YOUTH WORK IS... PURPOSEFUL PLAY

Shall We Play? 

I really enjoyed reading this article. A quote that resonated with me is "Educators are sometimes drawn to play for the wrong reasons -- because they seek to entertain their students I sometimes hear various lay theories of "stealth learning," the idea that we can smuggle in learning disguised as play into schools and students will have so much fun that they will overcome their resistance to the schooling process." I understand why educators may do this but I think it's wrong. I don't think you should trick children into thinking they're having fun and not learning. I believe that children should know that they can learn through play. Educators should use play and playful activities in their lessons as a way for students to learn and engage with the information. Some young people learn best through play and I feel like more educators should use play in their space. Through play children develop knowledge and fundamental skills.

"A game may offer pleasure to some but with no guarantees and often a strong threat of displeasure if we lose the game. Thus, while it is very valuable to bring games into school, it is also important to provide

contexts for more free and open-ended forms of play, which can offer pleasure to all

who participate, rather than offering rewards to those who win." I resonate with this a lot too because when I was younger I would be so focused on winning the game and hated losing. I was too focused on winning the game, that I never truly enjoyed the process of playing some games. I agree that it's important to play games that are free and open-ended and can offer pleasure to everyone who plays and does not focus on rewarding those who win. 

CHILLAXING

I loved this article! I thought it was interesting that the students had their own meaning for "chillaxing". When you hear that word you assume you're just chilling and or relaxing. Their meaning for it was very deep. Their chillaxing isn't relaxing at all because they're recuperating from a "shell-shocked" day at school. "They need to do nothing because doing nothing is doing everything that they need to do in that moment." I felt that on so many levels!!! I also really loved how through her painting Alicia represents black love, innocence, and tenderness. I like how she uses art as a way to express how her and other black girls feel. 

Beyond the Hashtag: The Art and Activism of #BlackLivesMatter Event

For my second event I attended the "Beyond the Hashtag: The Art and Activism of #BlackLivesMatter" webinar hosted by Patrisse Cullors. Patrisse Cullors is an artist, organizer, educator and public speaker. She is a Los Angeles native, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Founder of grassroots Los Angeles-based organization Dignity and Power Now. For the past 20 years, Patrisse has been on the frontlines of criminal justice reform and led Reform LA Jails' "Yes on R" campaign, a ballot initiative that passed by a 73% landslide victory in March 2020. Patrisse co-founded the Global Black Lives Matter movement in 2013 after sparking the viral Twitter Hashtag "#BlackLivesMatter". It is Co-founded by Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi as well. The organization started off as a hashtag with a few social media platforms, then they started to network, then they had chapters and now the Organization isa member-led global network of more than 40 chapters.

Patrisse is also an Artist and feels that art should be used in everything they do within the movement. They started off with graphics and created the BLM hashtag. I know many people that can resonate with this because art speaks to people. Art can help you see things differently and offer you a new perspective. 

She spoke about how important it is for people to understand that we never had one leader. There were so many powerful leaders in the civil rights movement (she listed a ton). Black women are the architects of the civil rights movement. There has always been powerful black institutions that led the movement. The movement is largely led by Black women, Black queer women and Black moms. 

She stated that this is our country, the reality is there is people who are desperately desired to upright white supremacy. People love it and want it to strive and succeed. Something she said that I thought was interesting is that "The country doesn't work for them if it doesn't work for all of us. It may work for their bank accounts and financial accounts but if the rest of the world is in turmoil, it doesn't work for all of us". I never thought of it that way, so it was interesting to hear her outlook and perspective. She stated that it is white people's job to organize white people. White people need to be organized into anti-racist work and need to pave the way for other white people and I strongly agree!

Her advice for students who may want to get started in this work is to ask yourself what moves you the most? What keeps you up at night? Hers has always been police brutality and challenging the police/mass incarceration and she focused on it. She said to really think about it, consider what you want to do and there's always a lane to be part of the movement. Join an organization, join an organization that is reputable and is passionate and if doesn't exist build it up. Next, she stated there is not just one way to be active. We can attend a protest or vote. Every single act of resistance and challenging the state is being active. Whether you join a youth leadership program like she did or find your own way, there is not just one way to be active.

Lastly, something that was very real to me as well is there was a time that she spoke virtually (I believe) at a college and on the thread of her video there was a lot of Trump folks harassing her and the college had apologized and said "this is not our college". Then, a black woman who is a student at the college stated "but this is our college". That's so real to me because so many colleges and universities try so hard to defend their school and act like its diverse and not racist when that's not the reality. I really enjoyed tuning into this webinar. Patrisse is an amazing, insightful woman and I was able to learn a lot from her. This webinar connects to our Social Justice and leading with anchors. 

For more information on the organization you can visit - Blacklivesmatter.com 

YOUTH WORK IS... IDENTITY

"Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color" TED Talk

- Something that stood out to me was the McDonalds example she used. The McDonald's slogan "I'm Lovin It" is participating in a feature of African American English called consonant variation, the dropping of the letter G. "It's something that would be corrected within the classroom space if I was to write it on my paper, yet this billion dollar company is able to utilize this linguistic practice for mass appeal and to capitalize on this cultural form of expression." I honestly never looked that deep into the slogan and had no idea but it doesn't shock me. Many corporations/people capitalize on African/Black culture but give no credit where it's due.

- I also thought it was really interesting when she stated that while she was speaking on a panel, a woman told her

she is so articulate. If she spoke with her family who is Trinidadian in Caribbean Creolized English or if she heard her speak with her friends in Crown Heights Brooklyn in African American English would the woman have thought she was articulate then? She would've thought something different because she wasn't speaking "proper english." Although the woman may have not meant to be offensive, it's still offensive and considered a microaggression. The woman probably thought she was giving a compliment but that is not how it was received.

- Something else I thought was an important takeaway is how powerful it is to engage in African American practices/languages. There is so much power within the language. You are able to access so many more people with with the way that you speak, there are places that you can access in the world. She stated "Obama had the ability to access and bond with different communities because he could speak in different ways."

Her whole video stood out to me. The video speaks volumes and is very powerful!

"Locating Yourself for Your Students"

- I thought it was interesting how the students reacted to the professors before and then after they shared their ethnicity with them. I think although the students may look different from both professors, have different backgrounds and cultures they were able to appreciate the professors acknowledging their ethnicity and differences. I think when a white teacher can acknowledge their whiteness in a classroom of students of color they are potentially making the classroom environment more comfortable. The students are more likely to feel comfortable to engage in different types of conversations. I liked that both professors share both what they know and don't know. I think it's important for educators to be able to acknowledge what they don't know as well. I can't think of a time that I shared my ethnicity while introducing myself. I do think it would be interesting to do so and see how people react.

YOUTH WORK IS... LEADING WITH

I liked the visual of the "Ladder of youth participation."I think the Degrees of Participation are very important. It's important for youth to be involved in decision making! I thought the first step labeled "Youth-Initiated Shared Decisions With Adults" was really interesting. It's where the youth have the

ideas, set up the project, and invite adults to join them in making decisions. You don't see that enough in youth spaces and I think it would be really beneficial for youth to be allowed to brainstorm ideas and create projects by themselves without assistance from adults until the decision making time. It allows young people to grow, develop new skills, go through trial and error, and to feel empowered. Although in the other four steps in the Degrees of Participation youth aren't as independent, the adults are still informing them on what is going on and taking their opinions seriously unlike the Non-participation where the youth are being asked to part in events but not understanding why. Young people do not benefit at all from being told what to do, what to say and what to think, especially with no understanding. Youth should be involved in the process and have a clear understanding before being asked to participate in anything. Young peoples voices, opinions and thoughts matter and should always be valued.

"We refer to quality youth-adult relationships as partnerships because we believe that these relationships are only truly authentic when they exist outside of traditional power hierarchies and negative constructions of youth. In using the phrase "youth-adult partnerships" to describe the intergenerational relationships that facilitate high levels of youth participation and power, our work intentionally builds on the work of Shepherd Zeldin and his colleagues, whose research on the quality of youth-adult relationships has been ,a core part of our own learning."

- I love this! I love that they refer to the youth-adult relationships as "partnerships". I think its' important for young people and adults to have a partnership like this where young people are able to be heard, seen and valued. Spaces where partnerships like this exist young people will are more likely feel more supported, safe, valued and included. Young people will have adult expertise and support. Adults can also benefit from a youth-adult partnership. The partnerships can enable people and programs to develop toward their full potential.

I love Youth In Action! I love everything the organization stands for and does for the community. I love that they designed the program with different types of learning. I think it's so important to have a curriculum that supports all types of learners because not every young person learns the same. I think it's extremely important to have staff that are deeply in tune and connected to each young person because young people need that. Young people need to be supported and have someone look out for their well-being. To have someone genuinely care about your personal development and growth is special and every young person deserves to have to someone in their life who cares that much. I like that they have a strong youth-adult partnership where they allow both adults and youth to lead. Lastly, I think their team building activities are really cool and engaging. To practice in trust, invulnerability, risk-taking, and being uncomfortable is all part of growth and development.

Lights on Afterschool Celebration Event

 The event I attended was the Lights on Afterschool Celebration. It was held on Remo which is a cool online video platform. For the first thirty minutes of the event everyone mingled at different virtual tables with labels such as advocacy, camp, etc. I was confused on how to navigate it at first but once I learned it was really cool and engaging to be able to table hop virtually and speak with different people about different topics. After we mingled the host Ayana introduced several guest speakers throughout the event. There were a few organizations that I was not too familiar with but learned more about. The first organization was Equity working groups. Their goal is create more equitable programs. They critique lesson plans and make them fair. One thing one of the speakers said was "Make time for the work.. Can't find time...Make time" and I really liked that because sometimes we get busy, have a busy/full schedule and feel like we don't have time for anything else but when you want something so bad and are passionate about it you can and will make the time for it. 

The second organization that I thought was very creative and involved is the PVD young makers. The speaker Keith said "Students deserve not just a seat at the table but a seat the decision making table" and I couldn't agree more. It's so important for young people to not only be able to express their wants and needs but to be able to put that to action and be apart of the conversation and change. It's important for youth to be able to help make decisions especially when it could affect them. One of their goals is to grow a community together through making. Together they made t-shirts and pins/badges to support the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement. Through intergenerational collaboration (people of different generations sharing talents and resources and supporting each other in relationships that benefit both the individuals and community) they teach technical, artistic, design skills and so much more.  He also stated that the students teach them and they teach the students and I thought that was really important as well. Just because you're the teacher doesn't mean you know everything or share the same perspective as someone else. It's nice when you're able to share ideas and see what others think/know, you can learn a lot. 

Lastly, the organization ARISE is the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education. Their mission is to prepare, promote and empower Rhode Islands Southeast Asian students for educational and career success. Something the speaker talked about that stood out to me was her talking about POLICE FREE SCHOOLS. Arise and two other organizations actually started "PASS"  The Providence Alliance for Student Safety. They started PASS to fight for safe and healthy schools that treat youth with dignity and respect. They want all school resource officers removed from Providence schools. They want Provide schools to hire health and safety staff focused on alternative measures of conflict resolution. They also want to increase the number of support staff in school. Below is the link for more details regarding PASS and their reasoning for wanting police/security officers removed from schools. 

These organizations connect to Youth Development in many ways. For one YDEV is a very creative space where when we are in person we have activities where we create/make things and connect with each other. In YDEV we teach each other and learn from one another. The students lead with the teachers. We are a community just like the organizations listed above. Our Anchors are Care, Identity, Advocacy & Social Justice and Leading With. These organizations represent all those anchors in different ways. All of the organizations listed above offer so much and are really great. 

PVD Young Makers - https://pvdyoungmakers.com/making-and-learning/

Arise - http://www.ariseducation.org/strategic-plan

Learn more about "PASS" - https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/counselors-not-cops-policefreeschools?fbclid=IwAR1XDUuM-aRH6eyyprNB3UWvg1tCskUNzJZxMDMS-ngr3oae6LYnJgu6AMA

YOUTH WORK IS... CARE

Before doing the readings I understood care in education and Youth Development as caring for all students equally. To understand and get to know all of your students. When I say understand, I mean to genuinely try to understand your student, where they come from, their life/ background, where they struggle, their needs and how they learn best, so you can care for them and support them the best way possible. To encourage and push youth to succeed and support them along the way. To provide them with basic needs. To show them warmth, love, attention and support. To accommodate all your students needs. To look after and protect youth, etc. For this post I chose quotes from "Nice is Not Enough" by Sonia Neito and "Dear White Teachers: You Can't Love Your Black Students if You Don't Know Them" by Bettina Love. 

"A warm, friendly, helpful teacher is nice but it isn’t enough. We have plenty of warm friendly teachers who tell the kids nicely to forget their Spanish and ask mommy and daddy to speak to them in English at home; who give them easier tasks so they won’t feel badly when the work becomes difficult; who never learn about what life is like at home or what they eat or what music they like or what stories they have been told or what their history is. Instead, we smile and give them a hug and tell them to eat our food and listen to our stories and dance to our music. We teach them to read with our words and wonder why it’s so hard for them. We ask them to sit quietly and tell them what’s important and they must know to get ready for the next grade. And we never ask them who they are and where they want to go." 

This quote stood out to me because I feel like as a teacher you shouldn't focus on what is going to be easier for your students, you should focus on what it going to challenge them and if they struggle with it, you should assist them. As a teacher you're not helping your students by giving them easy work because you feel bad, you're only allowing them to stay stuck or fall behind. It's also important to understand your students history and where they come from so you can best accommodate them and support them. You shouldn't try to change the child's at home language or how they speak. How can you "care" for your students but not get to know them? or challenge them? or understand them and their needs and support them? A smile and a hug is nice but thats not all the students need. 

                       

Even as we purport to care about all students equally, we also often tolerate policies in our districts and schools that harm students of color, especially those who are poor and those for whom English is a second language: unequal resources, punitive high-stakes testing, and rigid ability-group tracking are some key examples."

How can you care for your students, specifically your students of color if you are not challenging the policies in your school and district that are affecting students of color, who are poor and students whom English is their second language? Some teachers may feel like the policies is above their job and they shouldn't try to change it or care but they should. It affects their students and if you "care" about "all" your students you should try to dismantle the system and fight for new policies that support ALL students EQUALLY. Also, to make sure that all students have the same resources and access to additional support. 

"Future teachers should be required to take classes such as African studies, African-American studies, Latinx studies, Caribbean studies, Chicana/o studies, Asian and Southeast Asian studies, and Native American studies."

I feel like all teachers especially teachers without an understanding of other cultures and languages should have to take the courses listed above. Taking those courses may be a start to understanding and learning about it but even taking those courses would not be enough if you're not genuinely trying to understand your students and their culture/history. In addition to taking the courses I think teachers should have to volunteer or intern in urban communities to understand the challenges you may face teaching in that environment and how under resourced it is. 

I loved both articles. I think they were both very informative and eyeopening. I had similar views on what care in Education and Youth Development looked like but these articles definitely expanded my views. I think these articles did a great job breaking down what care really looks like in Educational settings. Care is so much more than smiling with and hugging your students.

YOUTH WORK IS... SOCIAL JUSTICE

Rhode Island for Community & Justice is a social justice nonprofit dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism and promoting understanding and respect among all races, religions and cultures through advocacy, conflict resolution and education. "It is our purpose to transform communities to be more inclusive and just by empowering people to lead institutional change. We are the voice that calls people to common ground, with respect for differences but with the understanding that people of all backgrounds have common values and needs that unite them."

Through their adult and youth programming, RICJ works with students, teachers, clergy, corporate and civic leaders to facilitate workshops, develop curriculum, convene race relations and inter-religious dialogues, and provide consulting on challenges related to bias, bigotry and racism. Our current focus on youth programs and juvenile justice reforms is due largely to the organizations belief that today's teens are tomorrow's leaders, and through them is the only way to create long-lasting positive change in our communities.

After exploring the RICJ website I've learned so much about their organization and what they do/offer. This organization offers three types of programs. The programs offered are Youth Empowerment, Justice & Policy Reform and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Trainings. What I love most about their programming and organization is how much they value youth and their voice. They have several high school students who are youth coordinators for their organization which I think is very powerful! That tells me that they take the opinions and thoughts of young people seriously. I think this program is a great model of Social Justice Youth Development because within this organization both youth and adults work together to change/better the community and systems. Something I really liked about their organization is that they have a Youth Empowerment program where their youth leaders learn facilitation skills and work to build understanding across lines of differences in their communities. Reading about that program made me think of YDEV and how I feel empowered in YDEV spaces and how within my classes i'm learning the same skills.