Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Practical training of social work
I have chosen to go in for practical training in public organization “Children – the part of community” (VO “Vaikai – visuomenes dalis”). It is a small day centre where pupils from local area gather after school and do some specially organized activities that fulfill their free-time and improve social skills. The best point is that there works a very qualified social worker who makes this centre cozy for children and she welcomed me very politely and with enthusiasm. Tatjana Lobanova, day centre’s head, always tried to help me to know everything what I wanted and she kept me on my course of training for achieving the goals, so, I think, I was lucky.
Here I have got lots of information about organization, for example, how it gets the sponsorship by writing the projects. The social worker gave me the great example how to work with children, what to do and say that the social worker would become a good leader and a friend in the same way. I get a lot of experience and I am happy about my practical training. All my fears disappeared in working in such institution. All a social worker needs is just to be active every day and to see the bright side of situation and do not be upset if sometimes something fails.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Social Services and Social Policy
The law of Republic of Lithuania on Social services gives the concept of social services: "Social services denote the provision of assistance to individuals in various non-monetary forms as well as in care funds. (Article 2. 1.)". Lithuania started to create this concept of social services after the declaration of independence in 1991. Lithuania even had not the social policy while in Britain in 1948 were three departments responsible for personal social services: health department (responsible for public health and various aspects of this), welfare department (responsible for residential care and help to elderly and disabled people), and Children's departments, responsible for child care. Now Lithuania has such departments and they deals with community problems, but in Lithuania such work is done just by the officers of social policy, especially in laws is declared that it depends and on social workers. However, the Britain's social policy made progress in community, because there is strong idea of community care and this help is not an institution, it is done by voluntary people who are not indifferent to others problems. Unfortunately, Lithuanians think that the state should take care of people, but they don't realize that they are the state and can do much more than the government...
All in all, social services are needed all over the world, and they are guaranteed in many countries, but young countries such as Lithuania has mach work to do to make better tomorrow to its citizens.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Self-assessment of Online Listening to Podcasts
- "Little girl with extra limbs" at ABC News: Good morning America (07 Nov 2007) - http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Podcasting/
- "Work - life balance or work - family balance?" (07 Nov 2007) at site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2007_45_wed.shtml
I had an aim to self-assess what skills do I have to listening tasks, especially how I can understand the authentic speech.
I have to admit that I still find difficulties in listening tasks. I needed to listen to podcast not once, but I had listened for three times and sometimes, where the vocabulary was hard to recognize, for more for the complete understanding. But I think that it is because of unknown specific words, and when later I recognize them, it becomes easy to understand the clear meaning. The rate of podcast presenter's speech wasn't too fast, it was suitable "to catch" the words, but when speaks a person, asked to give interview, he naturally talks a little faster. Of course, those interviewed people speak with their accent and use such expressions that sometimes it is complicated to catch the meaning, but this does not make the podcast difficult. The hardest situation is when there are many annoying voices on the background, so then I need to listen for more times of the podcast.
These podcasts helped me to realize how well I am ready to pass my English exam. Well... I am a little afraid of it, but I hope that I will be able to accept this challenge.
Why Do Teens Try to Kill Themselves?
Friday, May 4, 2007
Online listening: Choosing a Student Exchange Program to Come to the USA
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Gun control and Virginia shooting (essay)
The need of stricker lesgislation of gun control shows the resent events in the USA on 16 th of April in 2007. In Virginia Tech university there was a mascare where were 32 people killed. It is the brutalest shooting in the USA history. The South Korean23 years old Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people and after this he commited a sucide, was a senior majoring at Virginia Tech. What was his reason, nobady can answer this question. But it is strange if nobody could stop him or reavel his intentions. "In 2005, he was declared mentally ill by Virginia special jusice."So where were the social workers or psychologists, why they didn't pay attention at him? He had to be invigilated all the time by the specialists at university, because he was a student between other students, who wants to feel safe. The other aspect of this is who the person like Seung-Hui Cho coul get a gun, form where or from who?
All the world was shocked and condoled over students's lifes. The governments realised that not everything is done for gun control, there shoul be taken more actions to avoid such a fatality.