It’s a Both/And
The first day of spring was March 20, and people laughed about needing thick socks and flip flops, hot boots and short sleeves during the same month. Somehow March, and this month of April, are both spring and winter. Both. And.
Both/and. It’s a phrase I had never heard before beginning my position with the Division of Extension and it’s a phrase that colleagues use often. During this period of both spring and winter, I’m recognizing the both/and of several aspects of developing Youth-Adult Partnerships. Y-AP, is another term after all that is a combination, a both/and, which makes its practice something else entirely in its own right.
I recognized this unique opportunity to describe Y-AP, when I revisited a months old webinar recording on the WCASA YouTube channel. When I started watching, my reaction was, ‘oh, I should have watched this months ago because all these techniques and reminders are old news. We’re so far beyond this now.’ In fact, I almost turned it off because I thought it would be so painfully boring to watch. Sometimes it was, but it was also a call to action to recognize hidden steps forward in virtual participation that were now hidden, specifically from a simple icebreaker. The facilitators asked participants to turn cameras off and on in response to a variety of prompts.
“If you like pizza, turn your camera on.”
“If you have a pet, turn your camera off.”
At the closing of the activity, the facilitators celebrated the audience’s engagement. From this game, I acknowledged a gap in my practice. I was no longer naming or giving participants credit for smaller actions anymore. On my own, I had moved the benchmarks. When this far into the pandemic, it was actually more important to celebrate the small actions that sustain us over large outcomes. And, my original community asset mapping data had spoken directly to that point.
This simple virtual icebreaker called me back to the larger foundation of what can really matter, a growth mindset that reaches far and conversations in a shared vocabulary that are explicit and identify and celebrate all steps in between. And, I was glad I stayed until the end, or I would have never heard the following piece of advice, “Create an environment of saying ‘yes’.”
An environment of saying ‘yes’ feels at the heart of Both/And. Since watching the webinar recording, I’ve picked up a few more examples.
In a Youth-Adult partnership team planning space we asked, “Should we invite new youth to collaborate with a general ‘you’re welcome to participate on a social justice workgroup’ or with specific examples of roles they might have?”
The youth answered, “Yes.” And, “yes.” Both/And.
Planning family reading activities with a community organization, we asked, “Should we use a hands on learning activity like we always have in our programming alongside the new conversation we want to have about equity?”
We answered, “Yes.” By doing so, we aren’t losing connection and we’re making new connections between our community partner’s content and our own. It’s a Both/And.
Finally, when introducing even the idea of youth into community spaces, their subsequent roles/responsibilities too frequently come predetermined depending on age. My work with adult community members in diversity organizations has shown recently how artificial this split can be. I see adults engaging in ‘youth’ resources. I see youth taking ‘adult’ action steps. What is one without the other? Less than one would be without the other, yet somehow different with multiple generations in the space. Both/And.
As you explore the following resources, I encourage you to consider how they may be applied with audiences that separate youth and adults, and those that engage with them together. How is the conversation different? How is it the same? How can the differences be integrated intentionally into both separated and joined audiences? Both/And.
Resources
WCASA maintains a playlist of videos that you will find both about working with youth as well as working with youth on specific topics of interest. Its content exemplifies that we are always working in (and on) a space that teaches content and teaches how to teach and learn.
https://www.youtube.com/user/WCASAVPCC/playlists
After over a year of experiencing our current pandemic, no one has been untouched by virtual programming. Moving forward, programming will not be left unchanged by this experience, making quality youth-adult partnership and positive youth development programming moving forward an opportunity for a both/and not only of hybrid face to face and virtual options but also the practices we learned about how to knit communities together when being physically together was not an option. For continued opportunities visit https://4h.extension.wisc.edu/virtual-learning-community/
As I wrote about last month, developing relationships with community organizations consists of individual and group conversations and connections, oftentimes difficult to separate from each other and not as distinct in terms of best practices as one might think. This type of parallel relationship building connects to Y-AP and is very definitely a both/and. Read last month’s blog for more info.
Once individuals ‘know’ about a particular program, youth programs are no exception, it’s hard to move out of that box. 4-H is a great example of this. In Rock County we appreciate the youth, families and volunteers in our community clubs AND we recognize their leadership, dedication and skill growth. However, if you only think of 4-H has community club programming you’d be missing the amazing opportunities in the both/and of SPIN Clubs https://www.canr.msu.edu/spin-clubs/ Sometimes the two types of programs can be one. Sometimes youth can be members of two. What unifies Special Interest clubs and community clubs is their focus on youth ‘sparks’ being supported through relationship and skill development.
I referenced community work above that is intentionally asking youth into educational spaces and actions and encouraging adult participants to leave the session and do the same. I encourage you to explore the less than fine line in the following resources between youth and adults in the implementation of community contributions and personal knowledge growth found at the links below.
Read Native 2021 https://ailanet.org/readnative21/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CYS%20010821&utm_term=BookRiot_CheckYourShelf_DormantSuppress
Diversity Action Team Program Recordings https://www.youtube.com/c/HedbergPublicLibrary/videos
