So this week marked my "official" start of my graduate program (even though I already completed one course - which I am so happy I did, 6 classes would have been unmanageable).
Monday and Tuesday consisted of orientation for my field placement. As part of my program, the school places you in an area of interest and you must complete 480 working hours in that field. I have been placed at the Widener Charter School and will be working exclusively with 7th graders. Monday was extremely overwhelming, mainly because we were receiving loads of information without much detail. I was also stressed out because my debit card number had been stolen before I moved, and due to poor customer service from State Farm, I still had not received my replacement card. Due to this, I am unable to withdraw cash, which I needed in order to mail out a child abuse clearance, and receive my new PA license to register my car. The child abuse clearance can take up to 14 days to process, and until that comes in, I cannot work with the students at the Charter School.
On Tuesday we had a training session from 9am-4pm on a program called "Incredible Years". It is a program that is designed for Kindergarten and 1st grade students with behavioral and social difficulties. It was very interesting, but since I will not be working with that age group, it was not applicable to majority of the group. We also found out more about what we will be doing in the school - for my age group, I will be facilitating one-on-one sessions with students that myself, and the school staff believe could benefit from counseling. There is also a possibility of forming groups and holding sessions, but that is still being worked out. I thought I would be working alongside someone that is a practicing Social Worker for the school, but that is not the case. I will be the practicing Social Worker for the 7th graders, and I have two supervisors I can refer to. This is very scary and exciting. I am excited about getting a ton of experience, but I am also learning all of this myself. I have no background in social work, so I don't know the first thing about counseling anybody. I am confident in my supervisors and know I will receive a lot of support and guidance from them.
On Wednesday and Thursday I attended formal class. Wednesdays I have one class - Human Behavior and Development. My professor seems very laid back and has a lot of experience and knowledge in a variety of fields. She has done a lot of international work and coordinates annual overseas trips. Every Spring holiday she takes students to Thailand for 14 days. I am definitely looking into this for my elective, which doesn't occur until my 3rd year. It seems like a great trip, and I've always wanted to go there.
On Thursdays I have two classes - Field Practice and Social and Economic Justice. My field practice course provides and outlet for the students to discuss what they are doing in the field and how they can apply certain theories and knowledge to their work. Its going to be a great class and will help me greatly at the Charter school. My Social and Economic Justice class is taught by a very passionate teacher. She has a background in policy and makes learning about it very enjoyable.
I love that all of my teachers have a MSW and can relate to what we are going through as graduate students. They are very empathetic (and that might also come from them being social workers) and are willing to help us any way they can. I am very excited about all of my classes.
I took some pictures while on campus (its very tiny) but I wanted to show you all how beautiful it is:
Normally, I will be at the Charter school on Fridays (in addition to Monday and Tuesday), but school hasn't started for them yet so I have a long 4 day weekend. I have made friends with many people in my classes, but so far I only hang out with one person outside of school - and she went home for the weekend. I plan on exploring a bit, getting some laundry done, and reading for next weeks classes. I am definitely feeling lonely, but I am trying to keep myself busy so I don't dwell on it too much. Wish it were easier for me to come home or send you all here.
I also learned something new about living in PA - you cannot buy liquor in convenient stores or gas stations. I went to 4 different places last week trying to find some wine, and discovered that you can only purchase liquor at "wine and spirit" stores. Luckily, I found one 2 blocks from my house! They have a huge variety of wine brands and since I don't have a "favorite" brand I tend to pick the ones with cool names. I found a lot of funny names that I plan on trying soon - I settled on "Monkey Bay" a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand that is wonderful!
Mushu had to see what I was drinking of course but did not enjoy the smell. He quickly moved on to attempting to eat my food. What a crazy kitty he is.
I hope everyone has a fun Labor Day weekend - its supposed to rain here on Monday :( hope you all have good weather!
xoxo
Sam and Mushu
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