Theory to Prepare Youth Workers 

   “Professional youth workers should be able to articulate their values and beliefs about the field of youth development and locate their own identities and ideologies of youth work practice.”

      When I first started reading “Using theory to prepare youth workers” the first famous quote that came to my mind was. “Be the change you want to see in the world” and it was because the change begins from ourselves, meaning that in order to positively  impact and influence young people we have to be prepared, mentally stable, as well as having the appropriate techniques to effectively guide young people in the right direction. In a way or another, we demonstrate our values and beliefs and that truly depends on how we exercise our career. For instance, some adolescents don’t have positive images of themselves and the way their life is, however how youth worker recognize the positive things they are able to do and who they can eventually become can be remarkable during their development throughout the lives and that is what a consider a great practice of youth development.  

    “Risk, Resilience and Prevention focuses on identifying problems with children and adolescents and intervening with education. In this model of youth development, adults are responsible for identifying problems, recognizing deficits, and leading young people to understand the importance of preventing risky behavior (Pittman, et al., 2003 p.4)”

     As youth worker we are responsible to advocate for their safety and well-being to prevent them from making negative decisions such as suicide, violence, and drug use. We promote positive relationships as well as protection to guide young people in the right path to inspire them to succeed and/or do better in life. We believe guidance is crucial, that is why YD was developed to intervening as prepared adults (youth worker). To me, this is one of the most important ideologies in youth development career because it consists on identifying issues in order to intercede to come up with a plan and/or solution. The most effective way to assist is identifying problems, recognizing deficit, and helping our youth to acknowledge and identify their weaknesses. 

"Civic Youth Development supports youth as they learn to become democratic citizens and encourages them to explore social issues that they find meaningful. Scholars and practitioners of this framework believe that young people should be empowered to work together to engage their communities in active service work (Roholt, et al., 2013); furthermore, civic youth workers have a dual commitment to supporting youth development and influencing communities in positive ways. Adults in this framework aim to support young people as they engage in dialogue, conversation, and action within existing democratic structures (Roholt, et al., 2013)."

 Civic youth development is characterized as working to make a difference in one’s community. In other words, it empowers them to practice their knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make a difference in society. It focuses on engaging young people to work in their community and engage in activities such as volunteering, community gardening as well as group activities. I believe civic engagement helps them develop and use skills and voice to cultivate positive changes. Youth civic is a great opportunity to distant them from making bad decisions and involving with bad influences.

                                      

Memo: “Using theory to prepare youth worker was very interesting.” It contains important information to become a great youth worker. It is definitely a reading to reference in the future. I really enjoyed reading it and learned a lot from each Youth Development ideology. I was able to select more than 3 quotes, that is how much I enjoyed the reading. Hahahaa, thanks Victoria for sharing it.