YDev Times

Earlier today I stopped into the Gender Studies department to watch a movie during free period. This weeks theme was to highlight the struggles of female gamers and designers. The movie highlights that women often face forms of sexual harassment and cyber bullying while playing multiplayer online games. They will often be verbally assaulted and some will even receive threats of rape and death. Those who have spoken out against these atrocities have become huge targets for these threats in particular. Even female game designers are under heavy fire for the content of their games. One women in particular was receiving hundreds negative comments because she featured a gay couple in her game Dragon Age Two. In order to advocate for themselves female gamers have crated blogs to highlight the issue, such as www.FatUglyorSlutty.com   in which the designer posts all of the negative comments she has received on an online platform. The designer of www.notinthekitchenanymore.com will post re

The Youth Development industry is composed of four core anchors, Purposeful Play, Care, Community, Social Justice.  Today i will explain two of these concepts, Purposeful Play and Social Justice. Purposeful Play is the concept of using play as a method of teaching. The games utilized in this method can be educational or they can explore new and difficult topics. For example games like Where the wind Blows can be used to learn about each other and build a sense of teamwork. Games like ZIP ZAP ZOP ( a game where children get into a circle and have to pass the words zip, zap or zop, through gestures) can be used to improve focus. Games like Step into the circle ( a game in which students step into the circle if the relate to a statement being read) can be used to introduce difficult topics like poverty, racism and more. This can all be achieved while the kids are having fun with their peers and youth workers. Social Justice really refers to advocacy. Youth workers will advocate for

After completing the YDEV ideology assessment, I have learned that I most closely identify with the Positive Youth Development Ideology. This means that I value the natural "assets" youth possess and that I want to foster and promote a safe space in which they can evolve and explore them further.  The term assets in this context is referring to a child's skills, abilities and talents. These are considered to be internal assets.  Environment, family structure, social status etc. are all considered to be external assets. As a positive youth development worker, my focus is on providing a safe space and opportunities where youth can experience different situations ( a positive external asset), in the hope that it will help them develop and nurture their internal assets.  Overall I have learned that I am an individual that takes the skills and abilities that a person already possesses and helps that individual learn how to use them to better themselves. I do not try to change

Rhode Island College has many different courses and various levels of degrees. This can often make advising a challenge. While many advisers require students to make individual appointments, YDev students get the benefit of group advising, in class or during free period. Group advising allows you to receive help from your peers when deciding which courses to take and when. For example if a social work class is heavy in writing and reading materials, you may not want to take the same time as introduction to writing. Your peers could help you decide this, because many have already taken the course or have made that mistake. This directly relates to the article "What is Youth Work", in it the author describes how youth development professionals often prefer to work in groups, especially when working with the kids. This allows them to build bonds, work in teams, learn about each other, and develop new skills. Another special thing about group advising is that you get to help ne

Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to not have experienced injustice in terms of corruption or inequity as defined by Webster dictionary. Although  I have experienced oppression and racism, very recently. I live in a predominantly white neighborhood, in which there is a popular walking trail. One day my mother an I decided to go for a walk, trying to meet our fitbit goals for the day. For the most part it was a pleasant day. The sun was shining, it wasn't too hot or cold, and we had walked pretty far. The trail is mostly secluded and surrounded by trees. It does however open up to a local park. While walking through a car passed by and shouted racial slurs at us. My reaction at first was shock. I could not believe that in 2017 I would still be called a n*gger, in such a repulsive way. I then became angry and contemplated confronting the teens in the car, which was now stopped at a stop sign. Instead I realized that it was better to take the high road and continue my w

After reading  Mapping Interconnected Care, I really resonated with three forms of care teachers provide their students. One way is providing snacks to the students, in this particular case the teacher originally thought that her class was boring and so students would fall asleep. She then reflected on it more and considered the students lives outside of the classroom and realized that they may have had a long night and they just need a snack. The second way was providing a clean space, essentially telling the students that you deserve a clean environment to learn. The third is very interesting because it connects a teachers appearance/ identity to her career. This teacher identifies as queer, and that is reflective in her style and hair cut. This allows other students who identify as LGBT to connect with her and open up about any problems they may be facing. I have found one example of care in my after school program called C.O.Z., if they had a student that was misbehaving or having