Listen to thisCYC-Online has published 100 issues this month and I decided to return to the first few issues to reminisce. We take it for granted that this on line journal will be published every month, and will contain excellent information for Child and Youth Care practitioners in a wide variety of jobs and global locations. I find myself getting irritated if the new edition isn’t published until a few days into the new month for whatever reason, and I am always delighted with some, if not all, of the articles.
Brian Gannon and Thom Garfat were honored recently at the International Child and Youth Care Conference in Montreal for creating this tremendous support for our field, and it’s easy to look at it in 2007 and assume that its development was inevitable. The leap of faith that these two Child and Youth Care colleagues took was enormous, and the results have certainly exceeded my expectations.
All of us who participate in using the CYC-Net site have created a world-wide community of Child and Youth Care practitioners at every level of expertise and we have supported each other in the journey to help children, youth and families.
Brian and Thom, in editorials for Issue #1 ands #2, talked about the need for us to have caring enthusiastic attitudes (Brian) and actions resulting from deep thinking (Thom). This duality continues to be our challenge and this journal has supported both areas of expertise.
I have been very fortunate to know both editors as colleagues for many years, and they are wonderful examples of people who have maintained a love and respect for Child and Youth Care work and the people who do it.
My recent writing about Curiosity continues to be a focus for me and I recently was challenged to think about this quality as a key skill to nurture in young people. Child and Youth Care practitioners who have managed to stay young in spirit over many years all seem to have an innate curiosity, a reflective practice ingredient that both Thom and Brian spoke about right from the beginning.
As we enter the month of May, which begins with Child and Youth Care Workers' Week, let’s celebrate how far we have come, even as we picture the long journey ahead.
