Ullucci Reading

In Pathologizing the Poor: Implications for Preparing Teachers to Work in High-Poverty Schools, Kerri Ullucci makes some good claims about poverty on youth. One that stood out to me was that youth are struggling more in school. However even though they are struggling this does not make them any less able to succeed in school and everyday life. Teachers and educators now have to use new perspectives while working with children from poverty.

Poverty can affect a youth development space in a variety of ways. In the immediate household a family could not have enough money for food or low quality food leading to children not being able to do their best because they are hungry. Poverty in low economic areas, there might not be money for things like sports and afterschool programs. This would give them a disadvantage over other children who would have money for those programs.

I am not sure what community I want to work in when I graduate. As long as I can help the youth in that community and make a difference I would be happy. It would be cool to go back to the community I grew up in. Being able to help change how things were when I grew up for the upcoming youth would be a rewarding experience.

In the Problem-Focused Services portion of the article, it focuses on the care of children. It discusses how in the nineteenth century places like settlement houses were created to help care for children. These places took on the parent like role of caring for them. Besides taking care of children by providing them with housing, their physical care was taken into consideration. In the 1970's physical abuse of children became a priority. This sense of responsibility of children all came after the signing of the Social Security Act. Along with child welfare this section also focused on juvenile justice. The juvenile system before, would charge children for crimes such as truancy and running away.  Shortly after the juvenile systems became into being, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act put an end to juveniles being charged for those offences. It is clear to us by many examples that children and young people are not given an opportunity to participate in the development of intervention strategies.

I think this section tells us a lot about youth work as well as working with youth. This section focused a lot on how as adults and youth workers we don’t listen enough to the youth we work with. There was one example that when children are pulled out of their community it is seen as the best solution. However in a majority of cases it is not and is just as hard getting back into the community as being pulled out if it. As a youth worker, it will help me to remember that the youth I’m working with won’t always agree with my opinions. I will have to take what they think into consideration while working with them.  

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

My relationship with technology has become more dependent over the years. In my house growing up, we did not have a computer or cable until I was in middle school. Back then I thought it was the worst thing in the world. Looking back now, I think it was good we did not have a lot of the technology right away. With it not in the house I had to do other things like going outside, playing sports, and interacting with people face to face. I want to say that I am more of a “Digital Native”, for most of the reasons Marc Prensky discussed in “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”. Prensky wrote about how digital natives tend to multitask, are use to receiving information fast, and love instant gratification. Personally, I do all three. As I write this blog post I am multitasking; listening to music, playing on my phone, and telling my parents about my day. I do realize that I am more dependent on my cell phone than I should be. It could be something small like looking up an address or going on social media to make the time go by, but it’s usually in my hand waiting for an excuse to look at it.

I think technology helps me as a youth worker in a variety of ways. One way that comes to mind, is that it can help me relate and connect with the youth that I will be working with. Keeping up with the new technology is going to play an important role in not only connecting with these youth but also helping them. Not all students learn the same way and because they don’t, having technology available will be helpful. If some students are not really grasping a topic being discussed in class, a teacher could easily bring up a video or pictures to help clarify any confusion.

Response to Youth In Action article

The article “A World Where Youth Hold the Power” written by Adeola A. Oredola with members of Youth In Action, focuses on teenagers helping to create stronger communities. Youth In Action is an origination from Providence Rhode Island that is run by the children and teenagers from the community. These teens are making adult like decisions for their organizations, from what events to have and who is on the board of directors. The article also discusses how typically children and teenagers are not taken seriously when it comes to big issues. Youth In Action does just the opposite. This organization wants to know their opinions, thoughts, and problem solving ideas. Youth In Action uses these ideas to make the community better.

I was shocked to read that Adeola Oredolas guidance counselor tried to discourage her from applying to Brown University. It is great that she had supports in her life to encourage her to apply. I have never had an experience like that before and I am not sure how I would have handled it. My experience as a youth does not really go along with the Youth In Action model. In school, I was fortunate enough to have teachers who were always supportive of their students’ and their ideas. Not only did they support us as students, they encouraged us to do our best and to reach for our goals and dreams. Seeing how teachers and family can be unsupportive and close minded, it is good that Youth In Action is there to help better the community but to also support those children and teens that join.

About Me

Hello everyone! My name is Courtney. I’m in my senior year. My major is Youth Development, with a focus on special education. My prior major was teaching (elementary education). I didn’t love it but I knew I wanted to work with children so I switched to Youth Development. My experience with youth has mostly been babysitting. I have also done volunteer work in schools and summer programs. When I graduate with a degree in Youth Development I want to be able to make a positive impact on the children I work with.