YDEV 501 Theory & Practice Portfolio
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Sample 1: Blog post #1: KLM
I picked the
KLM blog post as my first sample because, with this post being the very first
of the semester, I felt as if this is a good starting point for me to reflect on
and be able to measure my growth as a youth worker. The blog post was divided into three
different parts: things we already knew about youth development, things we’ve
learned through a series of articles, and things we want to learn more about.
While
reflecting on the things I knew, I was able to acknowledge my growth and
refining of skills. For example, being
more outspoken in my workplace and expressing my frustrations with factors that
contribute to high turnover rates. I
feel as if I have become more confident in myself, the work that I have to
contribute, and I value my own voice much more than I previously have.
While
reflecting on the things I learned, I noticed the practices that I have adopted
such as largely weighing the significance of discourse between adults and
youth. I am continuously working on the
way I word the ideas to get my point across in the most respectful,
knowledgeable, concise, and efficient way.
In addition to this mindfulness of wording, I have become increasingly
careful not to use deficit approach language in order to avoid prompting a negative
self-fulfilling prophecy into the minds of the youth I care for.
Lastly, while
reflecting on the things that I wanted to know more about, I recognized how my
awareness and open-mindedness has evolved.
Throughout the course, I am learned more about how white privilege and
racism are actually systemically woven into everyday life. My awareness to non-ideal, immoral, and bias
influences has granted me the position to stand up for something I find
questionable and continue to push for those with voices who are silenced, even
if the silenced voice is my own.
Sample 2: Blog post #8: Ethnic Studies
My second sample
that I picked was my eighth blog post of the semester, focusing on Ethnic
Studies. The reason I picked this post
as part of my portfolio is because it was one of the most challenging for me to
complete. Learning about ethnic studies
and its well-deserved, but also overlooked, place in school curriculum allowed
me to reflect on who I am, how my identity is portrayed to society, and how I
actually view myself.
It is
during this blog post that I reflected on feeling guilt over enjoying the
history and literature classes that I took in high school. Additionally, it was here that I finally
allowed myself to feel as though I am a person of color and I have a
history that has been stripped from the nation and the public’s knowledge such
as the Secret War on Laos. This huge
part of Laotian history, in which the US made Laos the most bombed
country in the world, still affects Laotians today through the continuous findings
of bombs scattered across the country and the resulting casualties.
By the end
of this assignment, I reflected on a verse written by one of my favorite artists,
J. Cole, in his song called Brackets, in which he writes:
“Yeah, I pay taxes, so much taxes,
s**t don’t make sense, Where do my dollars go?
You
see lately, I ain’t been convinced,
I guess they say my dollars supposed to build roads and schools, But my n*****s
barely graduate, they ain’t got the tools, Maybe ‘cause the tax dollars that I
make sure I send, Get spent hirin’ some teachers that don’t look like them, And
the curriculum be tricking them, them dollars I spend, Got us learning about
the heroes with the whitest of skin, One thing about the men that’s controlling
the pen, That write history, they always seem to white-out they sins.”
The lyrics here correlate to the ideas of Ethnic Studies, in
which society finds learning about anything other than European history or
learning about the mistakes that the US has made as a nation is considered a
threat to social structure. Although I
always understood these lines and I agreed with it, it wasn’t until this blog
post week that I was able to listen to this song again and feel the weight
behind his words and the impact that practices such as colonialism still have
on people of color.
Sample 3: Restorative Welcome & Re-entry Circle video
The third
sample I picked for my portfolio is the Restorative Welcome & Re-Entry
Circle video. This video was one of the
most powerful, moving videos that I have watched this semester. It was this video that allowed me to truly
reflect on myself as a youth, my lack of guidance, allies, and the skewed mindset
I had growing up. I found it beautiful
that in this video, I was able to see a whole room full of adult allies, ready,
willing, and able to help guide this young man throughout the course of his
life. This video reaffirmed and
strengthened two major points that I bring to my beliefs and practice of youth
work through two quotes: “fix the mess that we made,” and “enjoy this journey
to becoming a man.”
“Fix the
mess that we made” is a foundational concept that I hold dear to my heart because
I believe that we as adults need to claim some responsibility not only for the
good things, but for the bad things too.
I believe that adults are role models at all times, whether they want to
be or not. Therefore, we must consider,
youth that make harmful choices have been exposed to many factors that are
contributing to the choices that they make.
Secondly, “enjoy
this journey to becoming a man,” reaffirms my beliefs that adults often put irrational
pressure and responsibilities on youth. Too
many times growing up, myself and my peers, have been stuck in this limbo state
between adult responsibilities and childhood regulations. This influx of give and take from youth
causes confusion within the child and the outcomes are perceived as acts of defiance
and rebellion.
In conclusion,
the findings that I have taken away from this video help encompass my
philosophy on youth work and keeps me grounded in the purpose of my passion for
being an ally to the youth.
Sample 4: Self Study: Part III: Practice Analysis
Lastly, for my fourth sample, I
picked Part III: Practice Analysis of my Self-Study. This assignment allowed me to reflect on the
work that I do every day, how to improve on my weaknesses, and how to continue
to strengthen what I believe in. The ability
to reflect on myself in real time and in application settings really challenged
me to stand firm to my foundations I have built throughout this semester and
not to waver.
For example, in this section of my
Self-Study, I was able to examine how I applied my learning about discourse
between youth and adults, and being an actual human, not just an
authority. Whenever I am experiencing
frustration, anger, or hurt, I remind myself of two things: one, Marcus
could relate much better to a person for who they are, not the authority they
held, and two, adults are role models to youth whether they want to be
or not. The way that an adult chooses to
behave will determine whether he/she is a negative or positive influence.
It is also during this section of
my Self-Study that I faced the tension between my beliefs about youth and the
common belief of “youth as clients.” Prior
to this semester, I would believe that youth were growing individuals and I
wanted to be the one to give them a voice.
However, throughout the course of this semester, I realized that instead
of saying “give them a voice,” I should be saying something along the lines of “strengthening
their voice” or “give them a safe place to use their voice.”
These youths have a voice, but it
is often shut down by the adults and the systematic practices set in
place. I applied this knowledge during a
situation where I was faced with a colleague who believed in a “youth as
clients” approach and I stood by without doing much about it. Within my study, I expressed that “This
situation will probably stay with me for a long time as a memory that I am
ashamed of, but it is also a fueling point for me to continue to give youth a
safe place to use their voice.”
Portfolio Conclusion
In
conclusion, this semester has been a real great way for me to build up a
foundation for my youth work skills. I
am overjoyed with the opportunities that I have experienced these past few months,
and I am hopeful in regard to what is coming next for me. My goals are very specific. I would eventually like to work in a more
athletic youth space and focus heavily on mental skills coaching, mindfulness,
meditation, and holistic advocacy. Although I do not feel like much of this
semester has hit upon these topics specifically, I know that the knowledge I
have obtained and will continue to develop are highly transferable and
invaluable to my future practices.
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