Overdue Update

Hi Everyone!
Sorry it's been so long. October is my busiest month for papers and tests so I've been over worked and tired. The only reason I am updating now is because I came down with a nasty bug. It looks like my body will be able to clear it in 24 hours so I should be good by tomorrow and back to writing papers. Here's what I have been up to:

Classes:
They are great. As I mentioned, I've been doing a lot of writing recently. Its been hard getting back in the saddle after a year off from school. Luckily, Widener has a writing center staffed by professors so I took my research paper in last week to get it reviewed. I got some great feedback but realized that my undergraduate professors let a lot of silly grammatical errors slide. The two papers I am writing are on sex education; one is a research paper on the benefits of adding pleasure to sex education curriculum and the other is a history paper on the social problem of teen sexuality that lead to abstinence only education. The history paper is for my Social and Economic Justice class, which is by far the most challenging. However, my teacher is amazing and I am learning so much from her! She lets us turn in our papers a week before the due date and will give us ungraded feedback. I really appreciate that system and love how all of the professors want to help us in any way possible.

My Field Placement:
Working at the school is equally rewarding and frustrating. I really feel as though I am making a connection with the students and have begun working with two on-on-one (for confidential reasons I can't go in to any detail about them). Working in the classroom is an entirely different story. I have begun a program called Second Step which contains 13 different lessons about social skills. I was nervous about teaching the entire classroom but it ended up being a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the students have no respect for each other or their teachers. After my second class, which is at the end of the day, I went into our social work "office" and cried. The lessons in Second Step are so beneficial but its like the lesson is falling on deaf ears. The amount of energy I am putting in to teaching them is exhausting, especially when the students aren't respecting the process. The main issue with the 7th graders is the amount of personal conversations that happen during instruction. I tried to ask them why there was such constant chatter and where the disconnect was coming from, but I was met with silence (for once).
I found out recently that drop out rate in Chester is around 40%! I could not believe it. I immediately had a sinking feeling. These poor kids have so many odds stacked against them, its no wonder school is not a priority in their lives. The Charter School only extends to 8th grade, and majority of the parents are trying to propose a Charter School for 9-12 grades so their kids can avoid entering the district high school. The fact that I only get to work with these students for 1 year and knowing that many of them could drop out makes me sad.
I am supposed to be teaching the second lesson from Second Step on Friday but have decided to open up a less formal discussion with the students. I to know where their heads are at about school and try to get them to see how important it is. I am trying to meet them at their level and have, what I think, is a great lesson on respect and school planned out. Hopefully it reaches all of them, but my fellow interns tell me that even if I reach 1 or 2 students it will be a success.

 On a lighter note, here is a picture of Kayla and I wearing matching outfits to school....this was not planned













Social Life:
Now the fun stuff. I have been maintaining a pretty solid social life. I go out with my friends on the weekends and its been really great getting to know everyone. It's also a nice break from all the school work and stress from my field placement (even though that is what we talk about 80% of the time).

 A fellow intern at my school had a "semi-formal" social gathering at his house last weekend. It was so much fun to get dressed up. He lives near center city so we drove around and saw some sights before heading to his place.

Me and my friends Cassie (in the middle) and Erika








Mushu:

He lets me put him in rainboots for adorable picture opportunities

Being a silly cuddle bug

Playing in bags

He is the cutest sleeper! Having me home sick all day has been so much fun for him







We miss you all! Only a month and a half until we will be home! Hope to update soon. I will also be starting a blog about wine. I have become a fan of choosing wine based on the label and am going to start reviewing the wines I choose. I will also have stories/thoughts/adventures accompany the wine I am currently drinking. Once I pop open my first bottle I will post the link :)

Putting the "social" in social work

Before starting the program, I was warned about trying to maintain a social life. Actually, I was told it was not going to be possible my first year. However, I have been able to meet a lot of great people and go out and explore. Two weeks ago, Joe came to visit and we explored Philadelphia. We went to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. It provided a great view of the Philly skyline:

The aquarium was AMAZING!

I got to pet a shark! As much as I love touching the bat rays at the Monterey Aquarium, touching a shark wins! Some were rough, but a few (like the one pictured) were soft. It was so much fun. I could have stayed there all day. 

This exhibit was meant for kids, but I couldn't resist looking at fish from inside the aquarium. 

Loved the hippos! We showed up at the perfect time and got to watch them be fed. They eat full heads of lettuce. 

An awesome shark tunnel. Needless to say, I loved the aquarium. So many sharks, so little time.









After the aquarium, we went to a food truck festival in Manayunk, a town in northern philly. The town as a giant main street and there were about 50 different food trucks parked along the entire street. It was so much fun to explore and eat delicious food truck food. I also discovered fried cheese curds, which are sooooooo delicious.

My cohort has been organizing many different social gatherings. The first one was held at a bar in Media. I took Joe and we mingled with people in the human sexuality program. Last weekend was my friend Cassie's birthday. We went out to a bar in Philly called Barcade. It is a big bar that has 20+ arcade games. Apparently, there are 2 other Barcade locations so they rotate which games are at each location.

Here we are outside on the patio (it was to loud inside to have a conversation).






This past weekend I went out with bigger group from my human sexuality program. We met at a german bar in philly and had food and some drinks. Afterwards we went dancing at a nearby gay bar. On the dance floor, one wall had a projector set up - instead of showing music videos (which is normally what gets projected to correspond with the song being played), they were projecting clips from different movies. Mainly clips from The Labrynth, Golden Compass, and Mortal Combat. It was hilarious.
Yesterday I hung out with my friend Mary Faith, who is in the social work program with me. She is becoming a close friend and I really enjoy spending time with her.
I'm really happy I have time to hang out with people and get to know everyone in my program.