Jim's Blog - YDEV501

 YDEV 501 WEEK 4: IDEOLOGY DOUBLE JOURNAL Introduction This week's reading materials gave me a better understanding of the field of Youth Development. Given that I don't have an educational background in the said field, reading and learning the framework of youth development and it's different ideologies was really eye-opening for me. It further established what I already know and introduced me to new concepts at the same time. Here are the 5 quotes I've picked from the readings that resonated with me:   1. We argue that an effective approach for working with urban youth is through a social justice framework, which accounts for the multiple forms of oppression youth encounter and highlights the strategies they use to address inequities plaguing their communities.   This quote really made a strong impact on me as this is one of the main reasons I chose youth development as my master's program. I want to gain the skills and...

YDEV 501   WEEK 3: HOW DO WE SEE (+STUDY) YOUNG PEOPLE?   Introduction As I read through this week's reading material, I can't help but feel that the main character, Marcus, is so familiar to me as if I was reading the life story and behavior support plan of a resident/ client that resides in one of the group homes I manage. As I've mentioned during our first day of class, I work as a residential director managing group homes that cater to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This being said, I have one particular resident who resembles Marcus' behaviors and characteristics -- his longing for relationships and desire to be heard, known and celebrated. For the purpose of this blog post, I would refer to him as Danny, a 23YO male who was put in the system by his parents during his late teen years due to his behavioral challenges and their inability to care for his needs. I will be referring to Danny, my agency's rules/ c...

YDEV 501   WEEK 2: WHAT IS 'YOUTH'? HOW DO WE KNOW? Introduction Anger. This is the feeling that coursed through my body while I was reading our assignments for this week. I was filled with anger, disappointment, frustration and confusion as to how these people, many of which are educators, scientists, teachers, etc. could ever have thought that their findings, ideologies and conceptions about the youth were acceptable, valid and rational. Then I told myself, "I'm pretty sure majority of these people were old white males". I googled their names and BAM!, I was right (sadly). As I began to process my thoughts on how to blog about the 3 stereotypes that stuck the most for me, my anger  (accompanied with frustration and sadness) became more intense as these stereotypes are still prevalent in our society and I dare say, growing more and more evidently. Stereotype #1: Young Adolescents as having a need for close relationships with ...

YDEV 501   WEEK 1: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT? K Fred Milson (1972) argues that youth workers properly have several goals and motives, and that a hierarchy of purposes appears. The motive and goal that should be given first priority is for individual personality development – but this has to be fulfilled in social relationships and community involvement. ( http://infed.org/mobi/why-am-i-a-youth-worker-an-examination-of-the-goals-and-motives-of-youth-workers/#references )   The above article is one of the first articles I stumbled upon when I started researching about youth work and youth workers back in July 2018 when I first heard about the YDEV MA from Ms. Victoria. It gave me a good idea on what is expected for one to be considered "good". But more than that, this reading touched my heart as it made me realize (and forced me to think hard) as to why I wanted to do this kind of work. Fred Milson discussed how as youth workers, we have several...