This week was a pretty interesting week. We talked a great deal about the importance of stability and permanency in a foster child’s life. We watched the movie White Oleander. White Oleander is about a young girl thrown into the foster care system after her mother was convicted of first and sentenced to 35 years in prison. This movie brought a great deal of emotions about the foster care systems and about how important it is to have a good social worker. I felt anger towards the social worker in the movie, because she was extremely disconnected from the young girl. I do not want to be one of those type of social workers. I want to be involved in the foster child’s life and make a positive difference in his or her life. In the discussion
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This scares me because this means I will have to be on it, I cannot get caught up in my feelings regarding the child’s situation. Rather, I must be totally aware if the child is stunned, robot-like, or appearing to be shell-shocked. I am new to social work and this seems like an enourmous responsibility for one person to have. However, I remember that I am only one person that can be of great support for this child. My trainer explained the importance of building a support system. This registered with me because in my personal life I have built a support system and I do not know how I would make it without support. It took a huge load off of my shoulders when I started writing down people in my professional life that I can have a support system. This list consisted of my field instructor, task facilitator, cohort and professors. Creating my list of support system made me aware of just how important my cohort is to my success as a graduate student. I am able to express myself with these girls in a way that I cannot always do with my professor. They feel some of my same frustrations, such as failure, being overwhelmed and stressed. It such a good feeling being able to confide and vent my frustration to them. This helps me deal with …show more content…
She stated that it is imperative when dealing with foster children. She stated that developing a partnership with the family, understanding emotions and properly documenting records of behavior are essential when dealing with foster children. Her advice also helped me put my mind at ease about working as a social worker. This related to the practice we referred to during class which is the Solution-Based Practice. This practices helps the social worker normalize the stresses and challenges a child in the foster care system may face. This practice helped me to understand that despite the chaos in the child’s life, it is my responsibility to become a source of stability in the child’s life. It makes me feel good to know that I have that capability (Christensen, Todahl, & Barrett, 1999).
My field supervisor also talked with me about the importance of building a support system within my graduate program. She stated that she would not have made through her time as a graduate student. I often forget that I am not the only that have had the stress of completing an advanced standing program. I learned this during my supervision hour with my field supervisor. I was able to process my frustrations by sharing them with her. At times she just listened to me and that was okay. I am learning to really utilize my time with her because it reassures me and I need
This scares me because this means I will have to be on it, I cannot get caught up in my feelings regarding the child’s situation. Rather, I must be totally aware if the child is stunned, robot-like, or appearing to be shell-shocked. I am new to social work and this seems like an enourmous responsibility for one person to have. However, I remember that I am only one person that can be of great support for this child. My trainer explained the importance of building a support system. This registered with me because in my personal life I have built a support system and I do not know how I would make it without support. It took a huge load off of my shoulders when I started writing down people in my professional life that I can have a support system. This list consisted of my field instructor, task facilitator, cohort and professors. Creating my list of support system made me aware of just how important my cohort is to my success as a graduate student. I am able to express myself with these girls in a way that I cannot always do with my professor. They feel some of my same frustrations, such as failure, being overwhelmed and stressed. It such a good feeling being able to confide and vent my frustration to them. This helps me deal with …show more content…
She stated that it is imperative when dealing with foster children. She stated that developing a partnership with the family, understanding emotions and properly documenting records of behavior are essential when dealing with foster children. Her advice also helped me put my mind at ease about working as a social worker. This related to the practice we referred to during class which is the Solution-Based Practice. This practices helps the social worker normalize the stresses and challenges a child in the foster care system may face. This practice helped me to understand that despite the chaos in the child’s life, it is my responsibility to become a source of stability in the child’s life. It makes me feel good to know that I have that capability (Christensen, Todahl, & Barrett, 1999).
My field supervisor also talked with me about the importance of building a support system within my graduate program. She stated that she would not have made through her time as a graduate student. I often forget that I am not the only that have had the stress of completing an advanced standing program. I learned this during my supervision hour with my field supervisor. I was able to process my frustrations by sharing them with her. At times she just listened to me and that was okay. I am learning to really utilize my time with her because it reassures me and I need