Sunday, October 23, 2016

Nakkula and Toshalis

Identity in Context 

Understanding Youth Adolescent Development for Educators




Context mapping is an approach where one uses their own experiences on a daily basis to 'inform and inspire themselves'. Another view of this is behaving differently in different environments. For example the way I conduct myself in school as a student and home is different from when I am working in an office setting in my professional environment.


Mich asked Julian to "to list the various spaces and relationships he must negotiate each day."'After refusing to do the task, he finally agreed and then was instructed again to list the spaces and the people and his expectations from those spaces and individuals.'

Mich also asked Julian to be attentive to his feelings differentiating between when he felt safe, anxious or uneasy. 

  1. Foreclosed identity- this is closed-mindedness, behaving in a particular manner without any other experience.. set on being one way.
  2. Diffuse identity- this is the individual I call a follower, not committing to ones own identity.
  3. Identity moratorium- they take charge to make a resolution to a problem.
  4. Achieved identity- this individual is in a leader role, collaborating their experiences from past, present and future.. with an understanding of how to conduct themselves from their own experiences.







Saturday, October 22, 2016

Christ Temple Church

Youth Service Event

This event took place at Christ Temple Church located at 122 Wadsworth Street Providence Rhode Island.The duration of this youth service was for 3hours from 5:00-8:00pm Saturday October 22, 2016. This was a diverse environment with many youth members, youth pastors from other  churches, individuals from the neighbor and the area. I was impressed that the church was filled to its full capacity on a Saturday evening with so many young people. I found this interesting and I was impressed because these young people could of been else where instead of attending a positive youth service event.



At this event there were other churches that attended such as "Kings Cathedral"....the king's Cathedral  The youth pastor from this church preached at the service. 

"Christ Center of Praise" members from this church performed a song praise selection...www.church christ center of praise.org



The purpose of this youth service was to encourage young people to remain focus and to live their lives as leaders within their environment.

The concept of the service was a skit played by two youth leaders along with youth members from the CTC (church). Between each skit there were games played by the audience. Games such as jeopardy... one of the youth leaders read biblical questions and the contestants was to ring the bell to answer to the correct answers; again these games were played by brave young people who volunteered to stand in front of the church. 

Other games that were played was finishing the lyrics to songs and the bible book. The bible book had two contestants who was to stack the books according to the order of the bible. This was a fun and engaging activity as the audience cheered the young people on to stack the books up correctly. 


The theme of the skit was titled I'm on my way to.........
The idea of this was that the two sisters played the roles in three sceenes. Where one sister was to encourage the other from making bad decisions such as partying vs doing the positive right thing.

This idea was to encourage young people to stay on a straight and positive path so they could become leaders in their communities from their positive experiences.

As the evening went on there were worshiping and praising through the entire event. This is where the young people were encouraged to participate in singing and dancing around the church. 

Some words and phrases that resonated with me, that I heard throughout the night were.........
encourage
youth is our future
lead with
inspire
youth leaders            
young people
positive
believe in your self
God

This event is related to YIA ...www.youth in action.com and coauthoring Nakkula and Toshails
At the end of the event the members from the different churches gathered together in the dining area of the church for food and refreshments. This is the main idea of the youth services. getting young people together for a positive message and to socialize among other young people like themselves.

The ultimate message I received from this youth service is that "it doesn't matter how far you go away from God, he just wants you to come back to him."

Saturday, October 8, 2016

New Urban Arts

Open house for New Urban Arts
October 7, 2016


New Urban Arts is a free and open to public out -of- school program in Providence that provide space for high school students who correlate with artists mentors from the community. In this environment youth are encouraged  to express themselves through art while gaining the skills of leadership. Here is a link to New Urban Arts website..
newurbanarts.org

This re-opening took place at their location at 705 Westminster Street Providence, RI 02903. This event was 2 hours long. From 5:00-7:00 pm Friday October 7, 2016. The hours was convenient as it was the end of the work week and students would be able to attend this event as there was no school the next day.





New Urban Arts was welcoming as soon as you walked in the door of this re-opening. My daughter, her friend and I felt comfortable as we walked in. Two teenage girls not sure what to expect because they were entering a environment different from their own immediately felt welcomed. At the entrance a staff member greeted all guest that arrived to the event. When we walked in I immediately noticed the interesting art work that was displayed throughout the building. For example, this work of art drawn by one of the youth members over the summer of 2016.
Amazing Work
Their was a Dj set up as you walked into the building to set the mood of the environment. The music was urban genre which was fitting for their guest. There were many people there but it was not overcrowded as they recently renovated the space to accommodate the high volume of guest that occupy the space daily. There was a table in the back with snacks and beverages for the guest.As we walked around admiring the art work I came across this interesting piece 












Downstairs in the basement is the new addition to the New Urban Arts building. In this area they have a music station with a recording sound booth with several different instruments, many individuals were utilizing this area. Another aspect that was interesting in this area was the sewing area. Here is a dress that they made during the summer.

Overall I had the pleasure to have this experience at this re-opening event. This is related to theme of coauthoring as discussed in Nakkula and Toshalis Understanding Youth: As New Urban Arts is an environment where youth and artist mentors "engage in youth leadership, risk taking, collaboration, and self-directed learning". New Urban Arts
To get involved here are a couple of links 

 bit.ly/NUA_Inkind2015 This is their current wish list

    facebook.com/newurbanarts Stay connected through Facebook



Saturday, October 1, 2016

Ideology Inventory

Ideology Horoscope


Risk, Resiliency and Prevention




When I took the Ideology Inventory quiz to learn my ideology horoscope, I was not surprised by the results. My results revealed that I best identify with Risk, Resiliency and Prevention. In this regard I agree that teens brain are not developed to its full capacity and they often make mistakes that they regret. Another aspect of this is that prevention is imperative to teens especially within urban communities among youth. As youth workers we have to pose such questions on how to assist these young individuals with the correct decision making for their future.





                                                                            
This is relatable to me  "urban youth lack cultural capital". Environmental factors among many others factors contribute to risks factors for youth. As youth workers we could be that positive role model and example that youth need, to become successful members of society. By doing this we could potentially save lives from the typical youth urban  story if working in such environment. I learned that sharing personal experiences with youth depending on age in a professional setting could also help teens rationalize to perhaps make the right decisions. We can decrease the negative rates of teen pregnancy, gang activity, and drug abuse by providing safe environment for youth in our communities.