REFLECTION 1: Ethics, Values and Self-Awareness
Our thoughts and values are shaped during the time of infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. These thinking may be based on our own experiences, education received or society influences. It is clear that our past experiences, social norms, values from the others, characteristics, prejudices or stereotypes shape.
Areas that require further growth and personal change:
Knowing how my past experiences influence my own values helps me to be more aware of my own self. Having an aunty who committed suicide that made my family, especially my grandmother, sad and miserable, I personally feel bad for this people who have the intention to end up their lives. However, this might effect me to make the most appropriate decision when a person who has the will to commit suicide seeks help from me. Moreover, its may sometimes hard for me to develop appropriate relationship with the person or to be comfortable dealing with wider range of emotions. I have uncontrolled emotional involvement and judgmental attitudes towards that person which requires to change to practice social work, but throughout my career and dealing with tremendous amount of people increases the ability to deal with different emotions effectively. At some point in my life I still feel that I have to be strong and understand the boundaries between professionalism and personalism.
With regards to attitudes, firstly, I found that my great "break through" was being more assertive and active towards different people, including my supervisor, colleagues and families at work. I used to be passive and thought that asking questions, raising difficulties or sharing my views might imply a kind of incapability. With the encouragement and support from my boss, teachers and personal reflection, I realized the importance of being assertive in learning and social work practice. I tried to be willing, open and active to speak out my difficulties, questions, always wear smile in my face, etc. The change means a lot to me, as it is an evidence for me to confirm my potential in challenging own weaknesses. Knowing that "I can do it" gives me motivation, confidence and courage to improve on myself in the future. However, I still think that much more training is needed to work as a social worker.
One particular challenge that I find myself tussling is to give positive and critical feedbacks to others. Being “Objective” I need to work on my personal feelings so I won’t be too judgmental. It is a human nature that people give their perception or start judging others very quickly before knowing or listening others point of view. For example I often view my daycare clients through a problem-based and pathological perspective. Such perspectives, as I have learnt, can be disempowering them and may cause dependency. This experience is thus important in my learning because it challenges me to think about my personal values as a social work student and my position a...
