low Income” have always been
phrases that have bothered me because for a student to see they are recruited
for a program based on these categories
sets up a stigma. The chart below from one of the readings was the
most impactful. Knowing that certain populations are using the deficit
approach to recruit for programs is very different than seeing it on paper.
This chart showed the true issues of this approach by neglecting
extracurriculars from “high risk” communities and instead trying to “fix” a
single targeted stereotype of the
community.
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More
|
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One thing I want to learn more about it the deficit
language and how organizations use the language and/ or are changing it to
fit the Youth Development approach. I
believe that it is important to know what the history of youth work is in
order to take it into the future.
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