I do not have much experience as a youth worker. During this past summer I worked at a sports camp. I was a lead camp councilor and I worked along with a few junior councilors. I enjoyed working at this sports camp even though I am not an athlete by any means. The campers were ages 6 to 13. All we did was play games from soccer to dodge ball and even some ice breakers in between. They did not enjoy the ice breakers very much. According to the youth they were boring.
In the “Shall we play?”article some of the 6 p’s were used. Passion definitely because most of the campers had a passion for sports and they used that passion to teach others how to play. Also participation, everyone participated even the councilors. The last week of camp there was one camper that did not play most of the games but he participated in a different way. He watch and told the councilors if someone was cheating.
In the “Dramatic Role Play” article the junior councilors were role playing (this may be a stretch) they were not really in charge but they would like to think that they were. They though they were of a higher status as the campers and they had a sense of power and control.
I also referred back to the six P's! I agree that passion is definitely needed when working with young people because if they see you being passionate, this will make them want to be passionate as well.
ReplyDeleteHello, even know you didn't have a lot of experiencing that little bit you had you enjoyed. You always have to start somewhere and its really cool your first experience you enjoyed it. I have seen different ice-breakers done with youth and they do not always enjoy them, but there is some were they are excited about and want to do it again.
ReplyDeleteI love your example of participating in a different way, like watching others to make sure they are playing fairly, that is awesome!
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