Social Awareness

Interview

with my step mom Jen

1. What do you do for a living?

I’m a social worker at the Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science. It is an all girls school in downtown Brooklyn

2.What kind of training did you receive for your job.

After high school I went to a 4 year college, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After I graduated from college I worked at various jobs until I decided that I wanted to become a social worker. In order to be a Licensed Social Worker you need to get a graduate degree in social work and also pass a state licensing test. I decided to get my Masters at Hunter College School of Social Work. I attended the full-time two year program.  A large part of the program also revolved around having various internships, as well as taking academic classes.  After I graduated I took my exam and shortly after that I got a job with the school that still work in.

3.How do students at your school look at you?

I think overall, students at my school respect me and will listen to what I have to say. It’s not always easy and it takes time to develop trust and positive relationships, but with hard work and mutual respect, it’s possible.

4.What was the most serious issue you have ever faced?

I don’t know if I can name just one issue. There have been many situations that have been challenging. Sometimes, unfortunately, I have to deal with issues related to abuse or suicide or the negative impacts of poverty.

5.Do you like your job and why or why not?

I actually love my job. I  really enjoy working with kids. It’s never boring and I like that fact that I get to work with people everyday and build relationships that hopefully make positive changes. I also learn a lot about myself through working with kids - they keep me young and always keep it real!

6.How do you change the world with your work?

I’m not sure If I am changing the world, but I would like to think that I have some small part in helping kids make great strides towards being successful and learning how to follow their dreams.  A lot of the work that I do revolves around helping kids learn how to make positive changes, think for themselves,  develop independence and successful social skills and help them connect all of this to the larger world - college and the workforce. I would like to think that some of my work helps support kids having great futures and hopefully, one day, allowing them to give back to the community.

Original literary piece

Poem about Michael Brown

You didn’t deserve to die,

It made the whole country cry,

slain at only 18,

You had the whole world ahead of you,

But Darren Wilson took it away from you,

Just cause you stole some cigars,

You could have gone so far

8 bullets hit him,

For no good reason,

Not act of treason,

And Wilson was found Innocent

You never got to go to collage,

You never got to have a Wife,

You never got to see your child being born,

It was all stolen away from you,

You never knew that surrendering to a cop would be the last thing you’ll do,

Ferguson has riots,

Just for You

Response to a film

The film I am going to respond on is call “Slumdog Millionaire”. It is a story about a boy named Jamal who grew up in the slums of Dubai, India. He got to be on the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and he is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. The people who run the show think he is cheating. So, they bring him in for questioning(AKA torturing) and ask how he knows all the the answers. He explains how he knows them in flashbacks of his life. It tells the story how his family grew up in the slums, Until, Both his parents get killed and he is alone besides his mean brother Malik and a little girl named Latika and their journey.

Even though the story is fictional, It still has a lot of social issues in it. For example, Everyone looks down at Jamal because he is from the slums and think he is worthless. Also, the reason why both his parents were killed because he was Muslim and a group of Hindu men set a violent attack on his slum.