Promising to be more reflective is a trope we rattle out year on year. But here’s why keeping a journal can transform your day-to-day life as a student social worker.
As a student you’re loaded with information wherever you turn. Lectures and seminars, journal articles and books, documentaries and newspapers, chance conversations and even Twitter – all generate much to learn. It can get quite overwhelming and difficult to process.
So what is the best way to make sense of it all? You have probably come across advice, whether from tutors or in textbooks, to keep a journal. I started journalling from the moment I thought about applying to do a social work course, and I’m glad that I did. It has given me the space in which to work through everything that I am learning and to see how it all connects.
It has also helped me greatly when writing assignments. As any author will tell you, thoughts are fleeting. If you don’t capture them right away you could lose them forever.
Now, I’m not claiming to be a genius, but once in a while a light bulb will go “ping” above my head. Sometimes I get a fully formed idea, but mostly they’re just half-baked. Either way, when they do pop up, I get them down in my journal so that I can return to them at assignment time. It means that I am never really starting completely from scratch, and I am able to add an extra sprinkle of insight to the mix.
Similarly, keeping a journal is a must on placement. It is more than just a log of your work – it helps to capture your feelings on what you are doing, seeing and experiencing. Social work is nothing if not emotive, so there will be a lot of those feelings flying around.
Also, it provides a space in which you can explore how social work theory links to practice, and where your values and ethics stand when put to test in the real world. Your journal becomes a treasure trove when the time comes to write your portfolio and share your reflections on what you faced in practice.
As I enter the final stretch of my course, I can already see how the journal is going to serve me well once I qualify. As a registered social worker you will have to provide evidence of continued professional development. The learning does not end with the course, nor does the need to keep track of it. My journal also contains general musings on returning to university life as a mature student, and my attempts to work out who I am and will be as a social worker.
I, like many others, have gone into social work because I want to be a force for change. It has come as a surprise to find that the social work journey has also changed me. Being on a social work course can be an emotional and exhausting experience, but also an uplifting and fulfilling one. When you reach the end you will want to look back and see the way that you have grown and changed.
Thanks to my journal I am able to do so. My advice to other students is: get writing!
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