The Role of Adults in Youth Programs: How do we support youth in the programmatic process?
Hey Everyone,
I am bringing you an article today that crosses the adult/youth blog divide. Isn’t that exciting? Why do I care about this article? Because adults play a huge role in how youth programs get built and how much access youth have to creative power in these programs. Many adults don’t realize what types of roles they can play in the youth program development process. Oftentimes, adults are the creators and facilitators of youth programs, when they could serve as more of a supporter and an adviser. Their programs could be more comprehensive, dynamic, and better address the needs of the youth that they serve, if youth were offered the power and guidance necessary to change/build a youth program.
If we know how important this is, then why isn’t it happening? As adults, we are consistently told that we are right, and society reinforces the notion that adult ideas and adult work are more important than youth ideas and youth work. We need to fight this tendency in order to create the most engaging youth programs possible. It is easy to forget that youth are the experts on themselves, their generation, and their culture. They know what’s up, and they know what they need. According to this article, adults need to cultivate youth input, provide structure and guidance, empower youth, know which of our personality traits that may promote or discourage positive youth development, and promote positive youth development through words and actions. It’s all about supporting youth and checking our adult prejudices at the door. For more information on how adults can better support youth in the program process, click on the link below.
http://ydi.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/YDI-RB-10-Role-of-Adults-in-Youth-Development.pdf
- Lauren, Youth Coordinator and Adult Professional with some work to do!