Blog #9 What will my YDEV Master’s Capstone Project be???

At the end of this semester, you are going to have a broad idea of what your YDEV Master’s Capstone Project will be.  The first step is to find something you care about and want to know more about.  Look back at the questions that you wrote in week two of this class and think about all we have done in the past two months.  What are you still curious about? Where do you want your influence to be in the world?  It can be personal.  It can be work related.  It can be creatively conceived but should be somehow tied to youth and the anchors of this program: Play, Care, identity, Social Justice/Advocacy, Leading With.  

Write a blog post about some of your possible ideas.  They can be loosely formed and broad, but start to write about possible topics. 

       
Looking back at the questions I wrote in week two, I am still curious about how I could best serve the youth at the BGC. How can I be an influence at my job and for the youth I work with. I am still not sure of the broad idea, but here are some of the possible ideas for my capstone project:

• Is there room for growth at my job?
• How can I help children and have a career doing it?
• How to make change happen when they are used to remaining stagnant.
• How to empower youth to have a strong voice
• Teaching Youth Development Professionals (YDP's) to do their job, mentoring
• How to get the job I want (director of the club) instead of the job I have (director of Pre-k Program)
• How to be the best employee I can be, leading by example.
• How to plan ahead for events and vacations instead of running from behind.

I keep trying to develop a cohesive idea that will lead to an excellent capstone project, but I need help figuring it out. I want to research something I am excited to learn more about and dive deep into rabbit holes to find my capstone. I keep saying that I want to know how to improve my workplace, but my capstone might be centered around ME and my interactions with my workplace and the youth I serve.

I am interested in youth success, policy, and procedures. I want the club to be full of happy youth who want to be there and look forward to coming each day. I want the YDPs to enjoy working with the youth, have taken professional development classes, and be trained to do their job and excel at it. I want all the best for the club. I want to make a change that will impact how the club is run from now into the future. 

 

Blog #8 Eve Tuck, Suspending Damage

 Blog #8 What does this TUCK article raise for you? How does it help you think about yourself and others?

Eve Tuck's Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities article discusses how damage-centered research documents people's pain and brokenness to hold those in power accountable for their oppression. This article raises the question of "why?" Why is discrimination and oppression a thing in 2024?

Eve's article also addresses how Indigenous people, along with Black and Latino minorities, are still waiting

for the complete eradication of racial discrimination. A true equality amongst all people. It is sad to say we are in 2024, and we are STILL talking about racial discrimination and oppression. It is very relevant today; just look at the presidential election. I know there are people out there who won't vote for Kamala not because of the issues that she is backing but because she is a woman and a minority; that's two strikes against her for certain people. 

This article makes me think of Eve's language positivity in the research method she chose to use in this article. During my research, I will refrain from using the wrong language to describe a population and the issues that they may be going through. As Eve says, I can use research that invites oppressed people to speak from a space of deprivation, a wound, unfulfilled longing, and pain.(p413)

                   

                                             

    

Blog #7 What Do You Do That Can't Be Measured

 Blog#7 What does this RESTLER chapter raise for you? How does it help you think about yourself and others? Then, spend a little time writing about what YOU do that can’t be measured.

Chapter 1, What Do You Do That Can't Be Measured, by Victoria Restler

Restler, Chapter 1, allowed me to inhale deeply and exhale. This chapter helped me think about the Capstone project and the many different ways I can do research. The research doesn't have to be the traditional look-up on the Internet and site; it could be more of the creative side, which is where I land. Interviewing people for research is right up my alley.

Many things we do cannot be measured. Sometimes, I feel a slight unease when thinking that I am not doing enough at my job or in my life that can be measured because we as a society are so programmed into having everything be measured by length, volume, mass, time, grades, size, weight, energy, and the list goes on and on. But being a YDEV grad and YDEV MA student, I know I do things that can't always be measured daily.

Each day, I go to work with a great attitude, put my best foot forward, and hope that today will be the day that things will improve. I've helped people in roles I've been in to think in different ways to succeed in their positions. I've joined a planning and program committee to voice my opinion and have a say in how things should be done in my workplace. I enter the pre-k class each day with a renewed, glass half-full energy (they wear me out, lol). The patience I show, the flexibility, the wisdom, and the helpfulness are all things that I do that can't be measured with a ruler or a scale but are definitely some of the important stuff that can't be measured.

The invisible work that I do at home definitely cannot be measured. Making doctor appointments for the family, making sure all of the car registrations are in the cars, and keeping the house together and the family fine-tuned is something you can't do because you want a pat on the back; you have to do it because you want to, or resentment will set in.

Blog #6 Maxwell, Designing a Qualitative Study

BLOG POST #6:  

1. What about the reading (between pages 229 - 240) this week stood out to you?  Write one phrase or passage here.  

2. How is the phrase/passage relevant to you? Why did it stand out?

3. Identify or explain one question or connection from the readings this week.

 "Every researcher begins with a substantial base of experience and theoretical knowledge, and these inevitably generate certain questions about the phenomena studied. These initial questions frame the study in important ways, influence decisions about methods, and are one basis for further focusing and development of more specific questions."

This stood out to me because all the tools should be combined to work together in a research design. Regarding categorizing and connecting memos and displays, I read that if you only use one of the tools, you run the risk of missing important information. It is hard enough to formulate a research question without biases, but if you use the tools already in place, you could possibly reach a non-biased outcome.

I am trying to develop a specific question, but I am still determining how, in my current role, I could change the lack of organization or order in my workplace.  Sitting around each day wondering isn't doing a thing. I want to take action and make a change for the better.

                              

Blog #5 Systems of Care

 Blog #5

What about the reading this week stood out to you?  Write one phrase or passage here.  Make sure to name the author. 
How is the phrase/passage relevant to you? Why did it stand out?
Identify or explain one question or connection from the readings this week.
Record a few (3-5) words or phrases that you associate with the words "research" or "data"?

What stood out to me is that it takes many collaborations and partnerships to carry out systems of care for mental health that are easy to navigate.     

"To create this system, we must strengthen partnerships among communities, youth, families, schools, government, businesses, non-profits, and provider agencies to improve outcomes, increase access to services and supports, and promote positive change in families' lives (Pg3)".

This passage could be universally used in many businesses.  I made the connection with my workplace. I work for the Boys & Girls Club of East Providence. It seems as though the outside partnerships (SNAP, HEZ) we have are firm, but the partnership among the employees of the BGC could use some work.  I believe if the YDPs, Directors, and Administration work together in a partnership, the outcome of our programs at all of our sites will be significantly improved. For example, they should hire multilingual staff to increase MLL support for our youth and families. This would assist families with registrations and building relationships between the staff, youth, and family members. 

Words I associate with  "Research" and "Data": study, inquiry, support, evidence, details

Blog #4 Capstone Project

 Blog #4 How does it make you feel when you see this wide range of capstone projects? Check in with your stress, excitement, motivation, and emotions as you begin to imagine your own work. Write down any ideas that start to swim in your head!

To see the wide range of ways in which the capstone projects were carried out makes me feel better about presenting the project. The stress I feel is coming up with a great question that I will be able to have a positive change in my workplace, something that I will be proud of. There are many things that I could choose from to focus on; it's just narrowing it down to something that speaks to me.

I thought about a few different things:

• How to restructure the workplace
• How to make it function at a better level
• How to be better aligned with their mission
• How to bring back professionalism
• How to make the youth want to be there
• How to be a better club

I am not in a position to make big changes yet, so I may have to start with something more tangible in my pay grade. I just want my capstone to be as thought-provoking as the ones that I previewed.

Blog#3 Research Pizza menu/Reverse outline

 BLOG POST #3:   Write up this article in one of two ways:  1) Create a reverse outline of this article. How does the author set up their article chunk by chunk? Or 2) Use the Research Pizza menu to explain how this author approaches their content.

Crust = qualitative data collected- Dr. Bogad attended the Banter For Breakfast group for over a year and collected data through notes based on listening to debates and conversations.

Sauce= constructivist ideology- As the researcher, Dr. Bogad recognized and respected her relationship with the youth. As the adult, taking a back seat to being an authority in a youth space somewhat allowed her to share some of the power that the youth held.

Toppings= observations, individual interviews, focus groups- Dr. Bogad collected individual examples of conversations from youth that backed up what she was talking about. She did a lot of observing the dynamics in the space. She also engaged in dialogue to make sure that it was okay for her to be in that space with the youth.

I am giving the reverse outline a try.

 Introduction

    A. School Spaces

        1. Theoretical models

            a. Productivity ( Althusser)

            b. Docility ( Foucault)

        2. 'Work' spaces

    B. 'Non-School' Spaces

        1. Freedom from school

            a. 'on the loose' 

            b. 'real learning'

    C. Safe Spaces

        1. Construction of Power

            a. Undermining adults' authority in youth spaces

            b. Dynamics of coolness (maleness)

            c. Examples

        2. Hierarchy of Credibility

        3. Coolness

            a. Public distinction (masculine)

            b. Private distinction (feminine)

            c. Examples

Conclusion