Event Two

The second event I went to during this semester was a training about the different positions in the Department ofChildren, Youth, and Family (DCYF). I went to this event during my internship hours with Child Welfare Institute but because I had an extra hour, with approval from my instructor Lesley Bogad, I am going to give some information on what I learned and the connections it has to my class.

During the event I went to, I learned how the different positions in DCYF are performed and how they interact with one other especially the children. According to Nakkula (2010), every interaction a child has with an adult forms an impression upon their thoughts and feelings. With the children that come in contact with DCYF on a daily basis, they are constantly forming impressions about different types of people. The children who are taken into protective services are taking the pain they were going through at home and questioning what will the adults be like that they come in contact with next. Each position in the DCYF is coming into contact with children from different cultures and races. We as the youth worker/social worker, have to be prepared for the barriers and obstacles that these children present. As a social worker or Youth Development worker, we must present to these individuals a positive and considerate experience, for many of these children have been in and out of the system numerous times. Their trust for adults is very limited. For many, their outbursts towards others and society is based upon their personal experiences within their home, academics, and peers.

I feel that in order to help these children, we must be able to listen, but yet not be taken advantage of. Each individual case calls for an open mind and also to establish a trust and confidence between yourself and the client. If there is to be improvement, it must be dealt with from both sides of the coin, and the programs put in place to assist the client must be to their specific needs.

 

Resilient Kinds:Mindfulness

According to John Mikle ET:AL from Mindful Magazine, “Training students in mindfulness {Demonstrates benefits} including improvements in working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and self-esteem, as well as self-reported improvements in mood, decreases in anxiety, stress, and fatigue”. Resilient Kids is the organization that does just that. This organization helps students to relax and concentrate on the now through different types of activities. These different activities help the children be more aware of mindfulness and allow them to know how to calm themselves. The techniques of mindfulness have helped children with their academics by receiving better test scores, better grades, and overall a better attitude in the classroom setting.  One of the activities they talked about in the Resilient Kids video was the Glitter Jar. By making a glitter jar, it allows the child to place all their worries and stress (glitter) into the jar and shake it up whenever they are feeling anxious. After they have shaken the jar, they set the bottle down and watch all the glitter fall to the bottom of the jar until every last piece is done. Doing this symbolizes for the child their worries floating away and calming the storms sort of speak.

                After learning a little about these different practices, I can see these techniques being used with helping children with disabilities; especially children with ADHD. Children with ADHD are extremely hyper and sometimes have difficulties zoning into their academics in school but also helping themselves to calm down and concentrate. These few activities that Resilient Kids does with the students could help these children with ADHD learn strategies to use not only in their academic surroundings but also in their everyday home life too.

If you would like to know how to make a glitter jar just click here

RW Documentary on Cultural Boundaries

After watching the video Creating Culturally Relevant Education I have learned a lot about how a youth worker like myself can work across different cultural boundaries. One story that stuck out for me the most was from a student from Nigeria that moved to the states and then had to go back to Nigeria for his entire 7^th grade education, but then returned back to the United States to continue on with his education. Why should a student with a different cultural and educational background go through all this trouble? As a youth worker, we need to be more understanding and look to learn from youth as well as teach them about other cultures. We need to be able to support and help the youth in their academic environment and their personal lives in order for them to succeed and choose the right paths.

As youth workers we must also involve the parents of our youth in the everyday events that occur. This can be done by notifications or getting the parents to volunteer and get involved in the school systems and programs in order for us to understand the cultures. An example of this was when I was in elementary school. My class had a culture week where each day three different students brought in their parents with a special dish from their culture to share with the class and introduce them to their cultures. Schools and programs need to intertwine lessons like this more often. This will help not only the teachers learn about the culture the student is from but also for the students to learn about the different cultures in their society as well.

All in all we must look at the diverse races, cultures, and different learning strategies as equal and none superior to the other. Youth workers shouldn’t take any of societies stigmas and stereotypes from stopping them in supporting and helping our youth of tomorrow. As one Youth in Action parent said in the video, we must challenge ourselves and learn about the community we work in and also learn about the different cultures the youth are bringing into the society and programs.

Identity in Context

 

 

After reading Identity in Context by Nakkula Context Mapping is who you are depending on where you’re at; as in school, work, home, etc. In each one of those locations your personality dictates how you act and interact in those situations. For example, you would not exhibit personality traits in the workplace the same way you would at home. It is the way that you interact in the proper place. The people that you interact with in these places expect your content to be appropriate. In the reading Mitch asked Julian to compile a list of the areas and relationships he must confront throughout his day and what is expected of him from those people and places. This was a way for Mitch to have Julian analyze the different ways he conducts himself depending on the people he is interacting with, along with the places he finds himself in. By doing this, it allows Julian to see how he changes his inner self to accommodate those people and places.

My context map:

RIC: Youth Development, other students, professors

Home: I am a Daughter, cousin, niece, granddaughter, and girlfriend

Social:  Facebook, twitter, blogger, text.

Four Identities:

 

Foreclosed Identity:  An identity that has be imposed upon an individual without questioning it. An example would be if everyone in your family liked the Patriots but hated the Giants. Rather than form your own opinion so that no one would question you, you conform to liking the Patriots.

Diffuse Identity: When there is little consideration of exploring one’s identity. This person is easily influenced by others and will flip-flop to fit his or her changing content. It is a way to blend in and avoid confrontation. It is also said that they are willing to live moment for moment in different situations.

Moratorium Identity: This is the process where one explores beliefs and relationships without making a commitment to either.

Achieved Identity: This is when the identity crisis is resolved and the individual has successfully made a commitment to the change and strengthens the inner person. It is a way that the individual is able to resolve his content.

*To get a better look at the Context Map at the top of this page click here

 

Nakkula Chapter 1

After reading The Construction of Adolescence by Nakkula (2010), the impression Ms. Petersen gives is that she is giving up on Antwon. Granted there is no excuse for Antwon’s attitude towards her and to state that his other teachers are showing no interest in his academics, is not a reason for him to do the same to Ms. Petersen. Ms. Petersen interjects her personal feelings towards African American adolescents as a reason for her not to approach Antwon. High school adolescents have a great deal to deal with, from peer pressure, to testing, to what is expected of them when they graduate. Both school and home play a great deal of burden on their shoulders. As a youth worker, we must put aside our cultural differences and feelings, and approach these individuals to discuss their feelings and what is expected of them. We must give them an opportunity to discuss their feelings and burdens with an open mind without being judgmental. We as the adults form their impressions of other adults that they come in contact with and we must present ourselves in such a way that these adolescents are capable to express their feelings throughout their lives. As a youth worker, we must form this ball of clay (our youth), to be prepared for what the world may throw at them. When you think about it, we as youth workers spend most of our day with our youth and the impressions we leave on them, is life lasting.

Advising Event

               

Going to the Youth Development advising meeting on Wednesday was definitely helpful when taking the stress away for the coming semesters before graduation. This advising meeting was to help me plan my next semester schedule so I can graduate on time from Rhode Island College. Before going into the advising session, I had so many questions after finishing my Plan of Study. I was extremely nervous about not being able to graduate in Spring 2015. While sitting and working on the Plan of Study with my advisors I was able to see all the students who were going for the same major in Youth Development as me. We were all on the same paths and mission.  Because some students like myself completed most of the courses in the program, we were able to trade information about different classes and the best professors to have in the courses. By having this plan of study, I am allowed to look at the requirements needed to graduate, the courses I have completed, and the courses I still need to complete. I am able to take control of my own education and advising. I was able to click in to what Marc Prensky (2001) was talking about in his article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants when it comes to us as youth workers using our knowledge of the internet and technology in our work. We were sitting as a group of youth workers working on our Plan of Studies through an internet program (google docs). We would be able to take what we are learning in our advising and use it towards working with the youth in our future careers.

                When in our class on Thursday I was able to use my knowledge of putting together my plan of studies and help out my fellow students put their next semester classes together. I felt very confident in helping my classmates just because I went through the same confusion as them the other day. Looking at how I am able to help them through planning their classes on google doc, it makes it understandable and easier to work with. Students in our different school systems should use advising and their class planning in this same manner. This is the closest way to start having teachers bring technology into their students’ academic works.

**If you'd like more information on the Youth Development Program to see what it entails click here. Also if you would like to learn more about bringing technology into academic advising here is a Power Point that gives you some key points about bringing it into the classrooms.

Egg Drop...Budget Cut...SMASH!

How does one protect an egg from breaking after it has been dropped from a second floor window? Make a parachute with a plastic bag and make sure the cup the egg is sitting in is protected and light weight…sounds like a plan. But now what happens after there has been a budget cut and all the plastic bags you had are taken away? Now that is harder to work with. When my group received our box for the egg drop experiment, we instantly knew what we had to do to win.  We were completely prepared to watch our egg safely survive the drop. But after we were told the bags need to be confiscated…that changed everything in a matter of seconds. Our confidence level declined fast and now we were scrounging for anything to have our egg survive.  The time came for our egg to drop and like we thought, it didn’t survive but rather crashed and burned. While we were watching everyone else’s eggs drop, we saw items that were in their boxes (marshmallows, tape, boxes, etc.) that we didn’t have. They had a lot more access to items then my group did.

 I have realized after looking at this experiment; this is reality for most of our children today. Our children are living in poverty and going to lower class school systems with barely any resources to help them succeed. Ullucci (2014) talks about in her article how children are no less capable or intelligent in succeeding. She is absolutely right! To help these youth of tomorrow, we must help them receive access when we know they have the capability. The youth in poverty have to fight more and more to get to where they want to be in their adult lives while other students who are given access easily, don’t have to fight as hard to get where they want to be. As a child growing up in a school system with limited access, I can say yes I worked hard to get to where I want to be as an adult, but with working hard, I believe I gained more knowledge and more experience than the children who were given more access to succeed in school. And personally I am completely fine with that. But because I experienced this in my own life, as a youth worker, I want to change that for the future generations so that all our children can have equal access and capability to succeed in their education. It will just take one day at a time and a lot more people than just me to help out our communities.

Poverty and our Youth

            After reading “Pathologizing the Poor: Implications for Preparing Teachers to Work in High-Poverty Schools” by Kerri Ullucci (2014), she claims the impact of poverty on our youth of today means they are no less intelligent or capable of succeeding, but rather, it is much more complicated. Most of those that are affected are Latinos or African Americans. Their lives are impacted by many variables such as environmental, health issues, transportation, and shelter just to mention a few. In our education system it seems that many teachers use the label POOR to explain why some of our youth are failing, that they have no support at home, and they have no parental interest. By taking this attitude it places the blame solely on the parent and child, and lessens the focus on the teacher. Teachers should learn or be taught to stop using this form of stereotyping and find ways to reach out to these youths in a positive influence.

                           In Ullucci’s conclusion the effect on our youth development space is to improve the educational content of the urban school systems. By doing so this would make teachers have a better handle on the children before them. It is important to tell the truth rather than sugar coat it. The development space first must take on a different approach on teaching and improving our youths’ experiences. We must realize that poverty is real for our youth and how it impacts both the development and learning, and after coming to terms with this, we must develop ways to improve it and services that can assist them. Looking at this I see myself working in a youth development program with all forms of poverty. To me, it doesn’t matter what race or sexual orientation you are, there is still that one thing that can connect us all; which is poverty. We need to work as a community and help our youth remove poverty from their futures. They were brought into this world on their parents low poverty status but as they become educated they can be the ones to break the cycle.


After reading this article I found a very interesting website about reducing poverty in our education. If you are interested in reading more click here.

 

 

 

Costello's Primary Supports

After reading Costello’s (2001) view on Primary Supports, when looking at Youth Development programs, it is important to address the concerns of the youth of today. The concerns of the youth from the past are much different than what affects the youth of today. The organizations that run these programs must bring new ideas and diversity to make these programs successful. To begin with, we must open our ears and listen (I mean really listen) to our youth. We must give them a voice on what concerns them in their everyday life and we must provide them with the needs to survive. We need to find out what their expectations are within the program and bring both young and old to the table. By doing this, it allows us to share ideas and also ways to meet the expectations within the program.

Organizations like 4-H and the BoyScouts, which are programs that have been around forever, may not meet the concerns or the needs of our youth in today’s world. Our communities differ depending on what town you live in. If you are from the inner-city, many of these young people have no idea what 4-H stands for or let alone even have a program available to them. Their purpose in life is just trying to survive life on the streets. Programs in these areas need to address their concerns and their safety. Organizations or youth programs need to first build a trust and build upon and provide services which include instructions, goals, and social skills that help build character for our youth. It is also important to give them a vision to their future. This could be provided by organizations having sponsors that are willing to give them an insight to prospective job opportunities for their future.

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant?

After reading Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky, I have come to realize that I am a mixed learner. I am a Digital Immigrant because half of my life I was taught and raised in the ways of reading and writing while the other half of my education, I was taught through technology. As I was growing up my education was technology free until I was in fifth grade. The growing of using computers and technology devices to teach students were booming fast in schools. To this day as a college student at Rhode Island College, I am just getting to learning how to use technology to help with my education. I may use blogs like this or make power points to show my understanding of a specific topic but I would rather prefer learning through reading from a book and taking my time. My nephew on the other hand is  a Digital Native. He was taught since he was a baby through technology and to this day learns and works better through his electronics. At the age of 9 years old, he is able to teach me how to use the computer more in depth than some college students. Each generation is slowly changing and as a community we need to learn to adapt to the new ways of learning since someday, technology might become the Digital Immigrant.

The ways technology can help me as a youth worker is realizing the different ways our youth learn. We think that all youth of today are growing up using technology but some youth don’t have that type of access. Some youth are not allowed to use technology for schooling or for their own enjoyment which makes them part of the Digital Immigrants. By being experienced as a Digital Immigrant and Native, I can help the different youths with their learning and education. Like Michael Wesch shows us in his video, technology is constantly growing and can help explore and learn beyond our wildest thoughts. This can help not only the Digital Natives but also help the Digital Immigrants learn, grow, and explore on how to become a Digital Native.

To help understand the difference between Digital Native and Digital Immigrant here is a fun video from Andy Tattersall that can help explain the difference between both these terms. Just click here to watch the video.

Response to the Youth In Action article

The article A World Where Youth Hold the Power by Adeola A. Oredola talks about the Youth in Action (YIA) program. This program is all about giving the teens and children of our communities the opportunity to speak their minds about their own education, community, and bring out their creativity. Many communities don’t give the children of our future generations a chance to express themselves in their own ways. Instead our children have to go by the rules and thoughts of their elders who are teaching them their everyday curriculums. This article brings many perspectives that the YIA program has brought to its alumni and recent members. All of their experiences have impacted their lives in one way or another.

The YIA model resonates with my experience as a youth because when I was in school, my ideas where basically my own ideas. They were never good for the teachers’ expectations that were wanted for the classroom activities. Growing up children were taught to learn in one form or way rather than being creative and finding other ways to solve problems within their academic learning. Today’s youth should have a bigger choice in how they learn and interact in their communities and education. It is their future that they are working on to become successful and independent adults. Why not give them a chance to explore who they are and what they can bring to the table to expand and help educate their fellow students but also the future students of tomorrow.

Teachers must be open minded to these students’ ideas not just to be heard, but to actually be listened to. Our opinions and suggestions are the foundation to bringing together both young and old. You don’t have to be correct but at least it affords the youth to express their ideas and open up the discussion to the floor; meaning the group.

About BJesus

Hello Everyone!

My name is Brittney-Ann De Jesus, and this is my fifth year being at Rhode Island College. Some people might ask why have you been in school for so long! Well it's because I switched my major from Elementary Education to Youth Development last Spring. Changing my major was the best thing I ever did. I have always wanted to work with children in schools but I also wanted to work with children in other types of environments. Throughout my high school years, I worked with the special needs children in my high school. I helped the teachers working one on one with the students and also helped the students with their inclusion classrooms. I wanted these children to feel comfortable and like every other high school student in the building.

 One of my major goals for my career is to work at Hasbro Children's Hospital or the Make A Wish Foundation. My mission in life is to make a difference and bring happiness to children as they grow up to be independent and successful adults in our community. I think my wanting to work with these organizations comes from my love of wrestling. I am a huge John Cena fan and he is one of the top celebrities for granting wishes for the Make A Wish Foundation meeting 400 and more wishes. I love to see these children smile and be happy that they got to meet their ideals. Seeing how happy these children get, made me realize I want to make a difference for them as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope to get a lot out of this class to further my career in this field.