It’s the start of a new year and we’re back in full swing at Paisley YMCA!
Today is the International Day of Education (declared by the United Nations) and the purpose of this day is the promotion and celebration of education as an aid to bring development and peace to our world today.
As our many of our young people have since started back their school year, we have also begun with all their weekly favourite clubs and activities! At Paisley YMCA, we practice STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) related learning in our weekly sessions and this year, we asked our young people about their learning-related goals and how their time at Paisley YMCA as an aide to their school education helps to achieve them;
“In the future, I want to be a games developer and make games.”
“I want to protect people from bad people online and go into cyber security.”
“I like doing coding at Paisley YMCA because I find that it is fun.”
“I enjoy learning to code at Paisley YMCA because I learn a lot and it is fun.”
The STEAM-related learning and youth work approach to learning we practice at Paisley YMCA aims to assist and complement the education many young people receive daily. We aim to provide a relaxed and independent environment where young people are encouraged to learn and try new things in their own time, with our youth workers providing guidance and knowledge along the way as one of our young people states;
“I feel Paisley YMCA helps keep me ahead of the curve with my coding, as I usually know stuff before we’re taught it in school. I do find it easier in school, as there are more resources available. Though I do find I can code at my own pace, as the youth workers support wherever I’m at.”
We also asked one of our young people what they thought of our upcoming projects with the Curiosity in Action Programme facilitated by Science Ceilidh and partnered with Youth Link Scotland helping young people to develop their STEAM capital and improve their educational learning in a fun, creative way with Dr David Boldrin from the University of Glasgow;
“ Science Ceilidh piques my interest, as me and David enjoy the same sciences.”
Education is a human right and the key component to affect real change in this world. For this reason, young people deserve the best that can be given to celebrate and develop their creativity and knowledge. As we celebrate this day of international education, we continue in our commitment at Paisley YMCA to provide free, specialised youth group sessions every with a focus on combining learning with the joy of new knowledge in our community.
All our club sessions are available to register on our Eventbrite page and follow our social media profiles for updates regarding our youth work activity.