Blog 1-The Roots of Youth Work: What I knew, What I just learned, and What I want to know more about

Personally from my own experience working with youth in the after school setting, I was already aware that with the increasing of organization expansions comes a decrease in the relationships between students and staff. As stated in the article, "Community-Based Youth Work in Uncertain Times" by Bianca Baldridge. It is explained how as organizations begin to increase within their communities there is now more of a business-like and corportatizing approach to youth work, causing the once known family-like atmosphere to be very little or even non existent in youth programming (Baldridge). That even students have a different perception of their programs as the organizations expand and as their youth workers just come and go, not building a relationship with them. This reminded me of my own personal experience of when I was first hired as a Site Coordinator for my current middle school site. Prior to my employment, the goals for my site started to increase over the years regarding program numbers and student enrollment numbers. The previous Site Coordinators before me would focus on reaching these numbers and not focusing o the youth they were working with. However, pressures from the organization as well as the demands of the school admin would be too much and cause Site Coordinators to leave the job in less than a year. So when I entered the school setting, I had been the 5th Site Coordinator in less than 3 years!!! At that time students weren't used to structure, weren't used to consistency, and didn't feel the need to connect or build relationships with any new Site Coordinators because they're "just going to leave in a few months anyway". I had to really build a bond with them as well as tend to the needs to the organization and school admin. I've been at this Site for over a year and half now and the students are starting to feel more support and trust as they're seeing the same Site Coordinator still focusing on them and their voices as they're entering another school year! 

It was fascinating to learn about the radical paradigm discussed in the article, "Some Concepts of Youthwork in the United States"written by Dana Fusco. Learning of how much of an effort the state of New York put in to prevent and control juvenile delinquency in the 1950's. How there was a correlation between low income neighborhoods to the amount of juveniles that lived in them and what next steps can be taken to prevent this was fascinating to me to read about as issues with juvenile delinquency is still just as big of an issue now as it was back then. I learned about "Street club" workers and how their goal was to try to build relationships with gang members and sometimes their families in an effort to prevent or reduce violent behaviors associated with gangs. How summer employment and recreational programs were put into play as a way to reduce juvenile delinquency and youth crime (Fusco).Having that background information of how youth programs were starting to develop as well as learning about sociologist Clifford Shaw's belief that "every neighborhood could reduce juvenile delinquency by improving community life" has brought to my attention that this quote is just as relevant today as it was in the 1950's. As a youth worker it is always beneficial to be reminded that there are no such thing as "bad youth" that they're just youth who are in really bad situations. That every member living within the same community as one another should take responsibility in improving and making neighborhoods safer for youth as the infamous quote says "It takes a village to raise a child". Reading this article has brought to my attention that the goals that youth workers have now in the year 2020 to protect youth and getting them to do something productive, creative and social while keeping them "off the streets"  are still quite similar if not completely the same as the goals of youth and street club workers in the 1950's. 

From reading both articles, I continue to dwell on the question: "What might youthwork look like when constructed by youth and youth workers in local communities to meet actual real-time needs and desires?" that was asked in Dana Fusco's article, "Some Concepts of Youthwork in the United States". Every child is different and has gone through different situations physically, mentally, financially etc. Each youth has been bought up in a different neighborhood and has different opportunities and privileges than one another. As youthworkers, it is beneficial to educate oneself more on the students that one serves as well as have consideration and understanding for those youth who may live in a different environment that may be unfamiliar.The question of what would youthwork look like would be great to learn more about as it is something that is always changing as times and our youth are always changing!!!