Can we 'do' youth work without the latest gadgets and gizmos? How about with the most basic resources? I believe the answer is yes we can!
Picture the scene; a sports based youth group, where the young people were being asked what they would like included in the programme. There is funding in place to bring in instructors for any sports the young people want to try; parkour, tennis, circus skills, mountain biking....there are no limits.
With this in mind, what did the young people ask to be included? The answer: 'can you bring your ball of wool and the giant inflatable ball again?!'
Why did they ask for this and not to try skiing or surfboarding? Why did they request the randomness that I organise with my ball of wool and a giant inflatable ball from the local pound shop when they could choose whatever they want?
We get so caught up in how we are going to entertain the members at our groups that we lose sight of the importance of just being with young people and being interested their lives.
Simply – it's what we do with these things that engage the young people to want to spend time with us. We can have all the gadgets and gizmos if our budgets allow, but quite simply, if young people are happy with a ball of wool, it has to do with the relationships we are building with them not the all singing all dancing piece of technology.
It was all about the dance mat when I began my youth work - calling in my early twenties in a small, fairly well-off town in Scotland. I spent endless hours being thrashed by young, nimble and co-ordinated teenagers, all in the hope of building meaningful relationships with them. Good times!
Moving on ten years to my role as youth worker working with vulnerable young people in a deprived area of Essex. I was successful in a funding application and we went for it. We ordered a new Wii, games, controllers, beanbags, a new stereo system, but they didn't seem to need it. Yes it got used to begin with, but I can't say that the interest really lasted.
What did last were the conversations about them helping their terrified youth worker (aka me!) through tiny gaps on a tunnelling activity; conversations about them helping a terrified youth worker (me again!) around a high ropes course; conversations about how a certain youth worker (guess who?!) and another leader kept them awake at camp talking and giggling late into the night...these were the things that were a regular part of our meetings whilst the Wii gathered dust.
Then to the present day, and me with my ball of wool and giant inflatable ball. The young people chose simple activities and meaningful conversations over something more expensive.
...what they don't have are the opportunities to be listened to, to have adults interested in them and who accept them for who they are.
So where does this leave us as youth workers? Are gadgets and the latest technology no longer relevant? I don't believe that this is the case. We need to be up-to-date and aware of what is going on, but it is not the be all and end all. A lot of the time, the passion that we have for helping young people be the best that they can be is enough. It's nice to have the techy stuff but it isn't necessary.
I believe that in this ever increasing and fluid world of technology, the simpler approach of 'Youth work on a shoe string' has found its home. Young people quite often have all the modern stuff at home: the latest phone, the latest gaming console, the latest IPad, but more often than not, what they don't have are the opportunities to be listened to, to have adults interested in them and who accept them for who they are.
You may be sitting, reading this thinking 'Jo, this is nothing new! This is what youth work is!' And I totally agree with you. However, sometimes we can be so busy with trying to get stuff to bring the young people in that we lose sight of what youth work is really all about. We get so caught up in how we are going to entertain the members at our groups that we lose sight of the importance of just being with young people and being interested their lives.
‘Youth work on a shoe string’ is back! It is the way to do youth work in today's society! So I leave you with my top three activities of randomness that require minimal expense, but will have maximum impact on your young people and your youth work...
In at number three we have...
Giant Inflatable Ball – get a giant inflatable ball and a net or some string between two posts. Play volleyball or such like, embracing a lack of rules and plenty of randomness!
Hot at number 2 is...
Ball of Wool – a simple ball of wool can be used to create a spider's web between the young people as an ice breaker. One person says a fact about themselves, holds onto part of the wool, and then throws it to another person who does the same. At the end you have a spider's web uniting the young people together.
Heading up at number 1 is...
Spaghetti Links – get two packets of supermarket own brand spaghetti (about 30 pence per pack) and cook it before session. Split the group into two teams and give each team a bag of cooked spaghetti. The first team to tie lengths of spaghetti together in a long line that reaches the other side of the room are the winners. Warning – this can end in a food fight and is really hard to clean up! This happened to me last week for the first time ever, but it was great fun!
And that is ‘Youth work on a shoe string’ – you just can't beat it! Give me a ball of wool and plenty of randomness any day! Technology is useful, there can be no denying that, but when we can have fun and meaningful chats with young people without it, that goes a long way to helping our practice and our budgets. I'd love to hear some of your 'Youth work on a shoe string' ideas and games...who knows we might even start a new trend of 'make do and mend' in youth work!
Jo Adshead-Grant studied Youthwork with Applied Theology at ICC and currently works for YMCA Chelmsford as an Alcohol Outreach worker; she is also a freelance writer of youthwork resources.
