Nakkula - identity context

As I have said before I'm taking child development right now so i feel as if I understand what is being talked about.
Ericksons 8 stages of development gives you a bit of an insight on how humans develop from the time their born until death. When going through all the stages one applies them to themselves to see where they are and some feel as if they understand Ericksons stages because we have already gone through some. Although I feel like each stage can be mixed or change its very helpful in
understanding students and adolescents. Its good to know of these different stages because this way we know how to help the child that we are working with. We have some idea of what to do and maybe guide them.

The four identity status, helps us to feel and understand how many of us have felt many times. youth especially adolescents face this. They are not sure who they want to be, or what they want to be, they struggle with reality and making choice. This is not all students but we have all been there in that spot and moment in which we question whether or not we were meant to be where we are. Some of us still struggle to feel happy with who we are. and that's part of life. But these are the things we are going to face. We are going to meet teens and adolescents who stubble with accepting who they are and feeling comfortable. and we will be here to guide them and help them. We need to help direct them so that they don't feel as lost and can accept and be happy with who they are.

After reading all of this and thinking about I feel as if Bruce wayne aka Batman is stuck somewhere in intimacy and isolation and generatively vs stagnation. I feel like he is stuck there because he always have to fight himself on whether or not he wants to be Batman. He has intimacy issues because of the whole batman persona. Not only because of batman but because of everything he has gone though in life. He fights with the whole idea of generatively vs stagnation. He is bruce wayne he  a bachelor and he is supposed to be this guys whom is supposed to know his business, is smart and a playboy. But in all actuality he loves solitude and he is the kind of person who likes to be challenged. I also feel as if he doesn't have identity achievement because he hasn't accepted who he is, he struggles with choice of staying batman or letting him go and living a 'normal' life. He hasn't accepted it or embraced it he just lives with it. 

Nakkula - The construction of Adolecense

I really liked this article and found it quite interesting. I am taking child development right now so the Zone of proximal development and scaffolding is quite fresh for me. I really like how Nakkulat gave a more in depth view of ZPD and Scaffolding. This article made me think about my own relationships with my professors, counselors and many from many others. It also made me think about a conversation we had in ALLIED today about being able to communicate to teachers how your feeling and what your going through. Many of us have that attitude of ill just suck it up. SO we try to balance everything, we struggle and then if we fail we try to explain whats going on but it could be too late because while you had the opportunity you didn't do it and so the teacher could've assumed you just weren't trying your hardest. I know it seems like we need to be brave and we want to be strong but its not a weakness to tell others how you are feeling and what you are going through.

I also loved how it made think about how even teachers and counselors and even principles can still growing and learning and developing. Its hard to believe because we see them as older than us more experienced than us and they know everything. But Just as we learn from them sometimes they too can learn from us. This is something that I hope to take with me wherever I go. May we learn to talk to them and ask them "is everything alright?" even a check-in now and then wouldn't hurt. Just like students should try and communicate what they are going through teachers should also try to seem like they want to help and seem openly available. I honestly hope I can perform this, sometimes over years we tend to forget and sometimes it can be hard to break old habits but This was so insightful for me and it helps shape and mold us all.

Egg drop

So today we did an egg drop exercise and they made us connect it to real life issues. Of whether or not it is about ability vs. acessibility 

Honestly its a little bit of both but I do think it should be more about accessibility , I know that certain neighborhoods communities and other cities do better than others and some don't need it. But i rather we have access to all the things we need thank have ti fight of figure ways to do it. Its not our fault that we weren't born into wealth and all the knowledge in the world. There are all types of reason why people can't get medicaid, healthcare, good paying jobs, transportation and so on. But we shouldn't always HAVE to struggle just because we get the short end of the stick. I think the institute needs a lot of changing, we need to rethink about to make certain programs accessible for others, and a decent living wage for everyone. Ways to help people get out of trouble. It was like what we were talking about wage, the minimum wage is not enough not even to have your own apartment, thats not possible. I know people who have to work 2 or 3 jobs because they need to pay for rent, car insurance, utilities, transportation.Whether you have kids or not the minimum wage is just not enough to get by. so yea i understand when we say then lets go get a better job and some do, but if they can't because they don't have a GED or for whatever reason. Why can't we just raise minimum wage?? or as dr. Bogad say get surgery instead of just putting band-aids on it?

Here is a Video on something i watched years ago about raising the minimum wage. I think about how we talk about sometimes taking that leap of faith, and isn't that what rosa parks did? isn't that what Angelina Grimke, Sarah Moore Grimke, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott did when they fought for women's rights? There are many more examples out there where people just took a leap of faith and fought for what was needed to happen. I know its hard to talk about because today that would mean not going to work for a day to stand for a strike and that scares people cuz of the paycheck situation or getting fired but then how will ever to make change? This is just a thought of mine I'm not perfect either it just makes me think, we just can't keep getting band aids and i feel like over the years more and more people get comfortable easily with the idea of just having a band aid. But if we don't start talking about it now or trying to make a difference about it, then were just going to stay in the same situation that were in.  

Ullucci Pathologizing the Poor...

In reading the article I felt like one of the main big points that Ulluci makes is that poverty can't just be identified with one thing. There are all types of factors that come into play when talking about poverty. It can be because of work, the community, not being able to find a job etc. There are so many reasons and facts that come to play when talking about poverty. So we reach this point where some teachers don't see the point in trying to teach some students, or they classify them as lazy, or blame it on their parents and so on... but Ullucci wants to change that, he wants to change the way we see poverty and break barrios that separates the "them" from the "us."

Poverty matters because it effects the way a child is able to learn or shows what the child already knows. Many children who come from some type of poverty have struggles at home and like Ullucci says there are different reasons while the child is where they are in life. Maybe no medicare to get a therapist for their child, healthcare, to take their children o their doctor, some parents work one of two jobs and don't really have time to teach their children, there are language barriers. 

So even in a youth development space it can impact, some children desire to learn but don't have the support or the drive to go forward. Other times its the resources that are needed for them to go on. So even youth development were going to face children and youth who are struggling with poverty, some will need help in understanding and having some guidance and its good for us to be that support. To help out and to be able to connect them to some resources. 

I personally was raised in poverty, I had all kinds of problems, I was the first born child, and my mom had recently moved from honduras to america so she didn't know a lick of English. My dad was Born in NY but raised in Puerto Rico until he was 18. So he knew a bit of both languages, but he never finished high school so he struggled with words, spelling and writing. my dad worked in a jewelry company called style craft and my mom found little jobs here and there. Although my mother graduated in Honduras and even had a minor degree in secretary it wasn't worth much here because of the language barrier. on top of all that my parents were pastors so they barely had time to sit with their children and teach them or help them learn. My dad was always on the run helping other families and members of the church who were in need. The majority of my childhood i spent having to figure out a lot on my own and helping my mom and dad by translating a lot of the school informations and papers that they sent home. on top of that there was a time where my mom used to do packaging and ticketing at home, with jewelry and key chains and my brothers and I would help her. So we would be up until late helping her get a box finished so we could have some money. That's why we were tired for school and sometimes didn't finish our homework. Because my parents couldn't find adequate childcare my brothers and I were always sent to a grandmothers house and uncles house and by the age of 13 i was taking care of my brothers at home. Then my younger brother was diagnosed with dyslexia, we didn't have the proper resources or knew where to get help or it was a struggle teaching my brother how to reach. and because both of my parents struggled reading and writing in english they used to make me sit down and help him. So his help was whats considered second hand because not even i knew that much. There was so much that i wish I knew while growing up, things like taking time to know schools and which one to go to, things like help with college, and finding help. but I somehow managed to make it, I am happy for the few teachers and people in my life who had made a reasonable impact in my life and help me. They tried to connect me to certain resources and help me go on in life. My local library had helped me millions of times and if they knew something could be for my benefit they would tell me about it. I was tutored in the library, when I had difficulty with certain subjects. 

I know this is long and sorry for rambling but I felt like this article really resonated with me, Im latina and from poverty. There were times i didn't think I would make, even in college I almost gave up, until I met certain advisor's, and professors who didn't want to give up on me. They helped me find the resources i needed to come back and finish school and honestly I'm grateful for that. I can honestly say that a teacher who cares and tried to take time to teach you really does impact someone. You don't know how many times I thought i wasn't going to make it and some teacher heard me out and tried to help me out as best as they could. Those are the people that help me move forward every day because they had hope in me and saw someone who was worth while. Someone who could hopefully in the future rise above the situation she was in and Im thankful for it. 

I think if i stay in the city of providence and work in  this community i may be working with an urban

area? but i still feel like it will be mixed with a little bit of everything from urban, to suburban, white, latino, LGBTQ and so on. Because even here in the city of providence there is a mix of all kinds of children. Me from personal experience being in New urban arts we got to wok with all types of children, so I feel like it will be a mix. Poverty can affect you development in being able to learn and being able to have the desire to continue on. But if we as youth workers, and youth development graduates can take time to help out, hear them out, try to connect them to resources. These young men, women and children won't feel so alone. They will supported and know that at least someone cares and has their back. and when you take time to help them with homework, help them try to understand a concept, they carry that with them wherever they go.