Youth Development Event #2 Easter Party at Boys and Girls Club.

The second event I attended was an Easter party at the Boys and Girls Club. This is where I do my internship so I was happy to help out with the event. For this event there was an Easter egg hunt for the kids on site. There was also egg coloring, and food for the kids and there parents.  Although it was a small party all the kids enjoyed it. It was a chance to be with the staff, their friends, and their parents all at the same time. Whenever the kids get to do anything out of the ordinary at the club they are ecstatic no matter how big or small the event. The night kicked off with the Easter egg hunt. Each child was given a bag to gather up as many eggs as possible, each egg has some sort of candy or prize inside. The child who found the most eggs would also get a giant chocolate bunny for their efforts. After the egg hunt there was the egg coloring. Each child was given a real hardboiled egg that could dye any way they wanted, allowing each egg to have its own creative touch. After that there was an informal snack for everyone where they all could relax and be with their friends and family before the Holliday. This opportunity for the families to have some social interaction with the staff and the kids together is very important. We talked about the importance of building community and having strong positive role models to guide youth. This is just one of the many ways the boys and girls club tries to build the community. Having a strong supportive together community makes for empowered youth who can reach their full potential and beyond.

Youth Development Event #1 TED Talk

For my first event I decided to listen to the TED talks. The one that stood out to me was the one by Charlie Hoehn, mostly because he reminded me of the comedian Anthony Jeselnik. Lol. In all seriousness his talk did have a lot of meaning, and it was about an issue that I may soon face. He spoke about once you graduate there is no guarantee that you will land a well paying job, or any job for that matter. He suggested doing free work, which is not the same as an internship. He explained that free work was less formal than an internship, and you get to work on projects that you want to work on. It is a great way to do what it is you are good at, and do what you are passionate about. He explained that getting stuck at a job that you don’t enjoy and isn't really what you want to be doing is not what you want to happen. The beauty of free work is that you know it is something you would do even if you weren’t getting paid……… because your not. But this wont always be the case, by doing free work on stuff you are passionate about and learning about things you want to learn about you are building skills for a job you will want some day. After enough time you will impress the right person and you will land a job that you truly want to do, and a job you know, and they know you are good at. This relates to the Youth Development philosophy because passion is a big part of youth development. I think everyone who joins YDEV has a fair amount of passion for this particular area. Everyone enjoys doing youth development, and has the skills for youth development. We all joined the program to expand our skills in youth development, and yes there may be a fair amount of free work involved in our field. But it doesn’t matter because we are building towards our future, one we chose, and one that we can be proud of when its all over.

Public Event #2 (Reflection)

For my public event I attended a breakfast with Santa at my sisters elementary school in Coventry. The boy scouts hosted this event. They set up the tables and served the food to the guests. It was a great opportunity for the boy scouts to give back to the community. Students from the school could come and have breakfast with their peers, and see Santa. Students were also encouraged to bring friends and family as well. This event was a good example of building a community in a school. The school set up this event so the students could interact with their peers outside of the classroom. It was also a chance to meet other families from the community as well. In class we emphasized the importance of a strong community for youth. Not having a sense of community can be detrimental to a child. If they don’t feel like they belong it can have a serious impact on their growth. We know from Maslow’s hierarchy that belongingness is one of the basic needs of a person. If a child doesn’t feel like they belong it will stop them from achieving self-actualization. But, if you can create a community amongst the students and their families it makes for a much more positive environment for the youth to grow in. A sense of community will have everyone looking out for one another and caring about the well being of their friends and neighbors. Community support can make a big difference in peoples lives, youth especially. Feeling accepted and like they belong to something can do wonders for their self-esteem and overall growth. I thought this event was just a small example of a school trying to improve the community by hosting a get together like this.

(Heres some short explanations of community as well as Maslows Hierarchy)

Maslow Hierarchy

community importance

community for kids

Public Event #1 (Reflection)

For my public event I attended the 28^th annual AIDS Walk RI on September 28^th 2013.  Thousands of people gathered at the state house for a 2.5-mile walk in support of AIDS research. Before the walk began there was a very powerful speech from a young man named Anthony Maselli who is a test counselor at AIDS Project RI. He also happens to know first hand about the power of a positive test result as he tested positive for HIV in September of 2012. He spoke about how he contracted the decease while he was taking part in many high-risk activities. He was drinking, partying a lot, using drugs, and having unprotected sex. The idea that he could contract HIV never crossed his mind. This event relates to our class because we talked about the importance of sex education for youth. How it is important to educate youth earlier before they make a decision that can change their life forever. For Anthony unprotected sex led to HIV, for others it may lead to a child. Whatever the burden may be, it’s important that youth are aware of the risks, as well as some preventative measures. HIV/AIDS is a deadly decease, and keeping youth educated could save thousands of lives. Often times people don’t even know that they have AIDS and can unknowingly spread it to a number of people. This whole event also relates to the caring part of the 5 Cs, this event showed how many people care about AIDS. If enough people show their care and support hopefully with enough research we can find a cure for this deadly decease.

Aids Walk 2013 (Speech)
Aids Project RI
Sex Ed. as part of school curriculum

Web Quest ( Youth Voices)

Adobe Youth Voices is an organization that focuses on student creativity. It teaches students to express themselves through new multi media techniques and powerful story telling. They are focusing on “Creating with Purpose”. They challenge young people to use media making to impact change and have an effect on the community. It is a new way for youth to express their voices in a more powerful way. I think this is a great way for youth to be heard. It allows them to be creative and show some serious talent in the process. For many youth this maybe the best way they can express themselves due to the massive increase in technology for their generation. Using Technology may be second nature to them, and they are given a chance to use it in a whole new way to express themselves. Adobe Youth Voices also focus on teaching youth skills to survive in this changing world. By teaching them these new multi media skills they are preparing them for the technology based world this is becoming. They are also building leadership skills, creative problem solving skills, and just creativity in general. Many future jobs for youth are going to require some creativity given the amount of change we are undergoing. Adobe Youth Voices is pushing students to think outside the box, think abstractly, and find new ways to do things.

Paradoxical Pathways (Hyperlinks)

Paradoxical Pathways: An Ethnographic Extension of Kohn’s Findings on Class and Childrearing by Annette Lareau. In this article the author raises this issue of parental values on leisure activities for children. Differences in values were seen across the economic class of the families. Middle class families felt “The more one can expose children to, with a watchful eye and supervision, the more creative they can be in their own thinking. The more options they will be able to see for themselves, the more they get a sense of improved self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence. I think that will carry them through adulthood. It’s something they can think back on as a good experience.” Working class and poor did not put much importance on leisure time. They spend their “source resources to provide for and protect children. They assume they will grow and thrive spontaneously through accomplishment of natural growth”.

 This may work for some children but not everyone; others need that opportunity to experience this natural growth. So for me I would lean more towards the middle classes approach, although I do agree that natural growth from within the child is very important as well. I have found a few examples talking about the importance of extracurricular activities and taking advantage of leisure time. These Hyperlinks relate to the text because they are all about why it is important to use leisure time wisely in the form of extra curricular activities. Kids spend a lot of time outside of school and having a hobby or activity that they are involved in will go a long way for that child. It will keep there mind sharp, they will develop self worth, meet new people, develop new skills that would be lost in traditional schooling such as team work and leadership. Parents are able to see a difference in their child's behavior when they are involved in extracurricular activities. It keeps kids busy and out of trouble and using their time in a positive way that will benefit them in the future. 

Hyperlinks Below

Leisure and Free Time

Positive Effects of Extra Curricular Activities on Students

Extra Curricular Activities Mesquite Independent School District

Connections (Mckamey)

Uncovering and managing unconscious ways of ‘looking’: A case study of researching educational care by Corrine McKamey. Reading this article made me think a lot about being more than just a teacher. As a youth development major that’s exactly what we are aiming to do. The scenarios and comments from the article about caring teachers made me think a lot about our many meetings with Youth In Action. To me youth in action is a great representation of caring teachers. They take an interest in the youth’s life outside of school and they care about how they are doing emotionally. If you listen to the testimonies of the youth they bring to class you can hear the trust and confidence they have in their mentors. Many of them stated that the people at youth in action changed their lives, and can’t imagine where they would be without them.

 The teachers at YIA have a sense of nurturing, and to them it isn’t all about academics. They don’t stop caring once school is over; they are there for them outside of school anytime they are needed. I think a big part of being a caring teacher is being someone people can count on, and being there for a person in need. Creating a sense of trust between a teacher and youth can go a long way, also being someone the youth can relate to. Not just a boring teacher that students have nothing in common with. When I was in school there were teachers I trusted and related to and others I didn’t. I can remember many teachers that earned my respect and others that didn't.  The ones that I connected with were really able to make a difference, and I found myself trying harder because I didn’t want to disappoint them. I new I could talk to them about issues not related to school, and just have a conversation with them. Those were the teachers I enjoyed having and the ones I will remember.