B.Holla

I first decided to work with children when I was just a child myself. From as young as I can remember, I always wanted to be like my mom and work with children. She is a teacher's assistant for special needs children. I always have admired the work she does and how hard she works. For some reason that I couldn't pin point early on, I didn't want to be a teacher, however I knew I wanted to work with children one way or another. After the countless times that I watched my mother in her element at school, I knew this was the kind of work I wanted to do. After high school, I was pretty lost with direction as far as college went, so I decided to move to LA to live near my aunt and uncle and work for them. Come to find out, there were positions opening at their gym in the daycare department. I quickly joined the team and started working there. After getting settled, I enrolled in a local community college and began taking some general courses there. However, after months of sch...

"It's critical for young people to be at the center of change in every community." Youth in Action describes leading with their connection to the community. They talk about how youth aren't given enough credit for the things that they do in their own community, and that we as a society should appreciate them more. YIA feels that youth should be connected to every aspect of their community in order for them to thrive as individuals, which I feel is our goal as youth workers as well. They also have a strong will to defy the stereotypes in which "urban" youth are perceived to be. It was also interesting to read about how YIA uses "plus delta hot seat" which is similar to our YDEV "plus delta minus." It seems that YIA has come up with many creative and innovative ideas to give back and support "urban" communities and its youth. YIA goes beyond lecturing and homework that is given out to students in classroom; they strive to dig de...

I have been involved in various forms of youth work in my lifetime. At a young age I began babysitting for neighborhood children, and then moved on to watching groups of children at a time. When I moved to LA my freshman year of college, I decided I wanted to work in my aunt's daycare at her gym and help out there. It was a great feeling to be working with multiple children at a time. Children that I would see on an almost daily basis and form relationships with them and their families. I even babysat for some of the children from the daycare. Today however, I just started my internship at the YMCA in Middletown, RI, for their after school program. I am excited to learn more about helping youth in a non-profit setting and seeing what goes on in programs such as this one. Although I am new to the team, I already am excited to begin this new chapter of my youth work. In the article by Jenkins, it talks about how "we can rehearse and acquire core skills and knowledge throug...

Un-trustworthy-  In the readings, Sternberg talks about the notion that some people feel that our youth are “sneaky." He states  “Reverend Erb was right. Most people (grownups) don’t like teenagers, they don't trust them, and certainly wanting to be around them is suspect. It was then that I decided to devote my career to facilitating young adults to become leaders, to be viewed as worthwhile, trustworthy, and brilliant.” Self- Indulgent - Another part of the reading states that youth are self-indulgent. In addition, it states that “ The issues closely associated with youth and thus kept most private from adults are sex, drugs and parents,” an emphasis that suggests that young people are self-indulgent and uninvested in more sophisticated ‘adult’ concerns (such as work, health, money, etc). “ Under-Represented/ Identity-less Society feels that our youth a group of individuals that need to act the way that older generations think to be "appropriate." To ...

Wood&Westwood readings: Educational Practice Youth workers have the responsibility of trying to mold the minds of their clients and people in their lives. As youth workers we are "primarily educators" who teach youth in different ways than most educators do. In addition, youth workers bend and twist lessons and activities to better help their audience. In my own personal experience, there have been times where I've had to find a different way to explain a situation so that the children I'm talking to can understand me better. Social Practice  As youth workers, we are in char ge of creating and keeping a safe and comfortable space for children and their peers. In order to start creating this safe environment, the children in the group can then learn how to use different techniques without being afraid of making a mistake.  Work Towards Social Justice The work of a youth worker and their achievements seem to almost always take place in an environment that is t...

Hello everyone! my name is Bailey Holland and I am 22 years old. Technically I am a "super senior" at Rhode Island College, and will be graduating in the winter of 2018. I am a Youth Development major and am from Tiverton, Rhode Island. This is my brother and I! His name is Dylan, he's 20 and just transferred to RIC in hopes to play basketball here. This is my mom Juanita (to my left), my cousin Megan (to my right) and her son Jerome! Family 1st! This is my mom's sister, my aunt Marie. She lives in California and I go to visit her at least twice a year. She is one of the most important and influential people in my life. Above is a picture of my mother, brother and dad! As well as a dog who belongs to one of the family I nanny for, Kosmo. This pup has 3 legs and is a trooper. I have been working for his family since I was 16 years old and this pup is very close to my heart! My grandmother "Mim"! She is a huge inspira...