Youth Development Insight

By Jessica Pierson Russo I’m not very fond of small talk. It’s not because I don’t like getting to know people; it’s just that it doesn’t always lend itself too well to being honest, and I’m the kind of person who, while maybe not 100% truthful, is at least honest about who I am. And there is no small talk question I hate more than, “So what do you do?” As a youth development professional, I am filled with a mild feeling of panic by this innocent question. Should I answer it honestly? Because if I do, I’ll be breaking the #1 rule of small talk: never get too long-winded or deep. Why does telling people I am a youth development professional fill me with such dread? Because they generally have no idea what I’m talking about. If I tell them I do after school programming, they smile and nod but then think I’m just playing around with kids all day. They can kind of picture it, but they have no idea why I would do it. I should, after 17 years, have my elevator pitch ready to go. It’s just th...

By Nicole Pokorney Wouldn’t it be great if we told job interviewees that professional development would be required? Wouldn't it be great if organizations invested in funding exactly the right support for each employee at every stage of their career? At the beginning of each year, many of us make a plan of work that includes professional development. Sometimes we choose a conference or a training for no better reason than its familiarity. Many times the knowledge and materials we gain just get filed away or even worse -- thrown away. That is not a sign of good professional development. True professional development meets the needs of the employee in the context of their career stage and organization in which they work. For the employee, it takes time to reflect on your own passions and skills, your job position and the organization’s mission. Rennekamp and Nall explained the problem. “Participation in professional development opportunities is seldom done to meet a specific ...

Is youth work something you do while you figure out what you really want to do, or is it a career? Most definitions of career include three elements: a defined occupation that is taken on over time with progressive achievement . While many other things may also make up a career, the issues of time and progress are most distinct. In other fields, there is no push to leave direct work to join administration without a path of promotion, clear expectations of and preparation for management. Further, there is credibility in remaining in your chosen position. Is youth work somehow different from other fields? If it is, why is it? Good youth workers often become supervisors and managers without adequate preparation in leadership. Practitioners leave the field because of narrow opportunities for promotion and little expectation of improvement in pay. Funding shifts, low wages for frontline staff, and murky professional pathways impede the development of the workforce and introduce a g...