Characteristics of a Youth Worker

                I started working at an early learning center for the summer and plan on continuing with it until next summer.   I think that the seven characteristics of a youth worker described in chapter one accurately describe much of what I have to do at work.

                For youth workers as an educational practice, I definitely work with children from many different backgrounds and situations.  Public school doesn't usually start until around the age of five but by attending the center I work at, it really prepared children for the social situations they will face when they grow up.  Because the children I work with range from 18 months to 3 years, we have come up with a curriculum where they are creatively playing and learning simultaneously.  The activities keep them engaged while they may not even realize that they are educational.

                Youth work is most definitely a social practice.  As I mentioned before, my work allows youth to interact with other youth before they would normally have the chance.  It is one thing to teach children how to act appropriately but until they are actually put into a situation, you never know how they will act.  It is necessary to be teaching youth how to behave while with other children so they are able to learn better.

                Actively challenging inequality and working towards social justice is key.  I notice a lots of social injustice with the children and families I work with.  Though I am not in a position to really do much about it, I plan on finding a career that can.  I believe t is vital to change the things that I see are unjust.

                It is important for young people to choose to be involved.  When children go to school, they are being forced and won't always want to participate.  Where I work there is a healthy combination of both.  In the beginning of the day the children have a strict curriculum where they are having fun while also learning, but they don't always want to follow the curriculum.  In the afternoon we let the children more or less free play, though there is still instruction.  The children usually choose to be involved in the curriculum activities because they know they will get to have fun later on.  It is always great to keep kids motivated.

                As I stated before, I plan on taking everything I see as unfair and unjust and doing something about it.  It is also important to strengthen the voice and influence of youth as well.  With my young class of toddlers, it is not something I can relate to at the moment.  I hope to fine a career in which I can help young people stand up for their own rights and use their voice to get all that they deserve.

                Youth work is a welfare practice as well.  I see it in my own classroom every day.  Many of my students are put in situations at home which make it hard for them to behave correctly in social situations.  I do not help these kids merely by trying to fix their "problems" but my by simply demonstrating the right way to act.

                Lastly, it is very important to work with young people 'holistically.'  I have noticed that many children do not get the help they need before it is too late.  It is crucial to teach youth what they need to know while they are still developing so they grow up with the necessary skills.