YDEV 506 #8

 This is such a powerful letter and was both frustrating and hopeful to read. For me, I think about this concept of "well-intentioned". This is a concept within this line of work that I hadn't thought too much about before starting this program. My first class in the YDEV MA program was the first time I had heard of the "white savior complex" and it really shifted the way I looked at everything I did and wanted. Does your intention matter if you are furthering harm? I may have argued yes in the past, although I don't align with that belief anymore. As Tuck says "are we certain that the benefits will outweigh the costs?" (p.410). I had a conversation with my partner recently after leaving Victoria's book release party. He was confused and said "Wait, it sounds like they are saying metal detectors in school are bad. Aren't they helping to protect the students?" I was (now with a year of YDEV knowledge in me) able to explain about the damaging messages of oppression, fear, and mistrust that can give to students, especially those of color who are also the population most likely to experience things like metal detectors or school based PO's. We talked a little about the School to Prison Pipeline, about the historical trauma between police and youth of color, about how most school shootings in the US are committed by white males even though white-majority schools are much less likely to have security measures like a metal detector in place. At surface level, it may look like it's promoting safety, but at what cost? Tuck, I think, would agree that the fear, re-victimization, and criminalization of any student in their place of education is NOT worth it. "Common sense tells us this is a good thing, but the danger in damage-centered research is that it is a pathologizing approach in which the oppression singularly defines a community." (p.413) Instead of simply labeling themselves as "well-intentioned" researchers and youth workers must proceed WITH intention - intention to do no further harm. I think that the "benefits" of deficit-based approach of research and youth work (often times fincancial, or short term based)  will never outweigh the lasting damage this can cause a community.  I know that this way of looking at what I do definitely helps me to see my true role in the lives of students. It helps me to understand I can be a catalyst for change in small, impactful ways, simply by refusing to allow others to judge my students in deficit-based ways.