Readiness for practice journal assignment
Five times during the term you will write 250 -300-word reflection on your learning.
The journal entry is about you and your learning and not accessible to any other student. According
to author Tara Westover, “education should ……. absolutely change you.” Here is an opportunity
to give voice to your impressions of course content each week, challenges, or changes in your
thinking, what was new learning, what challenged you, what was helpful or unhelpful and what
was surprising.
Students should also consider their values, developing social work skills and knowledge and do a
self-assessment on their readiness for social work practice. For instance, how are your own values
and beliefs similar to, or different from those of the social work profession? how does the values of
social work and the pursuit of social justice align with your personal values and beliefs. For many
students their own life history intersects with course learning at times, and this can be unsettling.
As students of African descents, it is important that you incorporate an Africentric lens into
your critical analysis. Your reflections must include how your own identity markers (Person
of African descent/ African Nova Scotian, gender, sexual orientation, class, ability etc.,)
influence your thoughts, feelings, and future social work practice.
How might you be taking steps to grow in comfort with discomfort? What is your critical analysis?
Senator Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard speaks about the 3As as being a helpful way to frame
reflection. The first A is Awareness-what have your learned. The second is Analysis and asks you
to critically reflect on the issue/s you are considering and the third is Action. What is your new
awareness and analysis calling you to?
These reflections are about your engagement with class content.
This is a journal and need to be really reflective. I’m a African Canadian student in a afrocentric social work cohort. I need my journal entry to reflect that!
I will attach the videos and class readings
https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/index.php/csw/article/view/5636/4606
https://www.mindful.org/kindergarteners-talk-about-mindfulness-in-just-breathe-short-fil
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Decolonizing pathways towards Integrative Healing in Social Work (pp. 23–46 & p. 138–150)(I attached the e-book)
