YDEV 501

AT OUR BEST INTRODUCTION -  This reading encourages collaboration between adults and children in after-school activities, promoting trust, respect, and active engagement in education. Adults should act as facilitators, fostering an inclusive culture and fostering supportive youth-adult partnerships for collective development and student empowerment. Youth-adult partnerships are intriguing, particularly in authentic decision-making, where young people actively participate in life-impacting decisions, allowing them to discuss and deliberate alongside those in power. This concept exemplifies standing with the youth and supporting them as allies.  PROFILES, KEY MOMENTS AND A CONTINUUM OF 'YOUTH-LED PARTICIPATION - Chapter 8 discusses how young people are becoming community leaders through activism and social justice. It highlights Youth in Action's personalization program, which provides tools, resources, and community connections. The program values open communication between yo...

  Chillaxin - After this reading it was an interesting account of the New Urban Arts as a program, space, and interactions. Reading about social produced anxiety among the youth and its complexity was an interesting insight. I found Laura's account of her "childhood finishing up" to be impactful. The thought, questions, and pressure of this assumed "limited time" as a youth. This made me think how confusing this social pressure can be as adults typically are the ones that declare that "youth are the future"; "you are young, you only live once", etc., yet time feels limited. It contradicts itself and sends a confusing messaging.  I wonder if the timeline set in our educational journey too linear. The idea of one size fits all, when some might be "wanderers". This almost relates to how New Urban Arts appears as a high-impact program. The need to produce certain outcomes and have evidence inevitably causes pressure on students. Result...

 I remember my junior year of high school. At that time my junior year felt extra stressful, there were so many test and state exams we were preparing for; everything felt intense. Before Christmas break, I remember feeling tired more than usual but ignored it. Then I begin feeling weak, extremely thirsty and other symptoms. I went on for weeks feeling unwell but felt I couldn't bring myself to ask to be seen by a doctor thinking it will pass. Eventually things got serious, and I waited until after Christmas to go to the ER. Unfortunately, the medical system has always been undesirable due to wait time and the inconsistent service of care. You just never know what you are going to get, and this had always played a factor in my delayed response to seeking medical help. Of course, when I went to the ER it was busy, there was a wait, but eventually I was examined and when results came in, they were not good.  I believe if I didn't grow up seeing the way that our medical system la...

How does whiteness and white supremacy culture impact the youth and educational spaces that you inhabit? What does it look like? Feel like in your body and movements? How does it sound? Taste? Slip by or call out? The internalization of perfectionism-promoting attitudes and behaviors is conditioned by white supremacist culture. These behaviors are common in educational spaces where this perfectionism culture and institution and are tied to one another and are reinforced. Daily school routines and practices perpetuate a system of hierarchies and have an impact on students' self-conscious thought processes, especially when it comes to grading and discipline decisions. This is what white supremacy looks like as it is ingrained in these activities.

  A Narration of my Map Education is a never-ending process with a variety of influences and transitions. You are exposed to a wide range of objects, people, locations, ideas, regulations, and more when you are young. You eventually begin to see that there is a pattern of needing to evolve. You may experience a lot of uncomfortable moments in the process, but eventually you will forget how terrible they were since they begin to seem normal. Naturally, I learned at home, depending entirely on my mother and family from the time I was a baby until toddlerhood. Leaving the house to start a new "normal" is how I want to start reflecting on my educational journey. As it started in Head Start, it was a strange place with strange individuals who were now spending a few hours instructing me. At this age, I was introduced to a new environment where I shared a space with other children, learning socializing and working together. It was a time of play and care. Eventually, once I shook o...

Positive YD "Youth are thoughtful, creative people who deserve opportunities to practice leadership with supportive, professional adults by their side" ( McKamey, Bogad, Clemons, Restler) . Me: The potential of youth is untold when youth are given the opportunity to be in an supportive environment to cultivate their potential. I agree with this statement as I have witness how supportive adults that make themselves available to meet youth where they are has allowed youth to challenge themselves and grow in areas that produce great leadership abilities. "The team assured her that the YD program views switching placements as an opportunity and not as a failure" (McKamey, Bogad, Clemons, Restler). Me: This thought truly spoke to me as I found it to be comforting and realistic. Typically, the idea is once you are placed somewhere there is no chance to explore others things if it doesn't work out. The idea that you can recognize something that does not align with what...