Q: How can I be a better youth worker?
A: You must mean besides following all our advice on this blog?!
Keep Learning
The answer seems basic but can be one of the hardest things to do when you get busy. You have funds to raise, activities to plan, risks to manage, trips to coordinate and everything else you do in your ‘free time.’
In order to continue your professional development, remember the three R’s (and no, don’t think of that pin worn by a 1st grade teacher from the South about Readin’ Ritin’ and Rithmetic)
Keep Reading
- Read good youth work books – we’ve reviewed a few. Ask youth work friends to recommend books that they’ve read or heard about. Or check out the review section of youth work magazines.
- Read books that will foster your creativity – even if they aren’t about your subject matter exactly. For example, this Friday you’ll see a review about a book for teachers rather than youth workers that I believe can revolutionize your youth work.
- Read blogs by youth workers – you may not love every single post by them, but by keeping your finger on the pulse of youth work and youth ministry around the world you will serve your youth better. A good way to do this is to check out our ‘Blog Posts of the Week’ on Saturdays which feature articles and posts from youth workers around the world.
- Read books that you enjoy – if reading is how you recharge (like it is for me), don’t just read youth work and youth ministry books. This can be especially challenging if you’re undertaking coursework – I know the last thing you want to do is read more. Find some good fiction or a biography to spend some quiet time recharging your batteries.
Keep Reflecting
- Get a journal and reflect on your practice – take the time to think about what went well and what could be improved after your sessions.
- Spend time with your volunteers after a session – find out from them if there’s anything that can be improved for the next session. This can be done through conversations with them or via session evaluations.
- Find a way to receive workplace supervision – reflect with your supervisor or colleagues, or contact us to find out more about the virtual workplace supervision we offer.
- Don’t just reflect ‘on action’ after the fact, reflect ‘in action’ during youth work sessions – if something isn’t working, change it now; don’t wait for the whole session to be a wash and then just make changes next time.
Keep Reaching Out
- Find a mentor – Ben Kerns wrote about the importance of having a mentor for your practice this week.
- Attend conferences (both youth work related and non-youth work related) – Adam McLane wrote about the benefits of attending conferences that aren’t in your subject area last week.
- Watch other youth workers in your organization and area that are great and learn from them – I wrote about what I learned from a fellow youth worker I worked with in 2011.
- Learn from youth workers in different niches – There’s still a lot you can learn from people, even if they don’t do the same type of youth work as you. Check out our interviews with youth workers from around the world to discover more about these different types of youth work.
- Don’t assume you know it all – keep asking questions for our Q and A section.
Question: What tips do you have for how someone can become a better youth worker? We’d love to hear your advice in the comments below.
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