Idenities

 In the reading, something that stuck out to me was the idea of naming our (racial) identities in relation to the curriculums we  teach. The article mentioned naming whiteness specifically, especially if you are teaching students of color to better connect with the population. In the video the speaker talks about consonant variation with the example of McDonalds using the phrase "Im Lovin' It" and how in school we would correct the "improperness" of that statement, but in this public corporate setting we celebrate it. I found this very interesting and it  sheds some light on this double standard that is set. 

For me, I feel as though I did not put too much thought into my own identities until this last year. Questions of how and why, and through readings or videos that propose new thoughts and pose new questions that open "doors" into who I am. Through these practices, it is where I started analyzing who I am and why I am the way I am. 

#7 Freewrite

 I enjoyed Pegah's article about Youth In Action! It was very informative and I really loved this excerpt; 

"For YIA, youth development means nurturing a

brave space that is curated to provide practice and reflection for young 

people, such that they may safely explore cognitive and social/ emotional

milestones in their development. These milestones include their ability to:

reason, think more abstractly and hypothetically, make decisions, develop

a set of ethics, offer and experience peer acceptance, develop a sense of

self, articulate emotion, and explore their social and sexual selves."

YIA explores youth development from the identity and self exploration lens, which by allowing youth to fully understand themselves at a young  or coming of age period only shapes stronger adults who are fully aware of what is going on around them. By offering a place where youth can explore cognitive and social/emotional milestones  youth have a substantial place to process their experiences, good or painful, and having adults around and a community of peers for support is amazing. Also, the mural is wonderful; Youth lay the foundation, Providence grows. Because young people and the coming generations are the ones who will bring us all to a better version of "humanity." The journey orientation and the outcomes that are expected or rather supported are fundamental, and the the youths that get to experience that will remember those moments, it really does sound like a great time, and a very meaningful time at that.

Youth Work is Care

 The article and video on the ideas of care as well as pain and healing were helpful.  One of the biggest concepts to pull from them is the theme of vulnerability and identifying pain, and in order to connect with people especially young people we have to be vulnerable with them first. I think in order to be vulnerable with others you have to first be vulnerable with yourself, which brings us to the pain and healing aspect of it all. As someone who has routinely suppressed pain it can be quite difficult to look back and find the source of pain. I find posing the question "why" is a good start. If we are feeling a certain way ask yourself "why?" The first step in my opinion is acknowledging our feelings, like I said if you are not feeling okay, acknowledge that you are not okay, then ask "why" am I feeling this way.  You might not be able to answer the "why" question right away but keep asking it, you'll get there eventually. Next we don't jump right into fixing or healing, we want to first stop and process the answer(s); feel it all, maybe cry.  We each process differently, then we accept things for what they are,  some sources of our pain come directly from the past, from our lived experiences. This pain is from a place of history, we cannot change the event(s) that have occurred but we can change the way we think about them. Leave the past in the past and take solace in knowing that you are a different person in this moment. I believe that we are ever changing products of our lived experiences, meaning that everything we have encountered in our lives has shaped us into the people we are today and if you ask me there is so much beauty there, there can also be a lot of pain, but there is beauty in how we become the people we are. Changing how we think is a good start to our healing process and maybe we can do this on an individual level but maybe utilizing the resources around us is a good method as well, identifying a support system is important. Healing starts after we acknowledge our pain, and after we accept our experience(s). For every painful experience/memory counter it with a peaceful/good memory as it is easy for the painful memories to take control, do not lose sight of the good. The video spoke about healing being a continuing process of our well being, we don't just heal from something and then its gone forever, its more like in order to heal from something you have to accept the pain and realize what that event means, where does it belong in the journey of you and how has it shaped you?  Healing does not mean letting go, or forgetting, or fully moving on, it means carrying your processed pain in a healthier way, it means knowing that it is okay to not be okay and that it is also okay to reach out for help. The texts and the video expanded my insight on care in this way, they have helped me identify significant areas of pain for myself, I initially thought of four instances, but keep asking yourself "why" and if you are like me you'll identify things you never ever thought twice of. The idea of care, pain, and healing is very much a rich experience, and if you are grappling with your own journeys and experiences remember to take good care of yourself and understand that is is okay to not be okay!   

Social Justice youth

 We see social justice youth development in action all the time through youth led organizations. Organizations like youth in action support youth in their social justice platforms giving them a voice or helping them recognize their voices. We saw youth led work  happen over this last year especially with the BLM movement. Youth formed a peaceful non violent protest that spoke volumes, youth have led walk outs in standing with their beliefs on gun control. These are social justice movements that support the safety of young people aswell as equal human(e) rights of all.

 Youth Work is a Philosophy

1. "They are also demographically diverse -- 29% are students of color, 25% LGBTQI+, and 29% are the first in their family to go to college.  These students bring life to the intentional architecture of our program — including a theoretically-informed curriculum and commitment to community — that drives everything we do to prepare undergraduates to be competent, confident professionals in the youth development work force."

-This quote from the article is very strong. I think part of the beauty of this program is the individuals who make up the our class spaces. Everyone has something different to offer, and to be able to share our experiences with one another in safe and inclusive spaces is so important. For me i found this important and helpful because i have had a few conversations with some of my peers that really allowed me to connect with them as some of us have experienced similar situations or experiences. The diversity that we hold is wonderful!

2. "At the beginning of the semester, each student receives a deck of cards, with each card having a specific prompt.  Prompts include topics like “Dilemma of Practice,” “Mentorship,” “Success,” and “Ideology: Goodness of fit.” At the beginning of the hour, each student selects a card from their deck.  The expectation is that some students will share a story or issue arising from the card they played, and members of the group will ask questions and brainstorm with the presenting student about the issue.  Instructors explicitly sit within the discussion circle as a member of the community, and not as the facilitator or moderator.  The Play a Card discussions provide students opportunities to think with each other about authentic dilemmas of practice."

- I found this to be very interesting and i also find it exciting. This type of brainstorm collaboration very productive. And i like the use of a deck of cards. I think this allows for even stronger community building, by then we will have all been well acquainted to open discussions may be even easier.

3. “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”

-I like this quote very much. The reasoning behind the action holds just as much value as the action itself. This reminds me of the concept of not forgetting your roots. I try to remind myself of the "why." I think as long as you hold on the why, you wont fall off course.

Race/Identity

 One class where the concept of race and identity was framed was when I took an Anthropology course for my connections requirement. This class was very interesting to me and the professor was pretty cool. One topic we discussed was how race was a social construct. We also discussed the biology of it too and watched a study. In the study the teacher asked his students who they thought theyd be more closely related to just by looking around the room, most of the students picked  another person that physicallly resembled them. The teacher more or less disproved them by comparing their DNA's together showing that many kids were actually more closely related to other students who did not resemble them at all. From there the story of Elizabethe Warren came up about her identifying as Native American, her blood proved that to be true but the council that the indigenous leaders sit on also pointed out that since customs and traditions and language are not practiced they did not fully recognize her.  This got me thinking as someone who is mixed.  I am hispanic and white, but have no connections to customs, traditions, and language so based on what the council determined I would not be able to claim being hispanic but also i am not physically white, so i cant really claim white either. So it got me thinking about where I fall in my own racial identity. I came to the conclusion that I (and each of us) can determine our identities for our selves and if we want to go and claim our heritages then we can do that, if we want to learn and experience these sort of things then we can. We hold all of the tools that allow us to do this. I gets me thinking about where I belong in this world and what my current experience is now and what i want my future experience to be, I dont have all these answers yet but we figure these things out as we go i think. 

 Visible & Invisible Rules in The Classroom 

Some of the rules that I've placed are not speaking out of turn-- raising your hand, independence, and obedience. There were a few parts where Marcus would start participating out of turn and become distracting.  I think the biggest rule i see is obedience, school settings have a structure and the everyone who is part of this learning environment has a place and a role to play Emilys classroom seems fine and though she does not utilize authoritativeness often it did happen, in moments where Marcus may have actually needed some attention, otherwise Marcus receives a lot of support. Maybe this classroom would've benefitted from a teachers aid.  Marcus did not fit into his role entirely and would have much rather to create is own role, which connects to the whole power dynamic thing that is discussed towards the end.  I think many youth spaces i have encountered have initiated this authority model especially on children deemed to be "trouble."  Marcus reminds me of a student who was part of my field placement class, in this class the "trouble" students were isolated they sat alone and away from the rest of the class, I believe them to be misunderstood maybe even impulsive. In regards to Ferri, Many of the kids who are deemed trouble students are struggling for other reasons like ADHD or ADD and have no clue yet, just this idea that they are somehow "bad."