Final log: Reflection on my Learning

Over the course of the semester we had several different opportunities to learn about different cultures we will come into contact with as Child and Youth Workers in the Field. We learned about different cultures in the following ways:

·Assignments (such as blogging, reflecting, and venturing into the “real world” to experience something outside of our own cultural comfort zone)

·         Field trips (Quinte Mohawk School to experience the Mohawk Community’s Harvest festival celebration and to Sir James Whitney to experience the Deaf culture)

·          Guest speakers which covered the cultures of First Nations, Metis, LGBTQQ, Homeless, and People with Intellectual or Physical disabilities.

My cultural awareness and competence has definitely increased to a level in which I will be comfortable in working with different cultural groups within the Child and Youth Worker field. I must also say that Sarah’s creativity definitely made this course what it is. Your creativity kept me engaged and excited about content and the types of assignments you came up with for us to complete really gave me the opportunity to learn as much as I could about the content of this course.  It is one thing to sit in a lecture hall and talk about different cultures, but to go out into the world and choose something new to experience, like in the comfort zone assignment, was something I will never forget. Making weekly blogs was also one of the most meaningful assignments I have done throughout the entire CYW course. I learned how to use the internet to research things I never even knew existed, I got to reflect on my learning in class and extend it so far past what I would have learned simply from sitting in a classroom. As a bonus, I learned a lot about how to run a computer, which is an important lifelong skill and one I really needed to improve on. This course helped me to be comfortable to go out in the field and work with different cultures, whether or not it was a culture I learned about in class, I now have a higher level of respect for differences and know how to work with people of different cultures in a more respectful manner.

Reflection on Learning Throughout the Semester

Assignments

The “outside of my Cultural Comfort Zone” assignment was such a great assignment. I learned so much that I had no idea about. This assignment not only taught me about the Caribbean culture but also a lot about stigma and stereotypes since I had some smaller stereotypes from previous situations I had been involved in. I also learned how valuable it is to push myself to do things that do make me uncomfortable since it is a situation which makes it possible to learn so much. I actually pushed myself to do an additional “outside my comfort zone” assignment later in the semester which I used my blog to reflect about. The second time I stepped out of my comfort zone, I went to see the Drag Queens at Crews and Tangos in Toronto. This is a fun and exciting way to learn new things. I will push myself to continue the out of my comfort zone style of learning throughout my career and my life, since when I am uncomfortable I tend to learn a lot and remember the situation in more detail.

The class presentations, although a lot of work, were really beneficial to my learning as well. I learned a lot about my own group topic (New Canadians) and gave me a new level of respect to people, since it allowed me to learn the extent of things people have to do to become a Canadian Citizen. I also learned from watching the other presentations. It was an exciting way to learn about a lot of different cultures very quickly and we got to learn it from our classmates, which is also a nice change.

The blog assignment was also amazing for my learning. I learned so many things that I would not have learned without it. A huge part of the learning with the blogging is the resources I came across when I was looking for videos and articles to include in my blogs. One example I can think of off the top of my head is when I was doing my blog about LGBTQQ issues. I came across a video on YouTube done by a young man named Gregory Gorgeous. After looking into a lot of his videos I discovered that he is an awesome role model for LGBTQQ youth and he has a whole YouTube channel with new video blogs almost every week. There is not many role models for LGBTQQ youth, especially ones that identify themselves as LGBTQQ. There are even fewer that I would consider appropriate for youth. After watching several Gregory Gorgeous videos I realized that he is very respectful, funny and touches on some important issues within the LGBTQQ community. Without having done blogs as an assignment I would not have had the opportunity to learn about this great role model for youth. In the same way I learned about many other online resources I will be able to use in the field. I will also know how to better use the internet to research areas I need to learn more about using appropriate and relevant resources. Over the course of the semester we talked about many cultures, but the ones I got to learn the most about were the ones I blogged about. I chose to do blogs on First Nations issues, Quinte Mohawk and their Harvest Festival, LGBTQQ issues, anti-homophobia, homelessness, intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities.

Guest Speakers

I love the guest speakers we had come into class. There were so many of them and they all had so many important topics for us to learn about. Here are some of the ones that I enjoyed the most (although I enjoyed all of them and learned something from each!)

Andy (First Nations and Metis issues): Andy coming to speak to us about the issues that the First Nation villages up north face was so important. I had learned a very small amount about it during high school but never in this much detail. There were things I never really thought about or even knew existed before Andy’s talk. I never realized how remote these places were and how a lot of the things we do on a daily basis they had never even heard of. There are a lot of terrible things that go on, like abuse and children who huff gasoline. We as CYWs need to be up there, and in other remote areas to help them, however Andy also helped us to understand why we would not always be welcomed into the communities, because of the way our own culture treated them in the past. All of this knowledge was very eye-opening and important to our work in the field.

Eric, Kim and Deb (LGBTQQ Issues and Anti-Homophobia): This presentation was one of my favorite parts of this entire course. I have always been very supportive of the LGBTQQ community and would identify myself as an ally. Even though I have been around people who identify as homosexual for most of my life and am not uncomfortable in the least, I still learned a lot from Eric, Kim and Deb. One of the most important things I learned from listening to them speak was how we need to work with LGBTQQ identified youth as CYWs. This was a completely different context than having LGBTQQ friends and one that I am glad I got to learn. Apart from having Eric, Kim and Deb come in as guest speakers, I also then had the opportunity to learn more about LGBTQQ issues through my blog. I learned so many new things and got to see so many videos that were really touching. The most powerful thing I learned from blogging about LGBTQQ issues was regarding how many LGBTQQ identified youth end up homeless after coming out to family and either being kicked out or having to run away.

Sandy (Working with Youth who are Homeless): Having Sandy come speak to us about youth who are homeless was great. I have always wanted to learn about homelessness and poverty and work with youth who are facing issues of homelessness after I graduate. Apart from a few assignments where I got to choose to write about homelessness, I have not had the chance to learn that out of this course. I was happy to finally get the opportunity. From speaking with Sandy, I learned just how relevant the issue of homelessness is to our field, and how much services are needed in our community. I also learned that when we work with people who are homeless we need to use a ‘wrap around’ approach. This means we need to focus on more than just the fact that the person needs affordable housing, but also work on things like career counselling, mental health counselling, obtaining health care, getting food and clothing and obtaining Ontario Works, of course this list is different for each individual.

Colleen (Working with children and youth who have disabilities): My greatest learning came from listening to Colleen. Before having Colleen as a guest speaker, I had been kind of nervous around people with disabilities and definitely had not wanted to work with after graduation. After listening to Colleen Speak and furthering my learning through blogging about it after class, I actually would consider working with children and youth who have disabilities. As I learned from my blog “We are more alike than different!”

Field Trips

Quinte Mohawk School: We went on a field trip to Quinte Mohawk School to take part in their Harvest Festival. It was really awesome to learn about the different traditions the Mohawk culture takes part in. They seem to be really big on community. I found it odd that I have lived in this area for so long and never took the opportunity to know anything about their culture. The best part about about the harvest festival was interacting with the students and getting to help them with their crafts, learning the dances from the intermediate girls, and of course the turkey dinner was delicious. I loved how they gave us so much that day yet they were so thankful to us for what we did for them with the games.

Sir James Whitney: The trip to Sir James Whitney field trip taught me so much. I never had much opportunity to interact with people who are deaf. One of the most important things that Aaron taught us was that if we are working with a child or youth who is deaf how we need to advocate for youth, whether or not we work directly with them or not. For example, Never let a child or youth act as an interpreter. I learned so much this day.  

Plan for continued learning

I am going to continue the outside of my comfort zone on a regular basis. I learned so much from the outside my comfort zone assignment and I also want to keep blogging. I will keep using people first language since it shows respect to everyone. I also will not judge anyone until I meet them

Homelessness and Intellectual and Physical Disabilities

Today’s class we talked about two different cultural areas that we are going to come into contact with through our work as Child and Youth Workers. I gained so much out of today’s class from both speakers. The first area we spoke about was youth that are homeless or living in poverty and the issues that they face. The second area was about people with disabilities. Both areas are so important to our field of work.

Youth Who are Homeless or at-risk

The reason I originally got into this field was because I wanted to work with children and youth that were facing issues of homelessness or poverty. Throughout the entire course, we did not get much of a chance to learn about poverty, except for the odd assignment where I elected to use homelessness and poverty as a topic. I am so glad that one of our peers took the initiative to have a guest speaker on the topic because I learned so much in the hour and a half she was here. Although this is an area I have been passionate about, and a class I went into thinking I already had a good knowledge of the community, I now realize just how much I did not know. The biggest thing I learned from the class was the idea that we need to work as a wrap around type service, working with families, mental health counselling and other community agencies. Sandy’s speech really gave me a much better understanding of what I would be doing if I choose to pursue this area of child and youth work.

News clip about teenagers who are homeless

This clip taught me that in order to be successful in working with youth, or any person, that is facing homelessness we need to consider:

·  wrap around services, that is working with homeless and at risk youth on many different areas of their lives such as helping them to obtain clothing, jobs, housing, basic needs, counselling and health insurance, among many others.

·  meeting the youth where they’re at. If we want to work with youth that are homeless we need to go to them, not expect them to come to us (although this is typical in many areas of child and youth work, it is of great importance in working with issues of homelessness).

·  We need to teach homeless and at risk youth self-advocacy (again, this is something that is common throughout our field however it is particularly important in working with homeless and at risk youth). We need to teach self-advocacy so that homeless and at risk youth can grow to be successful individuals and gain the self-esteem and knowledge to know where they want to go and what they need to do to get there. Self advocacy gives youth the power to stand up for what they believe in and go against any barriers they may come across.

·  It is not absolutely necessary, but I think setting up some role models for youth would be of great importance to those that are facing issues of homelessness. Setting them up with mentors that have lived on the streets and have “beat the odds” would give them hope for the future. This video clip got me thinking about mentors for the youth since there were so many young adults that overcame homelessness and were now raising families or enrolled in post secondary education.

This clip also shared some shocking statistics. I was surprised when it said that 40% of homeless culture is 14 – 25 years of age. That is very young. But the reasons the video gave made sense as to why. I just always assumed that the majority would be older men and women. Apart from the youth that are homeless, there are many adults that have been homeless since they were young teens. Some of the many reasons youth become homeless, as described by this clip include being kicked or thrown out by family, leaving due to family conflict, substance abuse (either self or parental), sexual orientation, no job, abuse or foster care issues. As Sandy told us in class however, there are as many reasons as there are youth, this list just goes to name a few.

Voices of the Homeless 

I really like this clip because it actually gives homeless people a name and shows them as individuals. There is a lot of stigma surrounding homelessness, and it is much more difficult for people to stigmatize other people if they know something about them. This made me think of what Colleen said about when people stigmatize others they put them into the form of animals first (for example what the Nazis did to the Jewish culture). I would assume they do it because they feel guilt on some level. Anyway, the first step in preventing people from doing that is giving them a name and listening to their stories, and this video does just that.

Invisible Homelessness

Another thing that Sandy talked about was ‘invisible homelessness’ that is where people are not identified as homeless. People who are invisibly homeless would typically be on friend’s couches for an extended period of time. The following is a public service announcement targeting the issue of invisible homelessness. There are many reasons why a youth may not be able to “go home”, but if you notice youth constantly sleeping over, there is help.

Youth who have a Developmental or Physical Disability

We have talked a bit about knowledge and comfort level coming into these classes. For the most part I have been extremely open minded and even passionate about some of the areas we have had the opportunity to learn about. I am not going to lie but working with children who have a developmental or physical disability has never been something I have wanted to do. This area of our field is something I have no knowledge of whatsoever, and I am also a bit uncomfortable about it. I am however very respectful, and non-judgemental. I would not have ever wanted to work in this area of study in the past. After listening to Colleen speak that outlook changed. I have a much better understanding now. In fact, I told my friend off about using the ‘R’ word right after the class. After listening to Colleen I am actually interested in working in this area. I also like that she refreshed the people first language, although we learned about it in a lot of our classes in the past, I think it is really important to review because I was a bit foggy on it, and it is definitely something we need to be using on a daily basis, not only at work but in social interactions as well. I feel like if I am talking to friends using people first language would really help to eliminate a lot of the judgements and stigma, and that goes for any group of people we will be working with. Colleen had a lot of interesting ways of teaching us about working with children with physical or developmental disabilities. I liked her idea of “Universal Design”, which is where everything is made to be accessible to anyone. We were talking about the accessible ramp being crowded and she had commented if they made it in universal design it would all be ramp and then it would not be as crowded. This is a great idea and not something that had even crossed my mind in the past. 

r-word.org

r-word pledge

This is a website about the impact of the r-word on people with an intellectual disability, whether it is used towards them or towards someone does not have an intellectual disability. This site talks a lot about people first language and features an online pledge you can take to stop the use of the r-word and stand of for people with an intellectual disability. It also has tips for people to use after they have taken the pledge. The site recognizes that telling friends or family not to use the r-word and why can be uncomfortable and difficult, so it gives examples of how to carry out that conversation with others. It also talks about which times you should walk away, especially to protect your personal safety. The pledge states “I pledge and support the elimination of the derogatory use of the r-word from everyday speech and promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.” And then the site gives you ways to keep your pledge. 

The View discusses the 'r-word'

There appear to be opposing viewpoints regarding this issue however some good points that are brought up. Barbara Walters compares it to the n-word and Whoopi Goldberg disagrees with her. I understand what Barbara Walters meant by that comment. It reminded me of the public service announcement that Colleen showed us in class. The comment below is from the YouTube page the video clip came off of. It is written by an African American woman who agrees with Barbara Walters in comparing the r-word and the n-word, I felt that it was important to include since it is a very powerful statement.

“I think people should take this word as seriously as the N-word. I am of African decent, and my son has cerebral palsy. When kids at school call him the R-word, I can tell he feels hurt, worthless, and like he's a less person. Which is how I personally feel when I am called the N-word. I think this is serious. Other African Americans may not think so, but perhaps you would if you had to walk on crutches your entire life and couldn't play sports or run with your friends, then people made fun.”

We are More Alike than Different

The people in this clip show us that just because they are born with a physical or developmental disability they still have dreams and hopes like the rest of us, they can live regular lives, and they are more alike than different from anyone.  Also, like what I said above regarding people who are facing stigma due to being homeless, this video helps to give people a name, face and story, which works to eliminate stigma as well! I think the ending of the video clip is just adorable too!

Twisted institution that still operates today!

I literally could not sit through this clip it was so disturbing, but I felt that I need to share it. The issue of people being put into institutions like this seems like it would be a thing from the very distant past. If this is going on in Serbia, I am sure it is going on in other areas of the world as well. This is just wrong, and something needs to be done about it!