Listen to thisThis paper was written to the class as a requirement for the second year Child and Youth Care Work Methods course of the Child and Youth Care Worker Program at CompuCollege in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
On October 6, 2003, we began our journey in this program. For some of us it was a new page in the story of our lives. For others it was almost a calling, a continuation of something that you had already started. Our common goal was to define ourselves as Child and Youth Care Workers. I don’t know if any of us truly understood what that would entail at the time. For the majority of us, this “defining” would be done with strangers: we were expected to bare our souls to people that we did not know. There were numerous struggles, some of which we would be prepared for and some that would catch us off guard.
We would learn a new way of thinking and a new way of talking. For some of us the terminology would prove to be something of a challenge. We would be challenged about our dominant views and ideas on the issues which we would face in the months and years to come. We were taught to speak our minds but to be prepared to back up our comments assuring others that what we were speaking was truth and fact and not just hearsay. Some of us learned for the first time what it was like to run down a basketball court and score our first basket. We were taught that adolescents are not just small adults and that we need to understand the developmental theories in order to be effective communicators with these young people. We had to learn how to listen. There were challenges in finding a balance with assignments, exams, part time jobs and raising our own families. The concept of self-care was raised and I don’t think that I am in the minority when I say that I thought that to be unimportant. That would mean we would have to fit in some “me” time on top of everything else.
There were issues with childcare, funding and transportation. While not directly linked to the program, the stress of sorting those out had an impact on our ability sometimes to see the forest for the trees. I remember at the beginning of the program I didn’t think that I was going to be able to continue because I wasn’t sure how I would be able to feed my children.
In order to be an effective Child and Youth Care Worker we had to be able to face our past and work through issues that had surfaced during the course of this program. At times that proved to be an emotional challenge. The content of some of our subjects left a lot of us drained at the end of the day. Some of us questioned whether we had chosen the right career path.
So here we are, more than half way through our program and things look so much different than they did on October 6. There are a lot of changes that we have made that helped us get to this point. We are more confident in our ability to be effective in this career. We have gained knowledge about ourselves and of others and have become less judgmental. We have learned to empathize, to see things from another person's point of view.
Wonderful friendships have been made that will last us a lifetime. We have respectfully challenged ideas that were different from our own and learned to respect each other’s rights to our own thoughts and feelings. We are more competent in our ability to understand new ideas and I believe that that comes from a stronger sense of our own selves. We are more confident. We have struggled together and pulled our friends out of the sometimes all-consuming darkness that sneaks up on us from time to time. We have shared secrets and stories about ourselves and have learned that some of us have more in common that we would have imagined. We have learned to accept the differences in each other and learn from them. We have learned the importance of building relationships not only with the youth with whom we will work but with our classmates as well. We have the ability to communicate effectively and to share our knowledge with each other. We have reaffirmed the faith we have in ourselves and have drawn on the skills we have been taught to pull us through our own struggles.
I have seen an incredible amount of growth in this class. I think that we have formed an identity as a group because we have learned about our own place as Child and Youth Care Workers. Many of us continue to explore our options as far as careers go, and that is part of the learning process. I have seen you encourage others to keep going when we thought that a classmate, a friend, couldn’t do it anymore. We have celebrated the success of having a classmate’s work and personal experience published. There has been genuine pride for those of you who have found employment. We have used our creativity to solve problems and to identify strengths in young people and in ourselves.
Each of you came here with a story about yourself. Through the process of self -discovery and new experiences you have been able to make your stories your own. We see ourselves as we want to be seen and we are proud of who we are. I encourage each of you to reflect back on the past 14 months. Each has something that stands out. I am sure that each of you can remember a time when against all odds, you pulled through something that at the time seemed almost impossible to overcome. How did you do it? What was it about yourself and the qualities you possess that enabled you to succeed? I know that each of us knows somebody who wouldn’t be surprised that we have continued to persevere. Bring those thoughts with you when you are talking with a young person who sees no hope. The skills that we have learned are invaluable in all areas of our lives. Use them wisely and use them often because you never know who is listening.
