The role that the centre, through
other youth workers and myself, plays, in relation to the way a young person
interacts with the space and its inhabitants is crucially built upon and
re-build with every visit. Without sounding to general or definitive I stress
the fact that even the most confident, comfortable and seasoned of visitors
seem to accesses the centre with an element of caution. Maybe because of
staffing changes and past moments of ‘fill in’ workers or a casual pool that
stretches so far to allow once a month shifts for staff that young people
finding troubling, this lack consistency in staffing acknowledging yet another
instability in their lives. Or maybe it is the way the space is laid out. It
does share similar qualities to that which Jeremy Bentham considers as
Panopticon, (this I will come back to) visually and for a functional purpose.
These topics connect with the very heart of Youth Workers (specifically the
team I work with) motivations. Such considerations drive the functionality of
the centre, they appear within the ‘mission statements’ and find articulation
through Youth Workers, the team as a unit and it solidifies within the actions
of regular visitors. They could also be regarded as part of the social
structure, the accepted terms or user agreements; they essentially provide a
solid backbone to the way people use the space and how the space is managed.
Take for example the position of the office and the staff within the space. As
a young person enters the front doors, actually even before the young person
enters the doors, three of the four, desk spaces that the youth workers find
themselves stationed at, have views out the front door and into the forecourt
where the young persons enter from. A good youth worker makes sure to greet
young people as they enter whenever possible. Having this sort of practice is
one thing but having an office space, building and its furniture, set out with
this in mind is another more pro-active way of considering and managing a space
for its use. Space is a factor that enables some and disables others. Take for
example the way the spaces in an airport are controlled, managed and purpose
built, or a courtroom, a line at the post office or a youth centre. People seem
to need to be managed in these scenarios for one reason or another and based on
those reasons a ‘code’ is written, whether officially in a ‘code of conduct’ or
historically and less officially as implied like that of cueing for a bus at
the bus stop. Some of these codes we choose to live by, others seem like they
just are the way they are, for good or bad reason, to conform or be subject to
conformity can be shaped by the spaces we move and how we need to move within
them.
¨¨¨
Recently a conversation has been
floating around the office that goes something like this: it is hard to
comprehend that only nine months ago a few of the young people that frequent
the centre were unapproachable, they reacted badly to assistance or concern,
they provoked an authority in staff and had no care for the centre (in which
they received most of their support) no sense of ownership (which is a big
Youth Work issue) and a general lack of care for themselves. Retrospectively,
this conversation acts as a form of positive reinforcement, simply because, at
present these few young people concerned have fostered a massive shift in
attitude to the centre, to themselves and to the staff.
The conversation brings up a
positive outcome ascertained through pro-active Youth Work based around a few
key movements. Active involvement, engagement, and support, show genuine
interest in the young persons well being and considering creatively how best to
address the past, present and future issues that are coming to the surface. The
notions brought up in this conversation refer to staff and practices of staff,
in so far as the approaches undertaking by Youth Workers in dealing with young
people and their actions within the centre. They are to be acknowledged as
Cause and Effect of positive change, in reflection of staff, team, and client,
social dynamics. In past times there have been Youth workers that engage with
young people more negatively than positively. It is not the purpose of these
writings to go in to such a thing but for the context of this reflection, it is
in direct opposition to this negativity that change has occurred in the centre
and made for a safe, honest and trusting environment that fosters rapport.
Reflecting upon the positive atmosphere and change, staff contributing to this
conversation agree, it is in our approach to working with young people that
change was fostered and initiated. It is directly related to being on the
floor, available for interaction and honest in your approach – for one thing is
certain, young people sense authenticity and more so those that lack
authenticity. Worker’s, who sit in the office and disengage themselves from
possible interactions, alienate themselves from clients. And those who only
interact by ‘laying down the law’ struggle to gain respect.
¨¨¨
Ethnography is a form of learning
through engaging with culture, getting to the essence of what constructs a certain
grouping, what makes them ‘tick’ or put another way, what conditions and
alignments are valued and re-produced. Using my place of employment and the
client base that frequent the centre as my focus, I need to be critical in my
approach as to let go of what I think I know about the space and its
inhabitant. Easy errors in researching ‘what you think you know’ can emerge
simply because of the lack of distance between yourself and the research
subjects. Rather than falling back on ‘what I think I know’, a few directional
and motivational questions surround my thoughts. Questions such as, what holds
this situation together? How are they reproduced, valued or categorised? How is
social mobility recognized, altered or enabled through change? What is happening?
(Zeitgeist) How was it dealt with? What things, materials or social actions
were drawn upon in order to deal with this moment?
Distancing yourself from subjects
for the purpose of research may reveal quite different nuanced account of
events that may not have been so easily recognisable, valued or seen to be of
any significance. On the other hand, having an insiders edge, may contribute to
the unveiling of otherwise unavailable knowledge productions, accounts that are
so specifically refined to a group that it requires the positioning of an
insider and their perspective to voice and deconstruct the interpretation.
¨¨¨
During my undergrad years I
witnessed many younger students struggle with sociological theory, the words
can at times be hard, the concepts strenuous and applying it to ‘real’ life is
at times more difficult than it should be. Being a mature age student in my
years of university meant that I could reflect of my years in the world, my
working life and social experiences helped to make ‘real’ what sociologist had
to offer me. I do not mean to say that I understand all sociology has to offer
just because I have lived a little longer than some other students, for some
peers of my age choose not to think about anything, especially sociologically speaking.
Though my direction as a person, as a man, as a youth worker, as a historical,
present and evolutionary process, as somebody who generally cares about the
workings of the world, the structures that shape and guide our actions and
essentially divide us in terms of, access to power, social validation and
finding a sense of worth, then and here, sociology theory and practice has
helped me to develop and understand the world as if enabled to manage and
change it from within.
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