Saturday, October 27, 2007

Social Issues Day


Social Issues Day was a wonderful experience that not only brought awareness of issues related to children/adolescents but also promoted critical self-analysis. I find that experiences, such as participating in workshops and seminars gives me the opportunity to add to my existing knowledge of the topic, and to question how my personal opinions affect my worldview.
Early Intervention in Psychosis
This workshop was a wonderful summary of what defines psychosis, why early intervention is important, what the Cleghorn program does, how they work with clients, who can use the services and other issues related to psychosis. The most wonderful thing about this workshop was that one of the presenters was courageous enough to share a personal account of his experience with psychosis. I found that by allowing myself to look at psychosis through this person's experience, I gained a better understanding of it and I know what signs to look for in children/adolescents. The most important thing that I took out of this workshop is the belief that everyone's experience must be validated and noone should be put down for their opinions, feelings or observations. The experiences that people with psychosis go through seem real to them and therefore cannot be dismissed.
Children and Grief
This workshop was applicable as everyone was involved in reminiscing about their feelings related to loss. As soon as I tapped into the feelings, everything I was learning through the workshop seemed so much more relevant. I find that this workshop has given me the basic tools for dealing with loss in the workplace. It also prepared me to comfort and counsel children in a compassionate but professional manner. One thing that I found really interesting was that although there are four stages of grief (shock, denial, anger and guilt, as well as acceptance), people grieve at multiple times in their lives and often they irradically jump from stage to stage.
Global Education - UNICEF
This workshop gave me some ideas of how to apply global education issues to classroom activities and interweive it into the curriculum. By reflecting on the groups that I belong to and the sensitivities around those groups, I reflected on the fact that every person exists with a multitude of experiences as well as contextual influences that affect their view of the world as well as their sensitivities to world issues. This workshop was very relevant to my practicum placement in Peel as the school I am in is multicultural and every child comes from a different background and set of experiences that I need to consider when planning lessons.

1 comment:

WhyMayaTheBee? said...

Hello Anna:

First, THANK YOU so much for The Economist you got me for our gift exchange. I really appreciate it!

Also, it is valuable to see your perspective on the Social Issues. Some of our observations are the same (e.g. non-linear grieving pattern). I wish we had some time in class to talk about our different experiences and share more person to person about The Social Issues Day.

Btw, you had an amazing idea about sharing in general. Do you think we will get to do it?

Thanks,
Ana K.
(WhyMayaTheBee)