These two weeks have seen some great progress in Logan's knowledge of his role, himself, and his students.
Week 5
Logan as Anakin Skywalker.
Making a significant breakthrough in my understanding of myself and how I work as a social worker. I had the opportunity to act as an SLSO [student learning support officer] for a child with high support needs this week, and during the two days I was working with him with his normal SLSO in preparation, I had a massive ‘click’ moment about why we do things the way that we do. I was taking notes and observing and learning, but during those two days I started to forget that I was there to assist a person; I was so used to dealing with fictional situations and case files that I started using the same skills, but during the second prep day I became quite aware of the difference between working on an assessment task and working with a person when applying those skills. I can't elaborate too much due to confidentiality, but in that moment I fully realised that I was not being marked, and while I could still put pressure on myself to succeed, I didn't have to panic about it because I could always fix mistakes that I made and give him some control over how things are done.
It was Book Week this week, and I had the opportunity to dress up and go to the school. I rocked an Anakin Skywalker cosplay that I've slowly been working on for the past couple of months. The humour wasn't lost on the teachers, but a lot of the kids got me mixed up with Obi-Wan, so it was a good time all around. I also got to participate in the parade as a staff member and I had an awesome time.
Week 6
This week started off with a trip to Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre with stage 1. Those guys had the best time, and it was awesome to be able to see how different some of the kids are in an outdoor learning environment. The day was mostly spent learning about how the Anaiwan people would have lived before colonisation, through the lens of age-appropriate learning. Most of the kids really loved the outdoor learning and as a social worker, being able to participate with how they were being taught the topic was quite fascinating. The kids who don't normally thrive in the classroom environment really took to it, while others didn't seem to learn as effectively but they still had an awesome time. I never did anything like it when I was in school, so it was awesome to be able to join in on the fun as an adult.
A paper aeroplane Logan made with a student as part of an icebreaker activity.
I made a significant breakthrough with a student that I've been having difficulty getting to open up to me. Again, I can't discuss this in detail because of confidentiality, but after weeks of working with them in the classroom and during one-on-one sessions, the little bit that I got felt like a massive win and I'm quite proud of myself for my achievement. Apparently none of the other staff have had much luck getting them to talk about what's going on, so even though it was not a big reveal or anything, people were quite stoked about it and hopefully it will lead to opening the door further.
