The Changing Face of Youth Development

                Youth in Action is an interesting organization that provides an opportunity for Providence youth to have their voices heard. This organization focuses on providing agency to students who typically are not given an opportunity to be heard. Students work with adults, not for them…and this is a unique concept that is exciting for the future of youth work. This type of interaction between youth and adult truly pushes the youth the think critically, which is an extremely valuable skill to have entering both the collegiate realm and the real world.

                The interest that these students have in inclusivity is something that is admirable. The YIA students do not have arguments but rather debates regarding their opinions and beliefs. There are no hurt feelings over these debates because they are professional in nature. The students do not use personal attacks and always hear each other’s opinions thoughtfully. They strive towards understanding in all facets of life, which is something more adults and students need to do.

                The lessons and discussion are not dictated by the adults of the organization but rather by the students. This concept is something that is entirely parallel to the structure of a classroom. Classes are almost always dictated by classroom teachers, with little structural input from students. But in YIA students are given an opportunity to focus on the topics that are of interest to them. These topics are relevant to the students and allow them to explore in a free forum the ideas that they and their fellow students have.

                This is something that I have certainly found in some facets of my youth experience, but it is not the norm of interaction between youth and adult. Typically in my experience youth do not have the freedom to do the work that they want to in their student groups. But YIA completely opens these students up to leadership opportunities and provides them the ability to work together.