Alyssa G: YDEV 352/3

     For this post I focused on the content of the article "Nice is Not Enough" by Sonia Nieto.  I had some views of "care" in youth development that were challenged by this reading. Before I would have defined "care" for youth as meeting their basic needs like food, water, rest and clothing. I would also include giving them affection, encouragement and love. This reading showed me that there is a lot more to the idea of care than I previously thought. The author focuses on unintentional racism from teachers in this article, but I think that some of her arguments and ideas can be applied to care of youth in general.       One idea related to "care" in youth development was treating all students  equally. Part of caring for children is pushing them to develop appropriately and to succeed. I thought the author made a good point that sometimes teachers do not treat students equally or expect the same that they do other students. This doesn't hap

  Social Justice Youth Development programs are very important to establishing equity in communities. There are many programs focused on social justice youth development nationwide, including some close to home in Rhode Island. One such program is called Youth in Action. This is an organization based in Providence, Rhode Island.   Youth in Action serves Rhode Island's communities that are effected by a "disproportionate share of social, economic and environmental burdens." The programs focus on giving support and resources to youth who are people of color. Sone of the programs that they provide is a three step program. The first step is "core" which is a year long program where the participants meet to share their stories, focus on emotional development and learn about identity. They also have an immersion program, which has the participants immerse themselves in community service to help the communities that they deem need it most. The last step is "collec

 Risk, Resilience and Prevention "Adults are responsible for identifying problems, recognizing deficits, and leading young people to understand the importance of preventing risky behavior. The aim of this model is to influence the development of skills and prosocial, protective behaviors for individual young people. In preventing negative behaviors like violence, sexual promiscuity, or drug use, youth work programs can influence positive community outcomes." What this quote means to me: When reading the article by my YDEV teachers, I was very intrigued with their discussion, particularly about youth work ideologies. This quote stood out to me because I believe that starting to teach children at a young age, helps them create awareness of negative behaviors. In my experience, I have worked with children in youth programs who strive to make the their priority educating them in the right way to act as a young person. Growing up with different knowledge and experiances can defin