Developing the leaders of the future: youth work qualifications aren’t enough!
I was having a conversation with a diploma student today that made the hair on the back of my kneck stand on edge. He said to me without a hint of a joke that once he had finished his two year course that he would be qualified enough to become a manager in the organisation […]
The Habit of Youth Work: Excellence in all we do.
Youth work is a difficult profession. It requires the patience of a saint, the wisdom of Aristotle and the stamina of a thoroughbred. In the craziness of all we do sometimes excellence is traded for efficiency. How many of us have been asked to cut corners to meet our funding targets or have been required to […]
I %^&*ing HATE school: I’m going to be a drug dealer!
Not long after starting my youth work career I went back home to spend a weekend at my mums house. my youngest brother was having a party and after chatting with a few of his mates a pattern started to emerge…they all hated school. The stories all seemed the same, struggling at home, lost in […]
Youth work in the education system: where theory and practice collide.
Last week we spoke about the need for youth workers in the education system to have good relationships. This week we look at the need for a good understanding of theory…youth work and educational. In youth work we study youth development, theories of participation and many others that help us to work with young people […]
Youth work in the education system
In the early days of my career I had the privileged of being a youth worker that went into our local high school. I was employed by my local church as a schools worker and spent much of my time running lunchtime programs. I spent much of my time building relationships with teachers, support staff and principals. […]
Why youth ministers need to embrace youth work practices: Youth ministry in the 21st century.
A while back I was reading a blog post by Mark Oestreicher, A youth pastor from the USA. In it he states that youth pastors need a title change. They should be known as youth workers. This comment made me both uncomfortable and elated at the same time. Uncomfortable as it brings youth ministry into a realm that […]
Mental State Exam for youth workers: Appearance.
You have heard the saying don’t judge a book by its cover. Well that’s exactly what I am going to ask you to do. In the first part of a Mental State Exam we look at a persons appearance and make some judgements on where they are at because of this. Now the politically correct […]
Become more than you are right now: A youth work specialist
As a parent I want to see my children have more opportunities than I did as a child. I want to see them become more than I became. I want to see them reach their fullest potential. As a youth worker I want to see the young people I work with reach their fullest potential as well. […]
What will youth work look like in 2013?
Over the last couple of weeks we have had the pleasure of some amazing guests answering the question, “What will youth work look like in 2013?” This has been eye opening to say the least. Over the last two weeks we have had Shae and Stephen from youthworkinit.com and Professor Dana Fusco of CUNY and […]
What will youth work look like in 2013?
Today I am stoked to continue our series with a guest post from one of the worlds most well known youth work professors. In this series we have heard from Shae and Stephen Pepper from youthworkinit.com and will continue to hear from some of the leading minds in youth work from throughout the world culminating in early 2013. […]