The process of defining difference seemed an easy task and something that I personally thought I would be able to walk through, but this was far from the truth. Myself being mixed and growing up during a different era I myself was confused as to my identity. Which was a reason I always sought out organizations that I could belong to which had a clear definition of who they were and what they stood for: Boy scouts, Explores, Firefighter and Military. I found that when affiliated with them even when I could not believe in myself I could believe in and find strength from belonging to the organization and my position within it. Now years later having biracial children of my own I found myself just as confused when they came to me with their struggles …show more content…
From our class discussions though, I found that I was not the only one who grew up with the same concerns. During the class watching the videos, and completing the reading was the first time that I had ever covered such material, proving insight to my own problems. Understanding differences is very important to social work because for myself, and similar friends we joined positive organizations. However, I could had easily joined a local gang looking for a sense of belonging. In our communities, we must help people determine who they are before others are able to pull them into a group that will have negative outcomes for their future. My thought is the more I learn of the new and many different groups that are emerging the better I will be able to help members of that group self-identify and understand their own group, so I can allow them to put that identity aside for a moment so that during our time together we may focus on who they are as a person and where they would like to go as a person. Because after they know who, they are and what they want they can focus on how them self, their dreams and their talents best fit into the group which they feel they
Social Workers are very important to everyday life. They are the ones that help people in need when they have nobody else to turn too. Also, they provide resources and better understanding of predicaments that you could be experiencing. I will reflect on how the class has affected me, my own experiences and how some theories have connected to my life experiences, and lastly, if the class helped toward my major. This class is important for someone that wants to become a social worker and wants to learn about the different theories used. Also, learning about me during this process of completing this class is fun and a way to see if the social work profession is right for me. There was many theories explained throughout this class but many will not be said because it wasn’t the main points that I was trying to get across. There are two tools that are used that can help a social worker organize a client’s life: Bubble map and Briefcase exercise. There are so many different ways a social worker can help a client deal with their problems and come up with a solution. It is up to that social worker to identify the client’s problem and see what theory fits.
I am currently an English 160 student who is hoping to move on to the next course, which is English 161. I understand the requirements for English 161. It require students to explore a topic in some depth and conduct independent research related to that topic. Conducting research allows students to learn what it is like to participate in academic culture, posing questions about important issues and developing an argument in response to what others have said. It expected students to learn the most valuable skill in college, which is critical thinking. Students have to be able to read challenging readings. Although I still have problems with English, I think I’m qualified to move on.
Growing up was never easy for me; I am assuming it is never easy for anyone. I think it is certainly tougher for anyone who is of mixed races trying to figure out which one he or she best fits into. Growing up in a Japanese household, there were a lot of differences between my household and the households of all ...
Such an encounter becomes a source of discomfort and momentarily a crisis of racial meaning. Without a racial identity, one is in danger of having no identity" (Michael Omi, Howard Winant, 12). It is obvious when we look at someone we try to get a sense of who they are. We categorize people within our society and place them by gender, ethnicity, race, religion, and even social class. Because one of the first things we utilize is race and gender it is questioned that without racial identity one is in danger of having no identity. Personally, I believe that this is true, for instance, within our society gender roles are very apparent. We utilize gender as a form of identity, because many people now are coming forward with wanting to change their identity there has been ann uproar to try to fight against equality for citizens that identify with a different gender. What is to be considered is the same uproar that is occurring with people who identify with a gender is also occurring with citizens that are identified solely on race. Within our different generations there has been an uprising in mixed races, a person can be
I have grown to appreciate diversity and I seek out opportunities that will increase my competency in this area. While working with diverse populations I have learned that diversity represents individual and human differences that impact how we problem-solve, work, and learn. Often times we sum diversity into three main categories, race, gender and ethnicity; however, diversity is expanding and we must include all aspects of diversity. There are several factors that distinguishes us and the dimensions of diversity may be hidden or visible. They may remain constant or fluctuate as life changes and they may not be easily defined. Social workers must embrace diversity as well as its dimensions and understand that diversity is multidimensional.
I stopped signifying with only one race and fitting into some of the racial stigmas that people place on me. I also came up with a good conclusion: Biracial or multiracial people like me, are not “half-breeds,” “quarters-halves,” etc. We are humans. Fully. Period. Therefore, as a person, I have just as much right to embrace 100% of every race and culture I came from, just as much as everyone from a different race and culture who are not mixed. In other words, just because I am a product of more than one race does not make me half of it—half-black or a half-Filipino. No. I may be biracial, but I am not half-half; I am whole and whole. Black and Filipino; one spirit wrapped in a human skin, and my skin color, my hair, or the language I speak do not define my worth. I remember what my sociology professor told me once, and what I also remind my multiracial children today, “You don’t have to pick sides or choose one race to find your unique identity. You just have to define yourself and embrace all of you, every [ethnic/racial] ingredient with one hundred percent of your whole being, not half of
English has never been my best subject. Reading books can be exciting, but the writing aspect of English can be dreadful. Somehow, however, I passed all my advanced English classes with at least a B, and my teachers always considered me to be “above average.” My impartiality toward English shifted to an indifference near the end of my high school career; my indifference then shifted to appreciation. This appreciation is attributed to American Studies and Honors Writing, the most difficult English classes at Belleville East Township High School. American Studies and Honors Writing have strengthened my writing skills beyond what I believed possible. I still do not believe that I am the best writer, and English may never be my best or favorite
Throughout the semester i only learned few new things but i did improve and solidify my skill of writing. Before my first year of college my skills have always undermined by other high school english teachers and with that came disappointing grades. I am writing this paper as a reflection of the semester and the progress i have made as a writer. I now understand many things that my high school teachers have done a poor job demonstrating and i am grateful that i decided to take my own route in my education instead of their syllabus. I entered the semester with anxiety that i would perform as i did before but i clearly outdid my own expectations by receiving top grades on my essays.
Social Justice enables individuals to become more empowered and self-aware. It gives individuals equal access and diminishes negative prejudices and stereotypes. The minority in society is oppressed by the dominant ones and social justice strives to diminish that. I am privileged and that allows me to obtain an education to help others. I am going to use this to help others gain the same privileges that I have and be able to build the future they want. Throughout middle school I would have friends that would be made fun of or denied entry to certain social groups, unless they were with me. Just because they had a different skin color or their culture was different they were not allowed to play tag on the playground. Associating negative stereotypes and prejudices, about cultures or ethnicity, to a young child is not okay. Only letting a child join a game of tag when a member of the dominant group is accompanying them is also not okay. This is a huge issue in society and not just when it comes to children, teaching children to become culturally competent and aware at a young age will lead to the decrease of this social issue. I strive to be culturally competent enough to have the ability to aid various individuals on their road to empowerment, safety, and self-healing. Educating myself is just the first step, joining the Social Work program will help me expand my field of knowledge. Through this, I will be enabled to become a better social worker and
I grew up in a small, close-minded, community that had insignificant minority people throughout it. I did not have a lot of experience with racial and ethnic groups. I did, however, have some experiences with children as well as adults who had learning disabilities as well as autism spectrum disorder, down syndrome, and fetal alcohol syndrome. When I was in elementary school, I had a classmate who had down syndrome; she was in and out of our classroom periodically throughout the day. In junior high; I was a peer helper during leadership class and in high school, I was a peer helper. During high school, I also was a Special Olympic instructor which was very rewarding. Right now, I feel that I could someday handle the responsibility of meeting
My RIP companion essay was a complete mess with no structure in the first draft. I believe it was because I had procrastinated to complete both the first drafts for the RIP project and essay. I finished my RIP project then moved on to my companion essay, and the transition was vastly different because in the RIP project I was writing for a different audience than in the companion essay, which was an academic audience. In addition, I forgot that we had been given a prompt with specific instructions and guidelines for the companion essay, which gave the structure for the essay. My professor, Delany-Ullman also points out that “For most essays, you should NOT include your textual evidence in your topic sentence. Your topic sentence should make
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work in see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded. Some of the skills I had shocked me as I didn’t think I had those capabilities in me.
When I arrived at Yale during the fall of 2009 for my freshman year, I started my undergraduate career wanting to practice medicine. Also, I wanted to receive a well-rounded education in an array of subjects. To this day, the education I received at Yale inspires me to delve deeper into pressing issues within our society and utilize the information that comes from a diverse knowledge capital to create strategies and make informed decisions.
Social Workers shall develop an understanding of their own personal and cultural values and beliefs as a first step in appreciating the importance of multicultural identities in the lives of people…Cultural competence includes knowing and acknowledging how fears, ignorance, and the “isms” (racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism, ageism, classism) have influenced their attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. (citation)
Much like Benjamin Franklin believed, I feel that a person should take advantage of the time the person has in life with activities a person wants to do or needs to do. A person should not spend much time on activities the person does not want to do. Life is way too short to concern oneself with work or other activities one wants nothing to do with all the time. When possible, I try to forget about my responsibility and just let go of the ‘things’ that do not matter to me. I think a person should try to occupy oneself with something productive, worthwhile, or necessary at all times. Even though a person’s life is left up to a person to live, I cannot imagine thinking that I owe my time to society through working a job that I simply despise. I am a compassionate person, but I do not owe anyone anything regarding my time.