YDEV 352 Blog

 When you think about caring for someone, it's often superficial. Most people automatically think of the basic human needs like shelter and food or giving someone affection. Caring for someone is so much more than that. It's validating them as a person. It's making them feel heard. It's recognizing that people have different privileges based on a number of different things. The readings really shed a light on that. While educators or youth workers might not explicitly be discriminatory towards their students, we're all human and we have implicit biases. Some educators might not recognize that some students don't have access to internet at home so they can't do the online homework. Or that they're student isn't failing tests because they don't know the information, they might get anxious about taking tests. Caring goes so much deeper than we think and we all want someone to care for us. We have to start by caring about others. 

-  Our theoretically-grounded curriculum and approach grows from our belief that youth are thoughtful, creative people who deserve opportunities to practice leadership with supportive, professional adults by their side. - In this frame, young people are situated as individuals with emotional, physical, academic, moral, and social potential - As youth work leaders, they know who they are and what they believe. These quotes from the reading really stood out to me because it's what youth work really is all about. I had gotten the positive ideology and the first quote resonated with me the most. I do believe that youth spaces should be a place for youths to figure out their own path with the support of the adults around them. Youths are so much more than what we think of them. They have their own beliefs, thoughts and feelings that deserve to be heard just as much as anyone else. The second quote also stood out to me because youth have so much potential in all aspects of their life and...