My Service Learning Site : Working With Students

A social worker has six primary responsibilities or purposes outlined by NASW (1999). These purposes are to service a client, to provide social justice when needed, to increase and emphasize the individual worth of people, to emphasize the importance of relationships between individuals, and to have integrity and be competent when completing these purposes (NASW, 1999).

I believe some of the skills necessary to be outstanding when working in student support services are having strong interpersonal skills, compassion, care and respect for individuals. When students are lacking self-confidence a student support service provider can assist in motivating and inspiring them to thrive and excel. A student support service provider must be kind, compassionate and sensitive to the needs of others. Students need to feel cared for and respected as an individual. The student support service provider should be a compassionate and enthusiastic person who has a strong desire to motivate and inspire students with diverse backgrounds, especially those with learning disabilities. Also, it’s vital to have good time management

Social workers form relationships with people an assist them to live more successfully within their local communities by helping them find solutions to their problems. Social work involves engaging not only with clients but their friends and families. Social workers also work closely with organisations such as the police, local authority departments,

Abstract The roles of a social worker are many and although it may be seen to most as a simple profession, it is of great value. A social worker has to broaden his or her horizon to see things in a new perspective. One must be able to understand, empower and help individuals, families or groups to overcome some of lives most difficult obstacles. As a social worker you are supposed to be able to appreciate the perspectives of all parties involved.

A Service Learning project is one of the project requirements to complete the Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree through Ferris State University (FSU). My Service Learning experience was completed at the VA Medical Center (VAMC) in November, 2014. This paper includes details of the facility along with the contact information for the coordinator of the project. A description of my role as a volunteer, critical reflection of my experience, and a synthesis of the Service Learning are also included.

Social workers form relationships with people and assist them to live more successfully within their local communities by helping them find solutions to their problems. Social work involves engaging not only with clients themselves but their families and friends as well as working closely with other organisations including the police, local authority departments, schools and the probation service.

Social workers assist individuals, groups or communities restore or enhance social functioning through creating living conditions favorable to their goal or need. Social workers are trained professionals that help people overcome some of life’s most difficult challenges such as poverty, discrimination, abuse, addiction, physical illness, educational issues, mental illness, disability, unemployment, etc. They accomplish this through counseling individuals, families and communities; teaching them how to cope with the stresses of everyday life. From a political standpoint, social workers spend time and money on campaigns that elect public officials that are committed to social work values. Sound public policies enable social workers to meet human needs, be fairly compensated and promote social justice. Overall I perceive social work as a “take action” profession. Often times, we as human beings complain and talk about what needs to be done but do not do anything beyond that. Social workers are hands on. They are not just talking about what “should” be done but they are doing something to better our communities. Social workers are about making a difference in society by helping others out that are in need for various reasons. If you are very sick and in need of assistance to perform normal, everyday functions, social workers can assist

A School Social Worker is someone that trained to help students, parents, and sometimes staff with child needs. A school social worker focuses on providing a great outcome for the child, and the family they are working with. A school social worker can help with mental health which is focusing on a child who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment, behavioral concerns, making sure the way a child acts or conducts his/ her self especially toward others, positive behavioral support is a behavior management system used to understand what maintains an individual's challenging behavior, academic and classroom support may refer to a wide variety of instructional methods, educational services, or school resources provided to students in the

I participated in service learning at Fraser school in Richfield. Starting in September I helped out in a toddler age classroom every Thursday. Fraser school is a preschool setting for infants and toddlers. Besides getting the children kindergarten ready and offering a somewhat typical day of daycare/school, Fraser offers occupational, physical, and speech therapy. Some of the children have disabilities and some do not, Fraser is not discriminatory and they provide care for anyone. Some of the things I did in the classroom were prepare snack and lunch for the children, play games, participate in art projects, music, and reading, and play games with the children. The two teachers really appreciated my help, as I was provided an extra hand for them while they prepared daily activities. Playtime was usually hectic for the group and it needed to be closely monitored. I was also able to keep the children safe and keep a close eye on the total of twelve toddlers during playtime. My experiences at Fraser helped me understand many topics we talked about in our Intro to Sociology class. A few topics that stood out to me the most were the idea of social integration and many of the functions of the education system, the three stages in the development of self, institutional discrimination with minority and group divisions.

Social Work is defined as, “The professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functional and creating societal conditions favorable to this goal. Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values, principles, and techniques” (Coyle, 2014, p. 6). Social Workers can act as mediators, negotiators, educators, and advocators just to name a few of the roles they play. They follow a written Code of Ethics that guide their professional judgement and practice. Some job titles used for Social Workers are Mental Health Counselor, Child Advocate, Adoption Specialist, Human Rights Representative, Healthcare Social Worker, and School Social Worker.

The role of the social worker is not to change people, treat people, or help people cope, but to nourish, encourage, assist, and unleash the strengths within people. They

Social workers provide professional support and wide variety of services to people who have social difficulties, and are trained to address human needs. They can work in different settings and can specialize in working with people, groups and communities, at all stages of life, from young children to older adults. The role of a social worker varies depending on what setting they are working in, like a hospital or a school.

In this essay, I am going to talk about my thoughts about service-learning. I will define what service-learning is, how it can be positive, and how it can be negative. I then will go into depth about my initial thoughts about it. I will also talk about the value of experiencing tutoring, what it can do and what I expect to gain from it. I will additionally talk about personal goals I have set for myself that include making a decision for what I will do with my career, what I hope to achieve for myself, as well as for those I tutor. I will conclude with sharing some challenges I expect to face and some ways to cope with them. My purpose for writing this is so I can look back at this essay at the end of the semester and see what I have learned

The school population consist of 45 % African Americans, 40% Hispanics, 9% whites, 2% other or more races, 1% Asians, 1% American Indians and 1% Hawaii Natives.

For my service learning, I was assigned to work for America Learns at an elementary school in Roxbury. America Learns works with students from kindergarten to third grade, the program is structured to offer both tutoring and an additional activity each session. The activity is intended to teach the children critical thinking skills, diversity and cultural awareness, and experiential learning, as well as help to improve basic reading skills. Twice a week each tutor works with a student through the entire program, both homework help, and the activity. The goal is that throughout the weeks of the program the tutor and student will build a relationship that benefits both parties involved.