Justin Wyllie’s thoughts on his blog echo the feelings of more than a few workers we’ve talked to over the past few years.
He begins:
Part 1: Outcomes education
Over the last few years I’ve worked on several occasions with young people; including as a youth worker, tutor on a programme for school excluded students, trainer on a progamme for young adults on a drug rehabiliation programme and tutor for young people on ‘back to work’ schemes. I’ve enjoyed the work and think I have some talent for it.
On every occasion I have left because I felt I was being asked to do something other than youth work or teaching. Both these activities involve a relationship between teacher or youth-worker and the young person or the group to do them in a fruitful way. In all cases I found myself being asked to become involved in a process of behaviour training which cut across the relationship and, essentially, dispensed with it. The trainer or youth worker is increasingly asked, required rather, to obtain specified outcomes from the young people in question. Each lesson or session must be written up – in a ‘learning log’ or ‘sessional monitoring form’ where the youth worker or tutor must show that the required outcomes have been delivered.
Go to Justin’s blog to read more