Gianna Cairo

While taking the ideology inventory, I honestly had to go back and read each statement a few times to get the full understanding. I had to picture myself in a youth organization and how I would handle a situation or how I would guide the youth. For purpose, I agreed with letter B which talked about building upon the youths developmental assets already. I think it is important to see what they have to offer and how we can help them grow from there, rather than not even asking about their talents, values, etc. For teaching I agreed with letter B also which talked about youth workers should be allies working with the youth. We shouldn't be teaching at them but with them. Creating a space that is safe for everyone. For learning I agreed with letter B again, where learning best takes place when youths are engaged in experiences. If we can show youth what goes in the world and let them have an input, I think that is super important. This goes back to purpose because if we don't kno...

During my life growing up, I came from a very strict family. Education was the most important thing and I was held to very high standards. My entire life I wanted to be a teacher, until I looked into Youth Development. Having this conversation with my grandparents and parents was something I dreaded. When telling them, their remarks were, "you will make no money", "you don't have the mindset for that", "you need a job that will cover you for life". The more I tried to explain the more the comments happened. I felt like I didn't even have a voice in my own career. It was super frustrating to feel like what I was doing meant nothing to them. They didn't understand my passion and dedication I have for working with the youth. If this situation happened again, which is does a lot, I now have the knowledge I didn't have when I first joined this major. I have experiences, I have knowledge from classes, I have an elevator speech. I have ways to b...

The creation of my box was thought of by my personality and my interests. On the outside of the box, I wrote everything my personality entails. It gave a little insight to what would be inside. Inside the box I made a jar of things that were important to me. I filled it with seashells to represent the beach, eyes to represent my leadership skills, and sparkles to represent my everyday life. I added a doll to represent my love for working with children. I added a ping pong ball with my sorority letters and a clock to represent the future. My favorite part of my box is the outside. While working on it I added some clothespins of my own. It is really special because some of my classmates called out personality traits that I have. It showed me that people notice and care about me. My box can be used with the youth because it tells your story. It allows them to open up and give the class an insight about them. I chose Youth Development because of my passion for working with the youth. I lov...

In this recent article I loved Sarah. I thought her way of teaching was fabulous. She wasn't afraid to educate the students on why her appearance, and haircut were a certain way. To me this is caring. Caring enough to notice that other students are also in the LGBTQ community and letting them feel like they have a safe place with her. She runs a support group and acts as a role model for the youth.  I added this quote because it shows how low of a percentage we have for educating students on the LGBTQ community. Not only is this 4% but it is 4% of positive information. The next teacher Michelle, was also fabulous. She goes out and buys breakfast and snacks for her students. Making sure they have something in their stomachs, recognizing that they are falling asleep because they could be starving or tired. At my elementary school I work at, we have a huge food closet. Staff and students bring in canned goods, pasta, cereal, etc. for some of our families in the school. Every ...

Youth In Action is an organization where the youth share their story. They create change in the community by having a voice. The voice given to them by the youth workers. It allows them to experience leadership opportunities and skills for the future. Youth in Action is a safe place, for youth to go to voice these opinions about our world today. Youth in Action describes leading with by setting a standard each year for the kids in the organization. These standards are made by the youth themselves. Everyone agrees on them, everyone has a say in them. This is crucial for gaining trust with the youth workers. If the youth workers already had standards made and presented them, the youth would feel like their safe place wasn't actually theirs. Youth in action is broken into three phases that allows the youth to be themselves. The first core is letting them tell their story. Letting them share with us how they want to create the world. Again, this gains trust between the youth worke...

I have been working with the youth for about six years. When I was in elementary school, I knew I wanted to do something with children in the future. My youth map: 1. My first job was nannying two little children. One was two and one was four. Before then, I never knew how to change a diaper, I didn't know how to make a bottle, or put in a car seat. I had to take the four year old to preschool everyday and pick him up. In this situation, it was on my own terms. The parents were parents who didn't allow their children to watch TV and wanted them to play. I created lessons with cardboard boxes, blocks, Barbie dolls and made all these toys into different choices for play. I then received two other nanny positions with two different families. Children aging from 4-9. I did the same types of activities with them. We explored play by playing house, restaurant, doctor, Barbie's, etc. 2. My next job was at a Preschool. I have worked with infant-preschool age chil...

Stereotypes are common in our society today, as they were common many years ago. People stereotype everything from sorority girls are dumb, jocks are strong & tough, and children don't know until they have been taught. In reality, sorority girls need a 3.0 or higher to even get into a sorority, that "tough" jock could love theatre or have an emotional side, and children at any age, have their own voices. The first stereotype I thought was interesting was adults know youth. Adults know youth because they once were young. They feel as though they experienced everything we have experienced. What happens with this statement, is adults know best, and the youth is bound to follow. Every human in this world is their own individual. We might have similar experiences, or similar events with other people, but no two people have the exact same feeling in that moment. For me, my parents are always telling me what I need to be doing. What is best for me. They know because they...