YDev Ideology Inventory

Positive Youth Development

After completing the youth development ideology inventory, I learned a lot about my role as a youth worker. Last fall in ydev we did a similar activity and it turned out that I closely related with positive youth development and a year later I received the same result. This demonstrates to me that I am on the right career path within the youth development field. 

Some of the values of positive youth development that I align with are care, equality, responsibility and strengths.  In a youth space I believe in caring for one another and looking out for each other. Everyone in a ydev space (youth and adults) are equal, no matter  age, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender. Promoting that equality within a youth space and in the community is empowering for not only the youth worker but the youth themselves. I also believe that each person in a youth space should be treated as an individual and be responsible for their words, actions and bodies. In the many social work classes I have taken I have always gravitated towards strengths based practice. I believe in focusing on what youth are capable of and what each member of a youth space can bring to the group as a whole. By focusing on "what they can't do" sets a negative vibe for the youth and the space when we are promoting positive youth development.

I enjoyed reading and learning about the external and internal assets of positive youth development. Those two factors can influence youth in many ways and both positively and negatively. My role as a youth worker is to figure out what assets each youth in my space possesses. I think I would do this by sharing some of my assets hoping that the youth in my space could relate to me and some of my experiences. This would create a safe and positive space for everyone to share.