November

           It was a tough month, it has been a tough year. I wonder at times if I chose the right topic. The more I research, the less sure I am that I can help people. I don't think I will be able to do this job. Abused children are broken. No matter how much you do, you can never bring them back wholly. Can we really function like any other person? Shift the past to benefit us? I feel like this been a really tough month in my life and this is the time when I'm stressed and sad. Too much went on. I just need to step away for a day and look at this from a fresh perspective.

EQ

Content

1.  I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. 

      a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
              It doesn't meet the criteria because it could be a recitation of facts or a list. 
      b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
              This meets the rule of 3 criteria because it calls for breadth and depth of research, you can argue some              points and it's specific. 
      c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
              This meets the rule of 3 criteria because it calls for breadth and depth of research, you can argue some              points and it's specific.
 d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
               This doesn't meet the criteria because it would be a recitation of facts.
3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.     
  
How does a social worker provide the necessary  mean for an abused child continue life as normally as they can?

Random Conversation

     I talked with Yvonne Gratianne about social work. She was talking about how you couldn't be emotionally attached to any case. It can bring you down since you can't save anyone. I must have been with the world on my shoulders that she told me this. I can see the basis of this but I couldn't see why she wanted to work in this field. She told me that she wanted to make a difference at least in one life.
    I thought about what she said and I realized that she's a strong person. She oversees cases like these and does well in her job. On the other hand, I'm scared of my past. I'm a silly mess. Mrs. Gratianne talks about her job and told me that her job teaches her to enjoy her life to the fullest.  I'll  try to remember that I can't save everyone.

Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?

 My working EQ is How does a social worker provide the necessary  mean for an abused child continue life as normally as they can?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.  Examples:

• Help them go to therapy sessions, this will hopefully help them come to terms to what happened them and teach to them to move on.

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 
    
The most important source for me has been the case of David. It goes more into detail about the rehabilitation of a sexually abused child.

4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

I'm volunteering at the House of Ruth. They are a women's shelter but many bring their kids with them. It helping me see the progress they are making to have a normal life after what they have gone through.

Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

           I plan to volunteer at the House of Ruth, talk with the people who work there and learn as much as I possibly can.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

         I'll have Marina Wood write me a letter since I can't take pictures there. I would also log up what I will be doing there and how it has helped me learn about my topic.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

         This is a women's shelter. Volunteering there will help me get an insight on the family dynamics of an abusive household and I wouldn't have to rely solely on my memory.

Getting Truthful

         Okay, I must say this. I have cried a lot this year, much more than I had expected. Researching child abuse and neglect is hard for me. There are so many stories that social work doesn't help the client. It's hard not to get attached. A man sexually abusing his 16 month old son. A woman declaring that her daughters are spawn of the devil and beats them and lets their stepfather sexually abuse them. The Child Called It, Precious. A feral child rescued by the system. A child from the past that helps us in the future.

Danielle "Dani" Lierow

   The Girl in the Window, this is the most recent case of a feral child. In 2008, a couple in Plant City, Florida saw a little girl's face by broken glass where they thought no child lived there. She was malnourished,dirty and broken. Social services has helped her find a new home, a new family, a brand new start. You can check her story here if you want to know more. 

Sylvia Linkens

   There also cases like Sylvia Linkens. Her parents left her and her sister, Jenny, with Gertrude Baniszewski. This woman and a group of children tortured, abused and finally killed this 16 year old in the 1960s. There are some books and films you can read about this crime and you can make a correlation with The Lord of the Flies. This is a case where no one was aware what to do when they saw signs of child abuse and how to report it. This case haunts us. You can read about this case here. It's a strong, explicit case. Don't read it if you can't handle torture, humiliation and so on.
   This case helped the push of getting everyone informed of child abuse and neglect and how to talk about and report it to the authorities. Witnesses saw her and saw the abuse and no one spoke up. If one person said a word, just one to the right person she would have lived. She helps us remember that this is unjust and that we don't want children to go through this. She left her legacy with her death. Let's make a difference in her honor. I hope to get a fundraiser going to give money to abused and neglected children the items they need in school.  
   Hopefully doing this will help me move on from my past and help people know the signs of child abuse and neglect and the multiple ways to report it. Learning about this cases has helped me looked for ways to help. Let's see how my mentorship goes.Sorry I got carried away.

Second Interview Questions

Content: 
The purpose of the second interview is justify your mentor as an expert in the field.  Thus, you will be asking at least 5 questions about their background and/or the background of the organization or company where they work.

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?
 I'm looking for a new mentor who works with abused children. I hope it's with the House of Ruth. 

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?

• Why did you choose to work in this field?
• What did you study in college?
• What was one of the hardest cases you helped?
• How long have you worked in this field?
• Did you think before that you were going into social work?