Leading youth work
Leading youth work
Reading this was really good. It opened up my eyes to see what even at a young age young people still have a voice and a right to say things. Letting young people express themselves and show their leader skills will help them in the long run. For example when I volunteer with the Boy Scouts, I would work with the Cub Scouts, I can see that some young people will always take charge. They knew that people would follow them and listen to them. Young people know that being a leader is more then just people following them it means that you are respected, it also means that you need to be able to follow the rules and listen to your peers no matter what.
I agree listening is so important. A quote I will always remember is are you hearing the person to respond or are you truly listening to what they are trying to say? Sometimes when life gets hectic I get in this mindset of I need to reply right away but sometimes its good to take a step back and really try to understand a person rather than just move the conversation quickly forward. As youth workers its important to back genuine connections with youth so they can truly feel like they have a safe community and a support system.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I was in girl scouts for a year but always wished that I could be in boy scouts. Sadly the girl scouts weren't as involved with leadership and nature like boy scouts were (which is more my style). I loved your post and it definitely made me think about a lot of things!
Thanks for your post Jessica. I appreciate your reflections on children with a natural ability for leadership and I want to know more. What do adult youth partnerships mean to you and what do they look like in your life and experiences? What about children that may not naturally jump into leadership roles--what does leading with look like for them? How can they also have ownership and agency in YDEV spaces?
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