Youth Work in the Time of Covid
The pandemic has affected youth workers in every system that youth development occurs and every facet that we touch. I asked two of my trusted colleagues how they have adapted since changing their worlds over a single weekend this spring. They also shared their thoughts what eight months of uncertainty, fear and modification has taught them.
The first youth worker I approached is a pre-school teacher. She was asked to conduct distance learning from her home using her own personal computer in March. She reports losing as much as half of her class. Because many parents were home, they could not justify paying for pre-school when they weren't working. Others parents continued working and needed an alternative childcare solution so some students went to other programs. With the students that remained, some were encourage to attend and do assignments. Others lost interest, lacked support at home or simply did not attend. She recounted how empty distance teaching felt. She marveled at how much of her classroom work involved nonverbal cues and body language. This is difficult to accomplish through a camera and a screen with pre-schoolers. In September, she returned to classroom learning but has had to quarantine twice as students have reported positive COVID results. Much of her time is spent cleaning and repeating protocol and not teaching. Before we ended our conversation, she enlisted my help. I recorded a book reading for her classroom's story time.
I wondered about different age groups and reached out to a colleague who has worked in myriad of different youth programs. She currently manages relationship violence education aimed at middle and high school age youth. Once the sense of panic subsided at her nonprofit agency, the staff collaborated and developed innovative ways to bring their content to not only their intended demographic but to their families as well. The Katie Brown Education Program came to rely on their social media platforms more than ever. Schools where their programming takes place were eager to continue the work and welcomed the KBEP into their schedules and into their technology base. The switch to technology made joining the conversation feel less perilous for introverted students and as much activity happened in the chat as on the main screen, she reports. Because student interactions are now public, written and able to be instantly recalled for all to see, peers are much more likely to address behaviors such as calling out micro-aggressions. I can hear the delight in her voice when she tells me the strategies being taught get modeled in real time often before the session is over.
It is curious that many of the adaptations that were deemed necessary in March, may have once seen as concessions and now will have a long lasting historic impact on youth work.
Two of KBEP’s adapted content
#KBEPCares about BOUNDARIES: Emotional Boundaries
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#KBEPCares about KINDNESS: Kindness Visualization
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Screen grab from my book reading
Christina Costa
Educational Support Coordinator
Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner
560 Jefferson Boulevard
Warwick, Rhode Island 02886
401 479 1559 (voice & text)
Hi Christina, it's so interesting how the pandemic has uncovered characteristics of educational contexts that maybe we knew but took for granted pre-pandemic. Preschoolers thrive in embodied environments, with movement and emotion, and body language and presence of others. It is hard to create this kind of environment with a flat screen. The colleague you talked with must have felt challenged as they tried to be successful in this impossible task. And also adolescents sometimes need "cover" -- safe spaces to try out their thinking, to speak aloud their experiences, to work through identity and relational moments. It sounds like the move to virtual workshops and content might have provided some "cover" in unexpected ways. There is a saying that the fish has trouble studying the water it swims in. It feels like as educators and humans we are all fish in new waters, coming to understand ourselves and our relationships, communities, structures and jobs in new ways. Thank you for sharing!
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