Emily Rence April 14, 2009 Defining the Undefined: Youth & Youthwork

"Rather than standing or speaking for children, we need to stand with children speaking for themselves. We don't need a political movement for children... [we need to] build environments and policies for our collective future." - Sandra Meucci

In order to give our lives purpose and meaning we must employ the Socratic methodasking ourselves question after question until we have something that resembles an answer, only then can we define who we are and what that means in our lives. I am a youth worker. What that means to the rest of the world is still up for discussion, especially because it is such a newly developed field, but what that means to me is quite clear. There are a few essential questions that every youth worker needs to consider before working with young people. It may seem as though these questions have obvious answers, but the act of discovering these answers is part of being a good youth worker. One question that is constantly redefined is who are young people? Yes, young people can be determined by a chronological age-for example, young people fall between the ages of 5-20. But really, what do these numbers tell you about who young people are? Nothing. They tell you what a young person is, someone who is not of adult age, but it tells you nothing of their abilities, their dreams, or their struggles. So, who exactly are young people? In keeping with my own thoughts and philosophies regarding youth work, young people are a community within our larger society who are often marginalized and treated as second-class citizens due to misunderstandings, misrepresentations, and mainstream societys unfounded fear of the unknown. This may seem like a very negative definition of youth but thats because Im not defining the word, rather I am providing you with a scope with which to see young people that will undoubtedly impact the work you do with and for them. If you see young people as a marginalized group of society then youll be more likely to work with them to promote understanding and to increase societys awareness of what young

Emily Rence April 14, 2009 people have to offer. But if you see young people as much of society does, troubled and in need of adult intervention, then you will most likely work to keep kids off the streets and try to impose upon them what you deem to be good. Jane Addams warns us that in utilizing it [the power of youth] ruthlessly we are not only in danger of quenching the divine fire of youth, but we are imperiling industry itself when we venture to ignore these very sources of beauty, of variety and of suggestion. (Addams, 19952001) When we see youth as having the potential, the divine spirit, to do so much more than our society is allowing or giving them opportunities to do, then we are motivated to do whatever we can to right the injustices we see because otherwise we are responsible for quenching that divine fire Addams speaks of. This is why I see young people the way that I do. Its because something in me drives me to fight for what is right and fair and when I see so much potential being ignored, and worse, deliberately shut down, I see a great injustice happening-not only for the young people but for our society, because without the fresh ideas and creativity of youth our society will fail to grow and change. In order to do all of this, to provide young people with opportunities to use and explore their strengths and abilities, we need to have the help of youth workers. Again though, we come to the issue of definition. What exactly is a youth worker? Some people will tell you youth work is glorified babysitting, that all we do is watch kids in after-school programs while they create flowers out of pipe cleaners. Now while there certainly are programs that simply provide parents a place to have their child looked after while they are at work, this is not what I consider a youth worker to be. The people who do this may in fact be youth workers, but for the sake of defining what I attribute to be youth work, these people fall just short.

Emily Rence April 14, 2009 Youth workers are people who work on behalf of, or advocate for, young people in a way that promotes their positive development while simultaneously helping them to build bridges within their community that will help them to create positive relationships with adults and peers. Youth workers are people who are passionate about promoting positive youth development. They are people who understand that false models of power between young people and adults are harmful to fostering positive relationships. They are people who focus on the strengths of the young people they work with, rather than pointing out the weaknesses that we all, as human beings, possess. Youth workers are people who are able to communicate openly with members of two communities, that of the child and that of mainstream society, in order to advocate for and create a better understanding of one to the other. Youth workers are people persons who understand the benefits of social capital. They realize the value of conversation and find opportunities to engage people whenever possible. Youth workers are people who truly believe in the power of young people to impact change and inspire, and they work to help the rest of the world to become more aware of this as well. Giving a meaning to youth and youth workers makes it much easier to begin to define the field of youth work more entirely. Youth work can be described in a multitude of ways but for me youth work is a way of interacting with and forming positive relationships with young people. Its a way to open up communication between adults and young people and provides a safe environment in which to have honest, authentic dialogues. Not only does youth work help create relationships between youth and youth worker, but it also provides youth with opportunities to challenge themselves and in doing so promotes positive connections to self, others, and society.

Emily Rence April 14, 2009 As youth workers we have the task of creating safe spaces for youth to go where they can begin to form these positive relationships, and from these positive relationships we will be able to help them to create a positive relationship with themselves by using strengths based youth work. Strengths-based youth work builds off of the knowledge that youth have many talents, skills, behaviors, and attitudes that will contribute to their own success. So positive youth work would incorporate this way of thinking about and working with youth in order to teach young people how to be prepared to interpret their lives and the experiences they encounter. Youth work is not a miracle program designed to eliminate problems and adversity from the lives of young people, although there are programs that advocate for the rights of young people and in doing so attempt to ease some of the stresses in the lives of young people. But on a much grander scale, youth work is the kind of work that prepares young people and gives them the tools with which they can interpret and live in their world. The purpose of youth work isnt to create programming that aims to teach young people that there is only one acceptable way of living or being successful, but rather, its purpose is to teach young people how to decide for themselves how they view success and give them the tools necessary to achieve their version of success. Youth work is a way of opening doors to young people who have been told repeatedly by society that they are not good enough, that they are just trouble makers. Youth work is one of many mediums to reach out to young people and inspire them so that they can, in time, inspire their communities, their peers, even their opponents. The purpose of youth work is to encourage young hearts and minds to find what they love and be fierce about it. One of the ways in which we can define our lives is through relationships we have with people from our community and our world. My world, in this sense, is the world of youth work.

Emily Rence April 14, 2009 The relationship between youth and youth workers is one of symbiosis, much like the sea anemone and the clown fish. Any other way of describing this very important relationship could leave out the vital aspect that makes this comparison so unique-the fact that both parties, youth and worker, benefit from one another. We all know that youth workers are there to teach young people, to guide them, and to provide support when necessary, but what many people often forget is that the young people we work with have just as much to share with us. The youth worker who forgets to continue to learn from the youth is the one who has forgotten what their job is. We would be cheating ourselves as youth workers if we failed to learn from every encounter we have with young people, from every opportunity we have to interact with them, and from each of the many different experiences they bring to the table. We know that we have different gifts and talents as youth workers, unique lived experiences to share, so, we must remember, do the youth we work with. We are not in this field so that we can teach children what to think, to stand over them and impart our judgment or our beliefs, but rather we are there to help them learn how to learn. Our relationship with them cannot be one of superior and inferior, it must be one of equality, understanding and respect.