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Cultural Immersion Paper

Shelby Knotts

Wilmington University

Guided Practicum in Human Services

AHS8100

Linda Payne

Instructor

November 7, 2017
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Brief History

The population that I chose was teenagers and I wanted to look inside the history of

social class, sexual orientation, and worldview. United Way of Delaware offers so many

populations help throughout their various programs, but I feel that I have never really dived into

the history of teenagers and all of the stages that they go through. A lot comes with the history of

teenagers because this is usually the age where you start to really become more independent and

break away from the rules a little bit. It is also the time where you discover who you truly believe

you are deep down and that can have a huge impact in the adult that you later become. It can be a

rough stage in a young persons life especially today with all of the social media and new

technology, but it was not always this way believe it or not.

The term teenager never really came into a persons vocabulary until decades later

from the year 1920. What really started the term was the single greatest factor, the automobile.

Much before automobiles became popular for young people, many dates were spent at home and

the independence was very limited if there was any at all. Parents could keep an eye on their

teenagers but once the automobile made its entrance the old-fashioned dating scene was out the

window. This allowed many teenagers able to gain independence early on and mature a lot faster

than decades before because they were able to make their own decisions. An interesting fact

about teenagers is that their brain is simple relying on their emotions to make decisions. Those

decisions can be good or bad but that is why the independence of a teen could become

worrisome for many parents.

A teenagers brain is still growing and becomes more interconnected and gains processing

power which makes them start to have the computational and decision-making skills of an adult

(Nixon, 2012). Puberty is the beginning of major changes in the limbic system, which refers to
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the part of the brain that not only helps regulate heart rate and blood sugar levels, but also is

critical to the formation of memories and emotions (Nixon, 2012). Part of the limbic system, the

amygdala, is thought to connect sensory information to emotional responses which in terms of

development along with hormonal changes, may give rise to newly intense experiences of rage,

fear, aggression, excitement, and sexual attraction (Nixon, 2012).

The impulse to do things without thinking the situation through fully is something that a

teenager does without even noticing. Besides the mental aspect of becoming a teenager, there is a

lot of peer pressure and social anxiety because you want to impress your friends or your crush

and that is when abstract reasoning comes into play. As many years went by, automobile

technology increased and small schoolhouses were no longer, high school became a place where

a large number of teenagers were in a similar place. The new socialization, cliques, athletics, and

extracurricular activities had started the culture of the American Teenager.

Film

The film that I decided fit perfectly for the topic teenagers was Mean Girls by Mark

Waters. The film starts out with a character fifteen year old girl named Cady Heron who was

homeschooled by her parents. They lived in Africa being that her parents were zoologists so she

never had much contact with other kids/teens her age. When it came time to settle down and get

Cady enrolled in high school she became friends with Janis who is a lesbian girl and Damian

who was gay. The trio became very close and in no time Cady made friends. She was told about

the clique of the three girls called the Plastics, Gretchen, Karen, and the leader of the group,

Regina. The Plastics came from wealth so each of them came from a very high class family and

were beyond mature for their ages, and cared a lot about their image. Eventually Cady, being the

new girl, gets noticed by the Plastics and becomes the fourth one and completely changes who
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she is and where she came from. She ends up betraying her true friends Janis and Damian, who

are constantly made fun of for how they dress and about their sexual orientation. After a few

months, Cadys parents end up resenting sending her to public school because they do not even

recognize who their daughter has become. Meanwhile, before the betrayal of Janis and Damian,

Janis wanted Cady to give Regina special protein bars to help her lose weight, but it actually

makes Regina gain weight. Once Regina finds out about Cadys betrayal the friendship ends up

back to where it was when Cady was in Africa, it was gone.

This film has many focus points that include teenage betrayal, rebellious behavior,

experimentation regarding sexuality, peer pressure/social anxiety, bullying, and social class

(cliques). It truly is inevitable nowadays to go into a high school that does not have any of those

factors because that is just what goes on with a teenager. Of course not every teen is the same

and some will face other obstacles such as divorce or a death in the family that could set them off

into a totally different person. This film hit the nail on the head when it came to the term of the

American Teenager and really portrayed what goes on within a teens mind. At UWDE their

primary goal is to help those teens who struggle to find what they want to do once they graduate

high school. Most of the clientele that UWDE helps are from lower income families who may

not have the same opportunities that a middle/upper class has, which makes the IM40 Program

and the SPARC program so vital for teens.

Personal Interview

The person that I chose to interview was one of my old friends, Quinn. I have known her

for 20 years so we were quite close growing up and I vividly remember her going through some
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situations as a teenager that apply directly to this population. This interview was a bit tough for

me because I did not want to upset her or bring her back to the negative point in her life that she

had gone through, but she was a good sport throughout it.

Me: Thank you so much Quinn for taking the time to sit down with me and discuss the troubles

of your teenage years, I know it was tough. The reason I asked you to be my interviewee is

because I am currently writing a paper on teenagers and all of the things that they go through

whether it is trouble at home or at school. I just want to gain a little insight into the situations that

you have encountered and what helped you at the time of them.

Quinn: No problem, you know I grew from what I had experienced as a teen and I just hope

that other teens out there can do the same for themselves. I am at a really good place in my life

now and had I not gone through those situations I may not be who I am today.

Me: Thats great that you can look back on those situations as a positive learning experience! So

lets get started with the interview. My first question is What do you think your biggest hurdle

was during your teen years?

Quinn: I would have to say that me being an outcast was one of the biggest hurdles of my teen

years because I didnt have many friends. I think that is why I fell in love with dance because it

was an outlet to allow me to escape from when I would feel lonely and useless. Being that I went

to Caravel Academy it was a very clique-ey school and the popular girls were always saying

things behind my back and it would just seem to get worse as each year went on. I remember I

got to the point where I wanted to just go home and run away because I figured every school is

like this and being such an outcast made you think like what is wrong with me?
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Me: I am so sorry you had to go through that, I vaguely remember you and your sister at Caravel

and how it was tough to fit in. Did you ever talk to the school counselor or maybe your mom

about what was going on?

Quinn: I did mention it to my mom but we would just talk about it and nothing really ever

came of it. I would never bring anything up first because I felt like a loser so to speak and did not

want people to feel sorry for me, so I just bottled up my emotions. I did fake sick a lot for school

so I could stay home but eventually my mom caught onto it.

Me: I understand. Do you think that your mom thought it was just not that severe? I mean you

would fake sick so maybe she did not put the two things together?

Quinn: Yes to an extent, but after my father was diagnosed with colon cancer that is when

things were put on the back burner because that was the focus of our household. I also felt like I

could handle it myself but day in and day out made it so tiring to do so. You know on top of the

normal girl teenage body changes that did not help with how I felt.

Me: I can understand having your fathers diagnosis made things tough on the family. So it

seems social class (popularity), peer pressure, and being an outcast were the main problems of

your teenage years. What was the one thing that got you through all of those troublesome years?

Quinn: Besides my love for dancing I did have friends in the neighborhood, including you and

your sister, that made me feel whole and when I would come home from school I knew you

guys would all be there. Feeling like an outcast at school was one thing but I at least had my

friends at home that I could always play with and my worries would go away once I was home.

But once the morning hit and I knew that I had school my stomach would start to hurt so bad that

I would just want to curl up in a ball. I have to say looking back that if that were my child I
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would have looked into the situation deeper but given the circumstances of my father, it was

tough on my mom raising two kids alone.

Me: Oh I totally can understand and I am so glad that we were all there for you at this time

because we all were so young that even though we did not do it on purpose, we helped you

through one of the toughest times in your life. I want to thank you for letting me interview you

because I know it is not easy talking about your past.

Quinn: I am happy that I could help and I just hope that schools are more aware of

outcasts/bullying because just by looking on the news now you see these stories of children not

being able to handle it and its horrible.

Me: Yes, totally is and I think that is why parents need to more vigilant nowadays because of

social media. Thanks again!

Assessing My Placement Agency

My placement agency is United Way of Delaware (UWDE) and it is located on 625 N.

Orange Street in Wilmington, Delaware. The feel of the neighborhood is a little rough because

that the buildings are a bit run down and the stores that are there need to be updated. Personally I

do not feel safe walking alone anywhere near my placement agency except from my car to the

door of the building. It could just be the times that we live in but Wilmington has gotten bad

throughout the years and if I feel uncomfortable about a situation, I just steer clear of it. Right

across the street from UWDE is Planned Parenthood (social agency), and there are always

protestors outside with their signs. Within the area there are two hospitals, Wilmington Hospital

and St. Francis Hospital. There is one person who I work with each time I am interning, Destiny,

who started non-paid throughout the summer and was brought on as an Administrative Assistant

and she was only nineteen when UWDE brought her on.
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Access

The employees of United Way all have their own transportation and being that clients do

not come directly to the UWDE site I am unsure if they use public transportation or not. UWDE

hosts campaigns, fundraisers, and have pledge meetings so it is hard to tell if those clients travel

long distance or cross ethnic cultural boundaries in order to reach certain destinations through

UWDE. Unfortunatly, my busy schedule and being that I have had pregnancy complications has

not allowed me to attend any fundraisers through UWDE but when one of the other interns goes

out to one I always ask about them and get a little information that way.

Receptivity

The receptivity is tough to measure being that I work at the UWDE office and clients

(those who we help), do not come to the office. The one thing that I picked up on right away

when I first walked in was that there is no receptionist at the front desk once you get up to the

third floor (location of UWDE). It did make it a bit confusing for me because I was not sure if

my supervisor was going to come and scan me in or even know that I was there. All of the

employees are extremely friendly and down-to-earth which is one thing that I love about my

placement agency. If I were a teen going into the UWDE building I would definitely feel

welcomed and comfortable and would have no problem with the look of the decor or anything

else that may catch your attention.

Administration/Funding

There are many retreats that are available to staff and in fact my supervisor Jamee just

came back from one in Colombus, Ohio. It is so important for an organization to hold trainings

in cultural sensitivity because you can easily become burned out within this field, so maintaining
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the knowledge and skills that make you efficient at what you do is crucial. Most of the staff is

expected to attend some sorts of trainings throughout the calendar year and being that everyone

is not on the same page of when their trainings expire, the timing all depends. Regarding the

culturally sensitive training for my population, teenagers, there are plenty of different trainings

that you can choose from in regards to different populations or other aspects of the non-profit

organization. You cannot expect an employee who was just hired to walk in to a group of

teenagers at a SPARC event and automatically know what to do or say. It all takes time and

training to be able to be successful at what you do.

Staff Sensitivity & Effort

I have found that the staff is culturally sensitive when it comes to how they talk about, act

toward, or people in the client population. Working for a non-profit organization it is important

to maintain a good image and always remain nonjudgmental and respectful. You are working

with so many different types of clients that if you have any biases towards one, you need to work

through it or simply not work with that population. Personally I have not had any encounter with

staff using stereotypes or using the they language.

At UWDE they do make a lot of effort to reach out to teenagers to secure input into their

two main programs, SPARC and IM40. IM40 focuses on young people from the ages of 12-15

who are vulnerable to health and learning risks and it is connected with more than 50 youth-

serving organizations across Delaware. SPARC (Success Pathway and Roads to Careers), is not

only an online platform but brings connections through to partner organizations, employers,

schools, and youth ages 12-24. SPARC involves the Delaware Department of Education, the

Delaware Business Roundtable Education Committee, and Delaware Pathways.

Quality & Effectiveness

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The way that UWDE evaluates their programs and services is by how many pledges or

people show up for the event. A few weeks ago Ballards Reading Buddies was launched and I

asked Jamee my supervisor how it went and she stated that it was good but they could use more

volunteers. The UWDE website has a link on there for volunteers and the more you get your

name and program out there, the more people will see it in hopes that it will bring in more

publicity for the event. You can tell if a population is either taking to the quality of a program or

not just by the amount of pledges you receive and volunteers.

NASW Standards for Cultural Competence

The standards that I chose to review were empowerment and advocacy and a diverse

workforce. I chose these two standards because I have found that UWDE holds these two

standards very highly and I believe they have shown me these two the most. In the context of

teenagers, empowerment and advocacy is greatly shown because of the two programs that

UWDE currently runs; SPARC and IM40. These programs allow those teens/young adults the

help in areas that they might not have help in otherwise such as planning for their future. The

importance of these two programs lies in the fact that if teens are dedicated to school and have

goals that they want to reach they will be able to achieve them and stay out of trouble. UWDE

offers so many versatile programs for many different populations throughout which makes them

a unique non-profit organization. As a human service worker we all should be aware of the

different programs that are offered for those in the population that we work with. You cannot

expect an employee to advocate for a client if they do not know all of the available resources and

programs which is why Standard 6. Empowerment and Advocacy stuck out to me.

Standard 7. Diverse Workforce is active at UWDE because I have witnessed it and

currently there has been three new employees that joined the team since I have been interning. It
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is important to not just simply look at the potential employees credentials but also to ask

yourself if there is enough diversity within the organization. I would say that there is about half

men and women who work at UWDE and there is a diverse amount of employees. I believe it is

important, especially within human services, to have such a diverse workforce because you can

learn so much from someone who does not share the same culture/background as you. It also can

open doors to new possibilities that you may not have had before because you were not aware of

a specific holiday that is celebrated. Within human services there is no doubt that you will run

into a culture that you may not know much about, but what is important is that you remain open

minded and accepting. Personally I do not know much about other cultures so like stated earlier,

attending trainings and being culturally aware is vital within this field of work. My final thought

would be that I have obtained a lot of useful information thus far at my placement agency and the

knowledge that I have learned will help further me within my future career. I most certainly got

lucky with the directors and employees that I have met at my placement agency. They have not

only taught me about UWDE and their way of doing things but also what it means to be a

successful and confident professional within this field.

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References

Cultural Competence in Social Work [Abstract]. (2001). Anti-Oppressive Social Work: A Guide

for Developing Cultural Competence. doi:10.4135/9781446269473.n3

Nixon, R. (2012, July 08). Adolescent Angst: 5 Facts About the Teen Brain. Retrieved

November 07, 2017, from https://www.livescience.com/21461-teen-brain-adolescence-

facts.html

The Invention of the Teenager. (2008). Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://

www.ushistory.org/us/46c.asp