The majority of the classes that I have taken throughout my college career have been extremely eye opening and educational. I feel that many of the concepts that I have been introduced to within my concentration areas and even within my general studies courses in one way or another can be applied to my internship.
Within my Anthropology concentration, I have been exposed to the culture and lifestyles of peoples around the world. I have learned to appreciate and embrace diversity in all of its forms. I have become aware of my own ethnocentric attitudes, those of others around me and in my society and I try to dispel those attitudes in my girl scouts through programming that encourages open minded attitudes and celebrates diversity. The Girl Scout organization in itself values diversity in the work place, in its employees, members, clients and in the services that it provides.
The courses within my music concentration examined the history of various genres and how those genres blended and evolved into what we enjoy today in addition to basic music principles. What I have taken away from this is the idea that in order to effectively understand and change the present and future, you have to study the foundation and history of how things got that way. At the Girl Scouts, we are supplied with and encouraged to read text on teens with a variety of issues and problems and educate ourselves on passed programming in an effort to better understand our girls and supply them with the best resources, information and skills.
My Social Work course has introduced me to the concept of client empowerment where by you supply the individual(s) that you are working with, with the tools to improve their situation but ultimately success or failure is in the hands of the client. At my internship, through programming we provide the girls with information on many issues that we feel are relevant to them, from college preparation, to substance abuse prevention. We believe that education and knowledge is empowering. We can only hope that they choose to take the path that positively enriches their lives.
My Social Work class has also stressed the importance of professionalism in the way you dress, converse and interact with clients in order to maintain an atmosphere of respect and trust. This is essential to my work with the Juvenile Justice program. I always need to be aware of what I say and the way that I act when I am around the girls. I have to know where to draw the line by not disclosing too much personal information and also by not taking my work home with me. It has been extremely difficult for me but I am finally grasping that concept.
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7 comments:
Hi Leanne, my name is Kimisha Gill. Your blog from last week really strikes me because I also work with "at risk" teenage girls at Florence Crittenton. The funny thing is that the girls I interact with go to Girl Scouts about once a week or so. I wonder if they go to the site that you are interning at? Another point that you made that I can really relate to is staying private and not taking work home with you. Naturally, I care about people, especially those whom have/had lives like the girls I work with at Flo Crit. So I definitely understand how it can be really hard to not let yourself get so attached. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your experience at Girl Scouts.
Hi Leanne! This is my second post on your blog because I really find your concentrations areas interesting. I have enjoyed reading your posts. You do an excellent job of tying in two concentration areas, that seem at first glance irrelevant, to what you are doing and your goals. I feel that with that foundation you have a unique opportunity to open the minds and create new experiences for the youth that you are working with. I think that people get so caught up in the "I have to take this class because it makes sense" aspect of college that they miss important opportunities. They miss opportunities to expand their knowledge in areas that at the time may not make much sense but as you have demonstrated they can lead to the ability to think outside the box. In my opinion, when you move onto your graduate degree you will have an unique background to bring with you. Keep up the good fight!
Karen Pat
I think that it is great what you are doing with your two concentrations. What you have learned in Anthropology is very important and it is good that you transfer your skills and knowledge in that field on to your fellow girl scouts. I think today it is very important your young ones to learn about cultural diversity because it is everywhere. By you teaching these kids to interact diversely and culturally they will later on learn how to communicate and associate with others in a wide range of variety. Your music background is interesting an important I can see how it is important to teach children to understand the foundation of things. I think that is so true because today in our society we are so wrapped up in technology that we become too dependent on it and when it malfunctions or something happens we do not know what to do. However, if we know the foundation of everything first we would not become too dependent on certain things and it will expand our knowledge.
I think that it is great that you are taking a Social Work course and it seems to be very interesting. It is true what you said, “client empowerment whereby you supply the individual(s) that you are working with, with the tools to improve their situation but ultimately success or failure is in the hands of the client.” I see that happening at my site too because we deal with juveniles and while they are in the correctional facilities or after they get out and they are placed in a placement home they are given tools they needed to succeed or treatment so that they can start over. However, I have realized sometimes this does not work because for some people they need structure and without it they do not know what to do and they get back on their old habits.
Gini Mattingly
Hi Leanne,
I am very interested in your concentration areas as at first glance it doesn't seem like the relate. I like that you are able to incorporate your concentration areas into your applied study site very well. You find more interesting ways to have them apply and I am glad to see that you are able to look outside the box to bring them all together. Including your music concentration into working with the Girl Scouts sounds like it could be very cool. Do you do any programming where the music concentration is included?
Which concentrations do you think you use the most at your applied study? I am family studies and education and I find that I use my education side more in my job but that various things from the fammily studies thing come up on occasion. My concentrations are easily relatable so I am glad to see someone who had a qide range of interestes was still able to find something that really interested them.
I truly hope that this experience gives the chance to realize how great an impact you can make on the community around you and how important you are to the wonderful ladies participating in Girl Scouts.
Leanne,
I found your comment about your organization supplying and encouraging to read text regarding information to help understand how to better help the girls in the program. It sounds like your organization must be just an all-around good organization because it is so important for the employees associated with such an organization to be prepared in order to best help the group it services. I think it is also important for the employees to receive such information and encouragement so that hopefully each employee can feel better prepared to help the girls. I also would assume that this would also help employees to not feel so overwhelmed. Do you find the text helpful?
I also can relate to your comment about having to make sure you watch how you dress and act around the girls. I too find myself paying attention to my actions in my internship because we are actually role models for the students/kids we service. I feel like I have come to develop several different identities and I have to switch into each identity when the situation calls for it. I think I do a fairly good job but it actually takes quite a bit of work to keep all these identities separate!
This is Lisa Graves. I think that the application of cultural theories is underutilized in programs such as Girl Scouts. In order to bring in as many girls as possible, different cultural groups need to be addressed, including different cultural groups. There is a place for any girl in the program, but a leader and those who work for the council at all levels should have an understanding of different cultures. Some parents have misconceptions about youth programs, and by understanding their confusion or misconceptions, they can be addressed. This opens the program to more youth. Your incorporation of music is a wonderful way in which to expose girls, and possible their families, to different cultures. I think that I suggested to you earlier that you should check into designing a program for the Girl Scouts involving music and cultures. Since you have a background in this and can approach the program from an interdisciplinary perspective, you possess skills that the average leader does not. Your perspective could open doors for a lot of individuals, both girls and adult volunteers.
Awesome job on your application of the theory and concepts learned in your concentration area courses!
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