Post by James Joseph O.

MIDWEEK REFLECTION #YOUTHWORK "Our Young People" I was reflecting on the language that us Youth workers sometimes use Last year a young person who frequently engaged with our programmes made his debut and played 6 times for the Manchester utd first team aged 18 A great achievement for sure and one that we are all very happy about He came up in conversation, when me and a collegue were speaking with a funder and my collegue said "Thats one of our Young people". Meant as a harmless comment for sure, but if we reflect, it might imply Possession Ownership Control The honest truth? They are not "Our Young People". They are their own person. As youth workers, we play a role in their journey, but we are not the destination. We listen We guide We support The moment we start seeing young people as extensions of us, we risk making their progress about our ego, and not their development. Let’s reword it: “I’ve had the privilege of supporting them” “I’ve seen their journey up close” Do you or have you ever used the term “Our Young people” What do you think❔ (♻️ Repost + share)