Youth Development Insight

By Jennifer Skuza Unless you have had a similar experience, it may be difficult to understand the everyday lives of  immigrant youth . Imagine Ana for a moment. She is a 14-year old girl who moved to the US from Guatemala over a year ago. These days she feels exhausted by the amount of energy she pours into her daily life. Especially in school, she feels lonely because of seemingly insurmountable language barriers. Her experience is also mixed with feelings of accomplishment that come with living in a new culture. She finds relief in her relationships with people around her. Perhaps you can relate to Ana's experience of adjusting to life in a new country or place. This phenomenon is called acculturation. For immigrant youth, acculturation is a pervasive part of life and it is one experience almost all immigrant youth have in common. Watch this award-winning video entitled "Immersion" for another view into immigrant youth experiences. Educators and people working ...

By Kate Walker Do you answer personal questions to build relationships with youth? Do you give money to a young person in a hard situation? Do you accept a request from a former program participant to friend them on Facebook or add them on Instagram? Do you address it if you suspect a participant is high during the program? Youth workers face ethical dilemmas like these every day. These are just a few that I heard about at  a recent training on ethics and boundaries in youth work . Participants were asked to consider where they stand, and dig into why. To examine the ethical principles and values that guide how one responds to dilemmas like these, we shared the Ethical conduct in youth work: A statement of values and principles from the National Youth Agency , in the United Kingdom. It outlines the basic principles underpinning the work, with the aim of guiding the conduct of youth workers and managers, and to focus debate about ethical issues in practice. It is not a r...