SALT CONFERENCE

Hello again and welcome to the second annual Zach goes to an event blogpost. For this second event I chose to write about the professional development conference called SALT. SALT stands for the Student Affairs Leaders of Tomorrow. This conference is run by NASPA. See the link below.
http://www.naspa.org/

This conference was for myself and seventy other student professionals who applied and were accepted out of a total of one hundred and fifty. We were going to learn strategies for future job searches, connect with professionals already in the field, and evaluate dozens of graduate school programs within the area of students activities. This conference couldn't have come at a better time. Its crucial that I decide my path before the end of this semester because grad school applications are going to need to be turned in and I need to start planning for after graduation. I can't say that I am one hundred percent ready for the next step in my life but this conference definitely helped. I would like to that Kristen Salemi for helping me through this process because she pushed me into this conference and even paid for myself and another RIC student to attend. She is definitely the biggest reason that I am going to succeed in the field of student affairs and that's because of her push.
http://www.ric.edu/news/details.php?News_ID=1602
The link above is for a picture of Kristen as she received an award from NASPA years ago. Her information can be located on the RIC website.
At the conference we learned how to develop our resumes to attract future employers, we also learned how to interview correctly, and finally we got to talk to two separate panels of professionals about the field. That was only the first day.
We got to spend the night in the Regency Hyatt in Newport for the night and we also got a banquet for all of us future professionals to talk to the distinguished professionals in a non-formal setting. This was extremely beneficial because we got to develop personal connections for the future.
On the second day dozens of grad schools spoke to us about their programs and we got to walk around and talk to each of the programs individually. This was great because for someone who didn't know much about the programs I needed some guidance. This was a wonderful experience.
Since I am majoring in Youth Development, this conference was very beneficial. I plan on working with college level youth and in student affairs this would potentially be a dream job. I want to work with the student in residential life or in the counseling aspect of student affairs. This is important because I don't want kids to struggle through college and I believe I can help them by being the best student affairs person I can be. I may also be able to use my guidance to help mold them towards the future. Potentially I would pushing them towards youth development or other fields that work with youth.
I like to think that guidance during young adulthood benefits the youth the most because they are already questioning what the want to become or which direction they want to take their life. The area that I am working in right now is Life Skills coaching and I have learned that kids need this guidance throughout young adulthood to help push them. It is a wonderful program and it has helped me in my pursuits of a future career.
http://ricorp.org/class-schedule/

ResilientKids 2013

 

Let me begin by saying the last line of the video pretty much sums up how kids should be taught. You need to teach to the whole child. This is why I feel as though Resilient Kids is such a wonderful program. Like they said during the video it is easy for kids to build themselves up in to a frenzy but they are never really taught how to calm down. I know from experience that mindfulness exercises work and if the data supports it in younger children then I don't understand why this isn't something that is being utilized in every school.
This could be great for different classrooms settings because as they stated they can tailor the exercises to the lessons being taught so that they are beneficial to the learning environment. Not only do these exercises work with younger students but they can also work with older students as well. Older students need this just as much as the younger students because they get worked up in different ways and could use deep breathing and mindfulness to get things together.
When we talked about the jar last Thursday I though it was a dumb idea and I had no idea how it was going to have anything to do with what we were being taught in class. After seeing the video the bottle is supposed to represent the student and the glitter being shaken up inside the bottle is supposed to represent what happens when the child gets riled up. As the bottle comes to a rest it takes time for the glitter to settle and that is why learning to calm down is so important for the children. If they every what to refresh and think with a clear head these strategies can help them. I understand the metaphor and I think this is a great way for kids to understand just exactly how their bodies work. It is ingenious. I love this program and I think it is a program that works. Who knew breathing would be such a success.
Below is a link to a guided imagery session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar_W4jSzOlM
 

YIA Visit and Documentary

Today Youth in Action made another special guest appearance to the classroom. Not only did they get us thinking once again but they did it with minimal interaction. We watched a documentary about relationships between teachers and students. At first I thought that this session would be pointless because every teacher is different and I know that even if most teachers want to build a positive relationship, it is hard. Many students don't understand that teachers aren't their to be your friends, they are there to educate you. At the end of the day this is a job for a paycheck and if it comes down to losing their job or not the teacher is most likely going to focus on teaching versus having a positive relationship. This isn't my complete opinion though. I do feel as though there has to be a healthy relationship on some level in order to keep the student interested but in the end that is not most teachers priorities.
Through the years I have many teachers and I can only think of a few who I had a negative relationship with. Many did their best to keep us kids happy while having us work towards our education. My school however is set in rural part of Rhode Island in a predominantly white neighborhood. I hate to say that we were affluent but I do think that that has a lot to do with the teachers and the effort that they put into the job.
The video that we watched in class made it seem as though the students have a tough time forming bonds with the teachers and they feel like it effects them learning. I can understand that even if I don't relate. Hindsight being 20/20 I know now that the teachers have a hard enough time trying to teach us the materials while attempting to be our friend. I wish kids could see when teachers are really trying to help them even if it seems like they are being neglectful.

Open House- Event #1

Hello everyone,

On Saturday we had the first Open House of the year. I always enjoy this time of the year because many of the faces you see during the open house are going to be the future faces of the RIC campus. Unfortunately for me this is the last time I am going to see the students this way because I am graduating this year. Since I am an Resident Assistant I could not attend the YDEV part of the Open House. http://www.ric.edu/residential-life/rar.php
 I had to give tours of the Residential side of campus to the hopeful new students. This didn't stop me from throwing in a few shameless plugs about Youth Development while I gave my tours. I had very few people ask me about Youth Development but because of our practice with the elevator speeches I was able to convey my mentality on the major. We had very few students this year and I think that helped contribute to why the number of questions was so low. The groups didn't seem very interested about the academic portion of RIC by the time they got to me but seemed more focused on how their living arrangements would be setup. I'm sure the topic on Youth Development got to a lot of these individuals before they got to me though.
I have to say though this Open House really got me thinking about the future. Mainly because the youth I am working with at my internship now are of a very similar age to the kids who will be coming to RIC in the upcoming years. That means the youth that I am learning to work with could potentially be the youth that will help the Youth Development major prosper. http://www.ric.edu/educationalstudies/youthDevelopment.php

This cycle was awesome to think about because if I am able to impact the lives of these kids then maybe in the future they will do the same. Its a crazy thought.  This next hyperlink isn't what Youth Development is RIC but it's one of the very few other YDEV programs that I have seen and I thought it has a lot of great ideas.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/youth/training-events/understanding-youth-development-work/


Stayed tuned for my next event evaluation coming next Monday based on the SALT (Student Affairs Leaders of Tomorrow) Conference.

What is context mapping?

In a nutshell context mapping is a very simple concept. It is throwing all of your ideas on a piece of paper and organizing them to show their intertwined relationships. Its very similar to the Ven diagrams that we used to do as kids, or that some may still do now. This is useful because it gets all of the ideas out in a pretty picture for everyone to see but after that I think it's not that useful. Everyone knows the concept of six degrees of separation. Everything in the world is connected by six steps or less. I feel as though this assignment showcases that greatly. My concept map would include.

Family Zach: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Brother

RIC RA Zach: Staff, Residents

RIC Student Zach: Staff, Students

RIC Frisbee Zach: Team, Spectators, Other Teams

Social Media Zach: High School Friends, Acquaintances, RIC Friends, Staff

Soccer Zach: Indoor Teammate's, Spectators

Boyfriend Zach: Girlfriend

Professional Zach: Employers, Staff, Employees, Customers



These are many of the different identities of myself. Im sure there are dozens more that don't initially come to mind but Im sure other people see. Im glad to know that I have different identities but ultimately I am me and that is the bottom line.

Nakkula Chapter 2
I did not enjoy this reading I thought it was very dense and I just couldn't grab hold of it. the one part I did enjoy was the example of how an adolescent who grows up in a household where they love the red sox and despise the Yankees may never consciously choose to like the red sox because they are already conditioned too. Obviously that can be said for anything but I thought this was funny because in my household growing up my mom liked the Yankees and my dad liked the red sox. I was never a big fan of baseball but when myself and my brother were younger we picked sides and ever since I have liked the Yankees and he the red sox. I don't know why I chose them, I guess my mom just brainwashed me that way.

Nakkula Response

           I would like to begin by mentioning that I had never thought of rebellious kids in such a way. To suggest that they are only being rebellious a way to adapt and better understand their surrounding is actually amazing to think about. if you had asked me years ago when I began my undergraduate degree in education I would have said that Nakkula was wrong. But after my brief amount of time in the classroom setting I have noticed that not only are the kids who act up doing it because of this reason but that many of the kids who act up actually are on the higher level of learning than those who don't. I see many kids act up for many reasons but it all makes sense after reading Nakkula's paper.

           When you think of educators and their effect on children many don't see the little things that educators do to help mold the children in their entirety. When kids ask questions about life and are searching for an answer most people think that it has little effect on the child but that is false. Kids hold you to every word and when they are seeking those answers they aren't seeking them just because, but they are seeking them in order to help mold their lifestyle. This also makes a lot of sense.
              The biggest thing that I took away from this reading is that educators aren't just teaching subject but they are also teaching life lesson that will stick with these children forever. Every childs mind is like a sponge trying to absorb not only knowledge about the classroom but also about how to adapt and survive during the day to day. This is a collaborative process between the child and the teachers and everybody else in that childs life.

                I also took away that every child is different and each child must be taught in a way that is conducive to their full potential. I know that I like to have some familiarity before I stretch te boundaries of what I can learn but I also know for some people that they like to jump right in and try something new.

Response to the Egg Drop

Today we did in egg drop in class with specific educational undertones. Although  The event wasn't about saving the egg as much as it was about access versus ability. From this class discussion I think everyone can safely say that I feel as though ability out ways access. I have done this activity in the past an have had different results every time. I have been successful with less and I have failed with more. Its all about creativity and how you use the materials. As I said in class its about the experience you get by either succeeding or failing. You will learn either what you did right or learn from your mistakes. I am a firm believer in if you set your mind to something then you can complete it. What I learned from our discussion is that access over ability is opinion based. Its kind of like the chicken and the egg, you can argue one way or the other. Everything comes down to structural problems especially if you argue for access. In schools if children don't have access to the right materials and stuff like that then it is the fault of the school system and that kind of stuff has to change. Yes it wasn't fair that we had more materials then the other groups but in a school setting all the kids would have the same materials. They would be on an even playing field and they couldn't argue if one group did better then the other. Same could be said for people with all the materials in the world. If the groups have equal materials then they would be responsible for whatever product they come up with. I have to say that ability will always outway access because you can always do what ever you put you mind too.

Blog #4 Ullucci and Urban Education

     The first point I would like to make is "wow" 1 in 5 students under the age of 18 lives in poverty. 16 million young students live in poverty. That is incredible in the worst way possible. Some of the other facts proposed in the beginning of this paper are also shocking. I read that she believes there is segregation in school now a days but I don't believe that to be one hundred percent true. I understand how it may look like segregation with predominantly black and Latino children attending inner city schools but it is not by some outside power or law putting them there. Yes it is their demographic but demographic can change at any point its just about how hard you try at it.
     When I got to the sections on myths I will say that I found some of them to be interesting. I do believe that anyone can bring themselves out of poverty that is not a myth and there are so many cases of people coming from nothing and becoming something. I believe that the second myth is actually a myth though because some people in poverty are in no way lazy. Children are much smarter then people give them credit for so the myth about children in poverty being stupid is 100 percent wrong. People in poverty share a common culture is also one hundred percent wrong because every person is different and we all live different lives. Just because some scenarios seem similar doesn't mean that its true.
     I realized after reading this article that a lot of this information ties back to all the social work classes that we are taking as part of this degree. Not only does this involve a lot of victim blaming but it also make note of self fulfilling prophecies and negative stereotypes. Personally I thought the chart with all the different issues was very interesting because it put poverties effect on children into perspective for me and I could see many different ways
    The one thing I took away from this article is something I have learned a lot through my time in the school of education at RIC. This is that every student is different and they should always be treating as individuals. When you bunch students in poverty together your already failing them as a teacher.

Post #3 Lets Change The Education System

After reading Costello’s writing I realized right off the bat that that the ever evolving need to be more educated is still affecting people today. How hard is it to get a job now a days? Without a degree from and institution of higher education it is extremely difficult to get a good stable job. This is the system that our schooling system was built on according to Costello (pg195) and I don’t see the ever growing need for specialization changing any time soon. I also agree with the statement that if children are in school then they are less likely to cause mischief but if they are struggling or don’t enjoy school why wouldn’t they just create mischief in the school environment.
The next point of interest was when Costello introduced Lightfoot’s research on the six successful high schools. When they talked about how well such a large school can do I thought to myself, if a school of 5,300 students can work together in a cohesive way with the faculty then why are their problems in other schools with more or less student. Shouldn’t it be simple enough to follow the model of John F. Kennedy High School?  I do tend to agree with the idea that school should be able to manage themselves instead of having many schools managed by a board or outside source. If a school is responsible for itself then there is no one else the school can blame when it comes to problems. If the school was invested more in itself then maybe it would be invested more in the students and involve them in the decisions that shape the school. On pg 199 in the scenario about Brookline High School they mention a “Fairness Committee” when students and teacher serve to handle disciplinary problems. This is by far a wonderful idea because it allows students to see the consequences of their actions from the point of view of their peers. If a student is like oh well I guess if bob and mary made up this punishment then it must be fair. This is obviously not a perfect system but I do believe that it is a good start to student involvement. 
I’m not so sure how I feel on the segregation of age and ability because I think that the grade system that is in place now is effective and I also feel that staying back and moving forward works well. But I do believe that students shouldn’t be in a group with just people of their same abilities because when students can go to each other for help it fosters interpersonal relationships and allows for students to become more involved in education. 
In conclusion I think there is a lot you can take away from this article when it comes to youth work. First I would like to say that the Youth in Action ideology is the only model that I have seen that comes close to Costello’s ideas. In youth work it is going to be important to make the youth feel as though they are a part of the group and not just a member. They are going to want to know that they are influencing what is going on around them and not just sitting through it. Youth will want to know that you are working with them and not just running things by yourself. If someone doesn’t feel comfortable then you’re not doing your job right and getting them involved is a great way to make someone more comfortable. 

Technology and its Relationship with Us

The YouTube video posted by Wesch pretty accurately answers the question What is our relationship with technology? Technology is us and there is no way around, unless you are one of those people who lives off grid so to speak. I mean face it, without technology I wouldn't be blogging this response. I would be handwriting my answers and handing them in. I would be posting my response on the web allowing anyone and everyone to see what I am thinking. This isnt even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to technology. A blog is simple posting of ideas and words but is just a smaller part of the big picture. In the palm of your hand right now or incredibly close by is a small device called a cell phone. This little device can do almost anything when it comes to the range of technology and it is so small but so powerful. Resourcing is the best way to use technology to your advantage when working with youth you have the ability to reach out to anyone and research anything you need with technology. Prensky mentions that this generation is the first generation to grow up with the new technology that we are all becoming so fond of. This means that they are growing up with a deeper understanding of technology and they are under the assumption that tech nonsense powers our society. They are right but it does but the older generation isn't accustom to that. Youth love technology and by identifying with them you are more inclined to reach out to them better. Its pretty simple, you identify with your audience and by understanding them you can better work with them. If we as adults educate ourselves on technology then we are taking a step to better understanding the youth. That is the best way to use technology to your advantage to reach out and connect.

Blog Post #1 Youth in Action

 

*I would just like to mention that this post was on time and was sent in an email prior to finally getting BlogSpot to work.*

 

First I would like to begin by addressing the problem on the second page. When youth feel that there have been no opportunities accorded to them their path is not set it stone, although many may feel that way. This is where choice comes in because they can choose to accept the self-fulfilling prophecy or they can keep pushing forward and working towards their goals. (End thought)

Second thought comes with page three. I never came to realize that kids are seen as property because they haven’t realized their true potential as individuals yet. Ms. Ofokansi’s thoughts make a lot of sense when you think about. Unless someone gives you the opportunity to been seen as more than just a child then not many people will ever realize your potential in that way. (End Thought)

I also wanted to speak on the Positive/Delta version of individual analysis. I don’t agree with it. I know giving someone positives and areas of improvement may sound good on paper but I think as leaders we are just sugarcoating to protect the individuals being analyzed. Positives and Negatives are the things that were originally looked at but with criticisms we have become softer and that’s not how it should be. When we say areas of improvement, it’s just making it easier to swallow so to speak whereas telling them forward may be a way of making them realize what needs to be improved more urgently. Just a thought. (End Thought)

I agree with Ms. Chatelin about the ability to voice your opinion amongst your peers which gives you and outlet to be heard but I also want to go on record as saying that unless you are able to voice your opinion to someone who isn’t willing to listen then you are not growing as an individual. (End Thought)

Adeola Oredola has one of the best stories in this article in my opinion. She was able to get into Brown after being told she probably couldn’t. The olny person who should have been able to tell her that she couldn’t do it was herself and with drive and perseverance she did it which is very impressive. I hate the fact that she questioned her identity once in college because of the population around her. I don’t believe that this should have affected her as much because you are who you want to be and no one can change that. I feel as though her drive and perseverance should have been the guiding light in her life but she let public influence affect her.  (End Thought)

I would say that after reading this article I agree with a lot of the idea’s that are the driving forces behind the Youth in Action organization. I want the record to show that even though I have my disagreement I do agree with the movement of youth individuals making changes and becoming driving factors in the community. Youth leaders are a huge benefit  in the Reslife community that I am a part off and I firmly believe that the YIA organization reflects these values.

It's My First Post For My Blog About Me and This Post Is About Me.

         Hello ya'll, my name is Zachery Edward Raso but you can call me Starlord. Just kidding I stole that from, Guardians of the Galaxy. You can actually call me Zach or Raso or Razzle Dazzle or in extreme cases monkey (not kidding). I am a sixth (yes sixth) year student at Rhode Island College but I will be graduating this May. I am obviously a Youth Development Major with a Minor in Coaching and a Concentration in Education. I have been here so long because I wanted to originally be a teacher but found I hated the classroom setting.
           When I graduate in May my first career move is to become a Hall Director for Residential Life and Housing at an institute of higher education. Unfortunately it will have to be somewhere other then RIC because they like you to leave a few years before working here again. I am actually quite excited for this opportunity and can't wait to start applying. I have been a Resident Assistant for four years and I feel as though I love the job so much that I don't know what I would do if I didn't move up in the field. So when it comes to Youth Development I want to focus on young adults. I am also in charge of the Gender Inclusive Housing on campus where students can live in suites of four regardless of there gender. It is a living learning community and it is my first year in charge of it.
           Not only am I an RA but I am also a member of the Ultimate Frisbee team on campus, RICdiculous. Yes that says RICdiculous, its a pun. I have captained the team in the past and this year I have stepped into the role of educator more then captain, mainly because I wasn't elected but who dwells on those things. I consider myself a pretty athletic person who is very injury prone but all and all I am a good teammate and I love playing the sport. I also play soccer recreationally and am a fan of many other sports.
           I have an amazing girlfriend named Gretchen and a wonderful group of friends from the frisbee team and RA staff. I do in fact have more friends then that but I like to think of those people as my family and I would have to say I am closer to them then I am to most people. I also have a great family at home.
         In closing I would like to say that I am a season ticket holder to the New England Revolution Soccer team and I love to play FIFA. So watching soccer and playing video games is what I do in my down time.
                                                                                                                          Sincerely, Starlord (Zach)