Nakkula and Toshalis

The Construction of Adolescence by Nakkula and Toshalis explored the relationships between youth and the adult\s who impact their lives, particularly those who are educators. Ten vocabulary words from the text are inter-psychological development, co-constructing, zone of proximal development, applied develop-mentalists, scaffolding, theoretical imagination, multi authored, and reciprocal co-authorship.

Throughout my life there has been so many people who have influenced my youth both positively and negatively. Here is a list of 10 individuals who have coauthored with me during my life:

1. Natalie
2. Mom
3. Megan
4. Demi Lovato
5. Michelle
6. Nana
7. Mrs. Graziano
8. Miss. Jo-Ann
9. Dad
10. Grammy 

Although its hard to simply focus on just one individual who has helped co-author my youth I am choosing to write about Demi Lovato. As a young, impressionable girl I found myself idolizing Disney Channel star, Demi Lovato. As I got older she became one of the constant individuals within not only my life but some of my closest friends. In 2010, Demi entered treatment for depression, anxiety, and self harm. After months of rehab, she came out stronger than ever speaking out on her life long battle with mental illness. Since then, she has become a huge mental health advocate. 

Ever since I can remember, I have dealt with severe anxiety. I always thought what I was feeling was "normal."  During high school it became much severe. With the help of Demi Lovato, I became much more comfortable speaking to friends and family about my anxiety. She also showed me how important it is to receive help. She has showed me that living a successful life is absolutely possible living with a mental illness. 

Color Blind or Color Brave?

Within many lives of youth today, the feeling of invisibility to the individuals and world around them occurs. Children today are scrutinized within their every day life being told the proper way to act and behave. Teachers in a classroom often encourage to hear students thoughts and ideas but are not necessarily to put their input when it comes to lesson plans and the curriculum. Growing up, I always felt comfortable with my teachers to share ideas and opinions. Unfortunately, I never felt comfortable enough nor was ever encouraged to lead the class with my teacher.

In Melody Hobsons TED talk, she does a tremendous job explaining "color blindness" in today's society. Hobson explains "color blindness" as the concept of how we pretend to not acknowledge race. Hobson uses an example of a time she attended a national press dinner. To her surprise, she was mistaken for the wait staff being asked "where is your uniform?", due to the color of her skin. Melody Hobson, learned at a young age that inequality exists and has spent much of her life trying to encourage diversity within the work place.

An organization working to change color blindness into color bravery would definitely be Youth in Action! YIA helps to create a safe space for teens along with helping to make everyone apart of the community. The youth apart of this program are taught how important using their voice is.  The idea of invisibility can be conquered immediately by joining Youth in Action. Youth in Action is helping to turn today's youth into brave individuals who are helping make changes one day at a time.

"We need to become uncomfortable with the conversation of race." Color blindness and color bravery all comes from who we are and how we continue to view the world around us. Racial inequality still exists around us,but we must continue to work towards "color brave" and open our mind and thoughts to the idea. No one must live a life feeling invisible.

A World Where Youth Hold the Power

I consider myself as having a pretty average school experience within my youth. My school years were pretty normal.I had small group of great friends an awesome dance team and,a loving family that supported me in all of my endeavors.My sister on the other hand, a mere 6 and a half years younger than me, had a much different experience. I watch my sister, still currently in high school, with the most outgoing personality struggle with voicing her freedom of expression.

My sister's first day of high school.

Youth in Action, is a non profit, after school based program that allows youth members to run the organization itself. They promote their youth to use their own voices within  communities. Youth in Action is working towards breaking the stigma that teens should not be heard. In YIA, youth members are viewed as members of the community who can offer great ideas and opinions to work towards bettering Providence.

Graduation :)

In the article, A World Where Youth Hold the Power, Adeola Oredola spoke of her own stories and reasons to get involved within the community. She shares her story of her perseverance into getting the prestigious Brown University, after her guidance counselor told her she would never get accepted due to the high school she came from. As a Brown University student, she quickly realized she wanted to become the voice for future youth and make changes for underprivileged students who were not able to voice their opinions.

What is youth work?

While reading the article Youth Work: Preparation for Practice, I became familiar with the 7 characteristics of youth work.

One characteristic of Youth Work is that it is an educational practice. As a youth worker myself, I am constantly learning and creating. As someone who does not want to become a teacher, I have the upper hand in educating youth in different ways than an average school teacher would. I work at a pre school/after school enrichment center with children of all different ages who all learn in different ways. This has helped me grow and learn as a youth worker.

The next characteristic of Youth Work is that it is a social practice. Youth workers prefer to work in groups rather than individual work. Groups are another easy way to engage youth as well as to make social personal connections. This gives youth the familiar sense of working and getting along with others.

Another characteristic of youth workers, is actively challenging inequality and working towards social justice. Youth workers are able to recognize power-imbalances. A power imbalance can affect how youth are able to succeed. Youth workers all around have the same main goal, which is to ensure the well being of the youth they are working with.

Another characteristic of Youth Work is that when possible, young people choose to be involved. It is important to encourage youth members to meet individuals who share common interests. This can be an easy way to meet new peers and build new friendships.“Quality of engagement” is extremely important.Working at a pre school, I have noticed that involvement is a major key. If the activities are engaging and exciting, the enthusiasm for that activity will be through the roof.

Youth workers seek to strengthen the voice and influence of young people. We youth workers strive for youth to voice their opinions. It is important to encourage youth and help get their voices heard. Youth workers allow youth to have the voice and decide on how activities would be ran. We want to show them that what they say/think is important and that we are their to listen to them.

The next characteristic of Youth Work is that it is a welfare practice. It is common for youth workers to work with young people who are considered to be in the areas of higher "deprivation." Youth workers find the balance between working towards pre-determined welfare oriented goals.

Lastly, the final characteristic of Youth Work is that it works with young people "holistically". It is extremely important to try and teach youth to be the best they can be. As youth workers, we want to provide youth with positive role models in their life. With the support given, you can be able to completely change their lives around. We must act as the pillar they need in order to succeed.

Who am I?

Hi guys! My name is Jena Karneeb and I am a senior at Rhode Island College in the Youth Development Program. I work part time at a Preschool in Johnston, Rhode Island as an assistant teacher to a pre-k classroom. I love to travel, especially with my best friends to New York City, which is where I spent a lot of time traveling to this past summer. In my free time I also enjoy attending concerts, binging TV shows on Netflix, shopping, and eating good food.

Celebrating my 21st birthday in New York.

One of the many concerts I attended this summer, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas.

Spending time with my best friend in the city.

Boston Red Sox game with my friend Katie.