Blog Post 5 : Ideology Horoscope

My Youth Development Ideology 

Horoscope: Positive Youth Development 

What does that mean??

Youth have a constellation of "assets".

External assets like supports 

(family, adults, school, climate); 

Empowerment (youth as resources), 

Boundaries (family, school, positive 

peer influence); internal assets like 

commitment to learning, positive attitudes 

(caring), social competencies, positive identity. 

Its the youth worker role to create environments

that provide positive external assets to foster

positive internal assets. A focus on fostering

strengths of positive growth. 

How does this relate to what kind of youth worker I am??

I believe that youth are what holds our 

communities together! As a Youth Development 

major I believe that youth are what make 

our communities grow, because they are the future.

I believe it is important to engage youth in activities 

and topic that will involve their future and their 

own communities.  

Encouraging youth to talk about controversial 

topics in a safe area I believe is one of the 

most important things we can do to help their 

development. 

How to provide Positive Youth Spaces...

                                

Blog Post 3 : The Construction of Adolescence

New words and concepts learned:

1. Constructionist Perspective: The social construction of reality that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality. 

2. Theoretical Thinking: A proposed way of thinking about potentially related events. 

3. Meeting of Minds: also referred to as mutual agreement, mutual assent or consensus. 

4. Scaffolding:a process in which instructors model or demonstrate how to solve a problem, and then step back and offer support as needed. 

5. Cultural Capital: refers to non-financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means. Some examples are education, intellect, style of speech, dress, or physical appearance. 

6. Applied Developmentalist: Those who focus on enhancing the developmental process and preventing then development of psychopathology in individuals and families across the life span. 

7. Construction of Adolescence: The idea that adolescence is constructed throughout daily activities in society, and are contributed by the world around us. 

8: Maligned: To speak in a critical way. 

9. Tested Knowledge: Assessment intended to measure a takers knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classifications. 

10. Pathologized: To treat and/or regard as psychologically abnormal or unhealthy. 

....................................................................

10 Co-Authors of my Life:

Mom (Lori), Dad (Joseph), Amanda (Sister), Joseph (Brother), Rose (Sister), Morgan (Sister), Mommom (Grandmother), Connor (Boyfriend), Robin (Aunt), God 

There has been many wonderful people in my life who have helped me write my own story, and I could share so many wonderful stories of how they have contributed to who I am today, and I cannot thank them enough. I decided to talk about my Aunt Robin, Aunt Robin has always been a second mother to me and has always supported and encouraged me in everything that I have done. She is a fresh breath of positivity, a little corky, and just a giant ray of sunshine that has been a major impact on my life. Because of Aunt Robin, I have tried to model my life similar to hers. I try to see each and everyday as a learning opportunity, leave people happier than the way I found them, and always lend a helping hand to those in need. My Aunt has been a major role model in my life and I hope that I can be to others what she has been to me. 

Blog Post 4: Color Blind or Color Bold

Have you ever felt invisible?

I have been very fortunate 

to have never felt this way before. From as long as I can remember I have always been included and acknowledged. I never really thought about

race can be invisible, sure I've been taught and think about diversity, but I never thought about it in regards to visibility. 

This TED talk was excellent and really opened my eyes to 

the way I think about certain things, and how the best way to see change is to create it, to make sure that no body goes invisible. 

I think that Youth In Action is a great space for kids to create change, their contribution of stories, activities, and overall commitment to seeing the world through different lenses is the first step. I believe that to create change, we need to teach change. By having youth see race and diversity and to find beauty in every kind of kind is rewriting "the norm". One major take away from this TED talk was, "The first step to solving any problem is to not hide from it". I aspire to be the Youth Leader who attacks problems herd on and hope to retreat the norm step by step with the Youth. 

 

Blog Post 2 : Youth In Action

Youth In Action!

This article was all about Youth in Action and what this organization offers to the children of our communities! To sum it up in a few words, it is ALL ABOUT THE KIDS!

Youth in Action is all about young people, their capacity to lead, their natural ability to innovate, and their desire for positive change.

One of Youth in Actions main ideas is to lead with youth, throughout this article it is mentioned the crucial need for young people to be at the center of change in every community and I couldn't agree more! The incorporation of youth in communities as far as decision making, designing and planning for what their community will look like in years to come is huge! It is something that when I was younger, wish I had more of a say in!

What I found to be most interesting about this article was the discussion of how when the children come to Youth in Action that they are their OWN people. I had never thought about adolescence this way, but the article discussed how a parents role can almost seem as though the child is the same person as the parent and not their own. I found this to be a very interesting way to see childhood. My passion and goal is to spread the creativity and individuality of every child's thoughts to not only make the community a better place but also the world!

Blog Post 1B : Characteristics of Youth Work

YOUTH WORK IS...

1. A SOCIAL PRACTICE... Youth Workers will adopt 'case-work' approaches to working with young people. For example, through the provision of personal information, advice, and guidance work.

2. A EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE... Youth Workers are primarily educators who engage with young people in DIVERSE settings, using different methods and activities to stimulate informal education and learning.

3. Actively CHALLENGING the inequality and work towards social JUSTICE...most youth work takes place in the context of social justice, often with young people and others who are margins, excluded by a number of personal, cultural and structural barriers.

4. Wherever possible INCLUDE young people... young people's interaction with youth work is based on a voluntary engagement between the practitioner and young person.

5. Seeks to STRENGTHEN the VOICE and INFLUENCE of young people... empowerment, participation, active citizenship and democratic engagement.

6. A WELFARE PRACTICE...promotes the welfare and safety of young people.

7. Works WITH young people HOLISTICALLY... contributes to the reduction of anti-social behavior in a local community and, as a result, be perceived to 'fix' problems in 'hot-spot' areas.

To me, youth work is all about interacting with youth in diverse settings to help enrich their learning experiences through hands on activities. Youth work can be conducted in a numerous amount of settings and can be applied to any content area. Youth work is able about to engage the youth in a way that allows them not only to learn, but to be the teacher of their own education. The greatest part of youth work is that the intent is not to be an educational lesson every time but to allow the youth to have a place that they can create and call their own to learn in.

Blog Post 1A : Who Am I

Megan's Blog!

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog, here is a little information to get to know me!

 I am 22 years old and I am one of 5 children! This is a picture of my family to the left, pictured are my parents, siblings, and two in-laws.We are a very close knit family and one of our favorite places to go is Disney World! We are definitely a Disney family and try to action together every couple of years.

I currently work for Daves Market
and also for the Lincoln School. In addition I also volunteer for Hasbro Children's Hospital as a Playroom worker on an oncology floor. My role at the hospital is to invite children and their families into the play room for art activities, games, and relaxation. I also visit children bedside when their treatments restrict them to their room.Below is a picture of one of the windows in the hospital a few children and i decorated.

This is my boyfriend Connor!He is 21 years old and is in the Air Force. He is currently stationed in Alaska and will remain there for 2 more years. He loves the outdoors, spending time with friends and loves to watch sports. 


I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about myself, I can't wait to get to know all of you better and see what YDEV has to offer us this semester!