Personal Reflections as a Human Services Professional

In a reflective journal assignment, discuss where you think you can have the greatest positive impact in your work as a human services professional in an elementary school or community-based setting with a large population of at-risk students. Specifically, focus on risk and resiliency factors that you would be most interested in addressing and why. Also, share any concerns, worries, or excitement you might have about working with children in the elementary school or community-based setting

As a human services professional, it is likely that you will work with children in an elementary school or community-based setting. You will not only work with the children, but also with their caregivers and school or organizational personnel. This assignment will help you prepare for these possibilities. You will utilize the knowledge gained from the course thus far, in addition to the text and relevant resources provided, to write a reflective journal assignment about where you would like to make a positive impact in working with a large population of at-risk children in an elementary or community-based setting. Include discussion on the risk and resiliency factors that you are most interested in focusing on as well as why you want to focus on those factors. Reflect on the topics of development that are discussed in the text as well as other readings and the assignments you have completed. This journal is an opportunity for you to share your own personal and professional concerns, insights, and/or excitement that you feel with the idea of working with children in an elementary school or community-based setting. This journal assignment is designed to be private between the student and the instructor.

Prompt

In your reflective journal assignment, discuss where you think you can have the greatest positive impact in your work as a human services professional in an elementary school or community-based setting with a large population of at-risk students. Specifically, focus on risk and resiliency factors that you would be most interested in addressing and why. Also, share any concerns, worries, or excitement you might have about working with children in an elementary school or community-based setting.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

• Discuss where you think you will have the greatest impact in your work as a human services professional in an elementary school or community-based setting with a large population of at-risk students.
• Examine risk and resiliency factors that you would focus on with an at-risk population in an elementary school or community-based setting.
• Reflect on concerns, worries, and/or excitement about working with this population in an elementary school or community-based setting.

What to Submit

Your journal assignment must be submitted as a one- to two-page Microsoft Word document with double-spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and any sources cited in APA format.

Journal Rubric

CriteriaExceeds Expectations (100%)Meets Expectations (85%)Partially Meets Expectations (55%)Does Not Meet Expectations (0%)ValueImpactExceeds expectations and provides specific examples of impact that support discussionDiscusses area of greatest impact with at-risk students in an elementary school or community-based settingDiscusses area of greatest impact with at-risk students in an elementary school or community-based setting but may lack details and/or provide inaccurate informationDoes not discuss an area of greatest impact with at-risk students in an elementary school or community-based setting35Risk and Resiliency FactorsExceeds expectations and provides specific examples and research to support factorsExamines risk and resiliency factors of focus with an at-risk population in an elementary school or community-based settingExamines risk and resiliency factors of focus with an at-risk population in an elementary school or community-based setting, but factors may be inaccurate and/or lack detailDoes not examine risk and resiliency factors of focus with an at-risk population in an elementary school or community-based setting35ReflectionExceeds expectations and provides substantial detail in reflection with specific examplesProvides a reflection identifying at least one concern, worry, or excitement related to working with an at-risk population in an elementary school or community-based settingProvides a reflection identifying at least one concern, worry, or excitement related to working with an at-risk population, but reflection lacks detail or does not discuss an elementary school or community-based setting specificallyDoes not provide a reflection identifying at least one concern, worry, or excitement related to working with an at-risk population in an elementary school or community-based setting20Clear CommunicationExceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understandingConsistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audienceShows progress toward meeting expectations, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understandingShows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication10Total:100%