Conversations on Conversing in Child and Youth Care

Abstract

In the spring of 2011, we had the pleasure of participating in the 3rd Child and Youth Care (CYC) in Action Conference hosted by the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We were invited by conference chairs Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw and Jennifer White to participate in a roundtable discussion on the theme of “Conversations on Conversing in Child and Youth Care”. This theme was inspired in part by a recent posting to the CYC-Net listserv, which asked, “Why are people speaking about the field in ways I don’t understand?” Veronica and Jennifer sensed that this question – and the spirited, and at times fractious, discussion that it generated on the listserv – would provide an excellent platform for mutual learning, critique, and reflection. Thus they capitalized on the opportunity to extend a conversation that was already underway, and used the question as a departure point for our roundtable discussion. In this paper, four of us who participated in the roundtable continue this conversation, with each of us probing deeper and pushing further along the themes and ideas we discussed in Victoria. We are not so much responding to any particular questions here, but rather trying to articulate some of our critical reflections on the field as we each are experiencing it. We hope that readers might engage with some of ideas we present in this conversation on their own terms.

An Ethos for the Times: Difference, Imagination, and the Unknown Future in Child and Youth Care

“…The creative work of Julian Stodd, who writes (and illustrates) a blog on the topic of the social age, social leadership, and collaborative learning, has also been an important touchstone. I am also building on the important work of many CYC scholars who have been thinking and writing about diversity, ethics and, sociopolitically informed approaches to practice in theoretically robust and imaginative ways (deFinney, Little, Skott-Myhre, & Gharabaghi, 2012;Hoskins, 2012;Pacini-Ketchabaw, 2014;Skott-Myhre & Little, 2014;Kouri, 2014;Loiselle et al, 2012;Newbury, 2009). …”

“…On the contrary, such a world demands a new form of agility, responsiveness, and accountability. As I have argued here, we need an ethos for the times that is grounded in the knowledge of particular places and histories, governed by an awareness of global realities and settlercolonial relations, and which pursues an ongoing commitment to justice (deFinney et al, 2012;Newbury, 2009;Snelgrove et al, 2014). Recognizing our interconnectedness and making a point of dwelling responsibly are in keeping with Indigenous world views as well as early understandings of the word ethos.…”

“We Need to Talk About It!”: Doing CYC as Politicized Praxis

“…credit that we understand and yeah, we need to talk about it!'' We call for a collective, politicized approach to CYC praxis that integrates collaborative theorization and practice, one that is rooted in working and thinking with (de Finney et al, 2012). As the feminist, anti-racist scholar and activist bell hooks (1994) states, ''I came to theory because I was hurting .…”

“…This discussion is addressed in the special issue of the International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, edited by White and Pacini-Ketchabaw (2012) and in a response by de Finney, Little, Skott-Myhre, and Gharabaghi (2012). This listserv debate was incited by the question, posted by a practitioner, ''why are people speaking about the field in ways I don't understand?''…”

“…This listserv debate was incited by the question, posted by a practitioner, ''why are people speaking about the field in ways I don't understand?'' This generated a ''spirited, and at times fractious, discussion'' (de Finney et al, 2012). Critical concepts and language that were unfamiliar to many practitioners were framed as academic ''jargon'' and dismissed by several dominant voices in the field as disconnected from real, frontline CYC practice.…”