YDEV501

In the At Our Best: Introduction it was interesting to read about how OST program workers typically see their roles as working "with" youth rather than "for" youth. This is something that truly resonated with me because with the term with I viewed it as typically being inclusive of all youth and respecting them and the space that we shared. From my perspective, I didn't see a difference between both, so it hit differently reading it, but it made sense. In my current role I have always been someone to push for being able to explain to scholars that when decisions are made, it is important for the adults to be able to explain where is coming from, why its important, and where is going. While the youth is not always part of making the decisions, knowing where and why they are being implemented is truly valuable. It opens a door of transparency and understanding, and leads to better results. Another part that resonated with me from this chapter, was the part a...

  The Creative Underclass: Youth, Race and the Gentrifying City [Chapter 3- Chillaxin] (Tyler Denmead) Pleasure Activism [introduction] (adrienne maree brown) Resonances/ Questions/Critiques Reading "Chillaxing" was an understandable piece. Discussing the importance of creating spaces for youth without putting pressure into the outcomes. One piece that stood out to me was when the author discusses that "in their quest for funding, programs must produce evidence that there outcomes are occurring, and they inevitably pass this pressure on to their students." I took this as, while giving student space to breathe the program also has the pressure of making sure that their programs are giving results within the arts, often times creating a push on the students. Recently I learned that some of the high schools and one middle school in Providence have changed their focus to be geared toward specific majors, however, I question this because we have students that don't...

Tell us a story about a time in your life when you needed and received care. What did this look and feel like? How did SYSTEMS play a role in your story--how were institutions caring or uncaring? When I was starting my journey as a college student, I recall the moment I felt like I couldn't do it anymore, if I didn't go home for a moment. One of the many reasons why I chose Bates College was because of the distance from home. I knew staying close to home would be a distraction and even more challenging, so I chose to go out of state. While I knew this would be hard on my mother, I knew it would be good for me overall. Your first year of college is hard, but second semester things seemed to be getting even harder. My mother was once again dealing with family situations and it was getting the best of me. I was also feeling mentally weak, and as if my academic preparation in high school had not been enough for college. I kept doubting myself and didn't seem to have a way out. ...

Share a brief summary of the podcast you listened to. What are YOUR key takeaways? What do you want us to know? How does this connect to social justice youth work as described by Ginwright + Cammarota? As I cautiously listened to the podcast  Nice White Parents: The Book of Statuses  I couldn't help but think about my current experience as a parent of children attending schools in Providence. The podcast focuses on a public school in New York where majority of the students attending the school were Black and Brown children. Over the years, the school struggled with numbers and when the school was threaten with the possibility of closing down because of the low numbers of students attending, the principal began to look for ways to bring more students in. This lead to bringing in more white parents from the neighborhood so that their children would also attend the school and increase the numbers. What led to white parents making the decision of having their kids go from a privat...

How does whiteness and white supremacy culture impact the youth and educational spaces that you inhabit? What does it look like? Feel like in your body and movements? How does it sound? Taste? Slip by or call out? The articles and videos for this week have left me with so much, but at the same time so little. I'm honestly struggling with thoughts because I strongly believe that whiteness and white supremacy culture impact my everyday, all day, everywhere I am and breath. I say this because growing up education has been the key to everything I do. You must go to school to make something of yourself, to, you must go to college to have a better life, and so forth. I live this everyday not only at work, but also at home, as both my children are now in school. Also, Immigrants come to this country everyday for more opportunities, better education, and overall life yet the realities once you are here look different and therefore we continue this believe of white supremacy within the ide...

EDUCATION JOURNEY MAPS: MAPPING TO THE MA The link below will take you to my journey narrative. Thank you! https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQgaCycR4ndPuNYLC5B_aGdw0VF9HE9dzzU6n2MvNJG-DK_rkbn3VxsNk8HRHD878D303Isn_FYz7XV/pub