Still got time....hopefully

So I finally started my independent component hours even though there's only like two months left. Better late than never though right? I started doing my hours at the SEA office in Pomona. It's located right next to a church on San Antonio st., which is also the charter school. I think I'll post a picture soon. Anyways, I got to meet a couple of my mentor's employees and they all seem really friendly and knowledgeable, hopefully I can use one of them for my interviews.  My independent component is starting out rough but I think the longer I keep going, the better it'll be.

Blog 9: EQ

Content

1. Review this. Confirm by stating "I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."

Essential Question

Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question. The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic. An essential question must:

Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question) Takes a stance (Allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)

Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

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

2. Review the following EQs and Tell us if it meets the rule of 3 criteria. Tell why it does or why it doesn't

a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

Yes, it meets the rule of 3 criteria because it allows for further research, allows different answers, and is clear and concise.

b. What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

I think it meets most of the criteria, but I think it should be worded a little bit different because the EQ itself can be a bit misleading as to what the actual topic is. (ex. is he a judge, lawyer, prosecuter, etc.)

c. What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

I think it's a good start but I don't think it meets the criteria because the answer to the EQ is pretty obvious and doesn't call for a lot of additional research.

d. How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

I think the EQ is a little too specific to the point where the student may have trouble finding more than one answer.

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 can counselors best help troubled teens?

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

Content:

1.  What is your working EQ?

What problems are most at risk youth facing today and how can counseling psychologists help them?

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

• A major problem most at risk youth are facing today is the influence of drugs and counseling psychologists can help them by providing family counseling/group counseling or sending them a rehabilitation center.

EQ: What is the best way to support an undocumented student in graduating from college?

•  Incite them to fill out their California Dream Act 2 application; this application finally allows undocumented students to apply for financial aid.
• Further train staff to accommodate to the needs of undocumented students by requiring them to take courses in relevant areas such as remedial reading, ESL, Spanish language, and cultural differences.
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3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 
My most important source is definitely my mentor.


4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?
My mentor is Isabel Godoy and she works at SEA, a company that provides home/family counseling to teens on probation, on drugs, etc.

Independent Component 1 Approval

Content:

Please review the component contract at page 12 of the senior project packet.  Click here!  The independent component 1 is an opportunity for you to add a dimension of creativity and/or an additional outlet for research.  The goal of the component is for you to explore your topic in more depth with this component. On February 7, 2014, you will be turning in the following to your blog to prove completion of this component:

·       Log of hours on an digital spreadsheet (with total number of hours included)

·       Evidence of the 30 hours of work (e.g. transcript, essays, tests, art work, photographs) as digital artifacts

·       LIA

 The senior team expects that your log will be on the right hand side of your blog with your WB and mentorship log.   In addition to this,  we expect that you will be able to prove the total 30 hours of work by submitting evidence to the blog by the due date.  Forthis blog post and approval, please answer the following questions.

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

What I plan to do is maybe consult a client of my own. If not, I plan to come up with new strategies that might help the teens get back on their feet. Psychologists usually submit their own journal articles so I think that would be my best bet. I'm not really sure what else I can do besides that so I have a material object. 

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

I plan to do all my work, research, etc. with my mentor because I definitely need my guidance. Whenever I'm sitting in on sessions or researching with my mentor, ill be sure that my mentor is with me to be a witness to me completing the 30 hours. iPhones also come in handy. I will take dozens of pictures during these few months as proof.

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

Doing one of the above would give me much much more insight on the topic rather than just reading some articles off google. This way ill be able to know how it feels when you're actually in a counselors position and how they tackle problems.
4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your mentorship log and call it the independent component 1 log.

Your answers to the questions should be supported with details and examples for the senior team to understand what you plan to do.   Once we review your Blog Post 7, your house teacher will discuss with you the approval of your plan.  If it is approved, please start working on it.  If it is not approved, your house teacher will explain why.  It is your job to address the concerns so you can get your component approved. 

still on the search

So last week I visited this small counseling center that I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts but when I got there it was closed and it looked half empty, as if no one does business in there. I got the phone number but asking for mentorship is something I would rather do face to face. There's a small rehabilitation center next door but when I walked in there was no one at the front desk. Obviously these centers are unreliable and out of the question. So that's a no but I'm not worried because its Pomona and they're literally everywhere. Last year I watched Brittany Ho's presentation and she said she worked at a certain center here so I might use that as a backup.

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?
Isabel Godoy and she works at Soledad Enrichment Action in Los Angeles.

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

1. What made you want to pursue this career? Was it a school course or a specific event that happened in your life?

2. How long have you been working in this field?

3. What college did you go to and what courses did you take that made you qualified to be a counselor?

4. How did you get a position at your current job?

5. Do you have any past experience besides working at SEA?

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon: 
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?
A positive thing that has happened, in my opinion, is that learning about all the things that teenagers have to go through has really changed my perspective on life. Doing my mentorship with a troubled teen counselor has really helped me improve my communication skills and give better advice to people who are in desperate need of it.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic? 
I read an article that comes from a psychology based website and it talked about the different types of therapies that psychologists use and which ones work best for certain issues. It gave me really good insight on the type of strategies that counseling psychologists use for their clients and it also gave the roots to certain issues so it also gave me good insight on the background of the client even though it was pretty general.



(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?
There's alot of other areas that tie into my topic so finding research has been really easy and I'm not even close to running out. So far Ive done some research on substance abuse, youth violence, and general psychology but the list goes on with other topics i could use.

(4) What hasn't worked so far? 
Finding people to interview is somewhat difficult because they're all extremely busy or view me as just a child that shouldn't be in that environment. I got lucky with my mentor because she's my mother but finding other people to interview is gonna be tough. 

(5) Finding Value:  

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)
• A potential question could be "What problems are most youth facing today and how can counseling psychologists help them?" or somewhere along those lines.
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•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  
• I plan to hopefully be able to have at least one conversation with a client and see what advice i can give them to whatever conflict they're facing. I want to have more than one mentor though just to get more experience and see things from different perspectives.