Abby YDEV 352-3

 Youth Work is..........Identity      This weeks reading really stuck out to me because it is such an important topic in todays world. There are so many times where individuals aren't focused on their own identity rather than focusing on what makes them fit in with a group. It is so important for individuals to find themselves and identify what makes them unique.      Often times identity is over looked in many school settings, but I think that it is something that youth need help with. They need to be able to explore what makes them unique to themselves, but also what unique identities they have from their families.      Who Am I? This question can be one of the hardest questions to ask an individual. If you asked me this question prior to this year, you would have gotten a surface level answer with barely any insight into why I answered the way I did. This was all based on comfort level, and not wanting to challenge myself to think dee...

       When thinking about the readings, the thing that I focused the most on was the "Ladder of Youth Participation" and for me this was so interesting, because I have done so much youth work, and it is so interesting to see how they all fall in a different place on the ladder. The first example I saw, was in the after school program that I work at. To me it falls at a 6 on the ladder, because everything is facilitated by adults, but there is still room for the child to make the decision of what activity is being facilitated. The second example I saw is working in a daycare, and it is so interesting to me to see the difference. This example would be a 9 or 10 on the ladder, because as the adult I provide the children with everything they may need, but I am just there to assist when they need me. They are deciding what they want to do at all times and how they want to rather than me as the adult making that decision.      Something that I find so impor...