Week 11

Week 11 was a good one for me here at the agency. On Monday and Tues. I was able to facilitate groups for both the boys and the girls in the day program. As I have written in past updates, many times the kids here at the program have had difficulty in understanding the values and basing their reactions off of that. On Tuesday we discussed statutory rape and what it was and the laws surrounding them. The girls gave me some pretty interesting insight in to the way they think about relationships. I also have to catch myself and think that they are only teenagers, but many of them have seen some messed up stuff already that would hinder their ability to function in a true loving relationship.

Wed. morning I was able to attend a seminar given by a man who does explusion hearings. This proved to be a very interesting seminar. You can read more about it in the post I did pertaining to it.

After the seminar, I went to a clients school. I observed him in the classroom for a little while. When I was getting ready to leave I was able to sit down and talk with him about his suspension that had occured on Monday.

Integration question:
HBSE/Macro: How can you determine what the formal and informal boundaries are in a community?

When looking at this question, I believe culture runs hand in hand with it. Different cultures alot for different boundaries. If you are in an African American community, an informal boundery would be the family. I say this because of the rich family ties that are seen in traditional African American families.

Also when looking at the bounderies one would also want to look at the socioeconomic status of the community. This has a huge impact on boundaries because it affects how people act and respond to certain situations.

Looking at formal boundaries, I believe these are boundaries that are set in stone and are known when you enter in to the community. Informal boundaries would be those that are understood within the community, but are not set. These are probably the most difficult, but also the most crucial in working with people on a regular basis. Understanding the informal allows one to better understand the community and what they stand for, increasing the ability to be affective in the community.

Weekly hours: 15
Total hours: 184