|
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.
|
|
More
|
|
|
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.
| |
Thanks for this great post Jasmine. I love the unlearning video up top and the links to the quote from Baldridge's piece. And unlearning seems like a profound thing to wonder about in the context of youth work--how sometimes youth development is so much about the unwinding and reimagining of the kinds of learning that are valued in school spaces. I also find that chart powerful although it took me quite a long time to understand what it was saying! Deficit frameworks of young people and particularly marginalized young people are so pervasive in our society and even in the field of youth development. I appreciate your interest in learning more about how youth workers and orgs are resisting. There are beautiful liberatory models out there to learn (and unlearn) with.
ReplyDeleteSo much information, after reading the blogs from all of you, is another reason why we need to be part of the change, why we need to work for a better future,for our youth in our own community; thinking that we are part of the fixing process, build that foundation again,find what went wrong ? why to fix it? I am now more aware about been an advocate for our young people, treat them with respect. Seeking to develop their skills; stop looking at the challenge behavior, support them become stronger and find their REAL identity.
ReplyDelete