Blog Entry 3: What I Know and What I Want to Know.

         One Friday afternoon at around  11:20, I was driving back to school from a class I take at Johnson State when a news segment caught my attention. It was Tom Ashbrook discussing the recent murder of a social worker, and the issues that are pervasive in that field today. The details of the workplace, especially with DCF workers, truly shocked me. Both the case workers and the attorneys were being saddled with upwards of double the recommended cases, while the case workers were under additional stress because oftentimes going to visit troubled families was fraught with danger and the threat of physical assault. Hearing this reported was eye-opening, but what really solidified it as an important topic to me was the discussion on the topic. See, one of the amazing features of on point is that they have an expert in the given subject on air, and then callers can phone it and tell there stories, ask questions, or simply give their take on the subject. Hearing the families of social workers talking about how their daughter, sister, or son went through emotional and physical trauma on the job, yet still returned to work and put themselves into those situations again cemented into my mind the true issues and the true importance of this profession. Now how does this connect to Vermont in particular you ask? Well, beyond this being a national issue and not just a state one, Vermont has seen a massive increase of children entering the foster system including an over 30% increase in children under 6 in the last year, with upwards of 80% of those cases due to drug addictions caused by the increased drug trade through Vermont. Not only have we had this astounding increase in children in the system, we have had an increase in violence as well. Lara Sobel, a local social worker was gunned down by the parent of one of her cases in broad daylight as she walked out of work. After listening to this news segment I must admit I went on a bit of a research binge, looking into anything and everything I could uncover about the issue, and the more I read the more enthused I began to feel by this idea.
         As you may be able to tell, this is a fairly massive topic, and one that I am passionate about and narrowing it down to some small precise question that can be easily researched is painful, as that would involve leaving out parts of the issue, but if I were to do so, the question may look something like this; What are the pressing and current issues within the DCF and the foster family system in Vermont today. While collecting facts and data from published sources is important, much of the information I gather in the process of this project will be in the form of interviews, as statistics and official reports are twisted this way and that to show what people want to show, and many articles are heavily biased. While people are equally biased in person, it is easier to find out when bias is affecting the statement, and you have the chance to hear the backstory that lead to said bias, which may be a bigger story and a more important development that the original statement. Likewise, people may find it more worthwhile and meaningful to talk an honest student who cares about the topic and wants only for the truth to be told and for positive change to be made as opposed to talking to a reporter who covers the story as a part of a job. Between these two types of sources I hope to get to a point where I know, well...everything. I know that is not actually possible, but I'm looking to, at the end of this endeavor, to know things I can't hope to fathom now. When I think about this project I cannot help but look to the end as well as plan the beginning, and already I find myself planning how to present this, how to show it to the world. In my mind it would be a multi-faceted presentation, with the physical movie I create as the centerpiece and me answering questions from whoever comes to visit, but in the surrounding areas have posters of data, interview recordings playing, and testimonials from children, host families, officials, and parents whose children had been taken away. It is my hopes that my work will lead to improved conditions for DCF workers, a greater understanding and respect for the work being done by foster families and social workers, and a way for anyone and everyone within this system to speak out and let their voices be heard by all.

KUD Reflection

           The actual premise of this class feels natural and is not daunting to me at the least, diving into a project in this depth, the interviews, none of that fazes me. I am fine at interviewing and researching, and great at putting together a compelling case. Where the issues come in for me is the implementation of technology. I have very little experience with the types of technology we use here, and I dont have a great track record with technology as it is, so that in itself is the main point of stress for me. In all honesty this is probably an irrational issue and I should be able to deal with the technology just fine, but the irrational fears are often the ones that are the most real. I am particularly exited about collaborating to create a deep and abiding understanding  of complex topics and working to create change. I have no real issues or things I think are missing, but we will see in time.

Why Am I Involved In Whats The Story?

I suppose that the biggest draw for me is the freedom to pursue any topic I choose. While school english classes are wonderful, they also confine the students within a very narrow boundary of the field of english. We read books and write about them, we do essay after essay but we never go beyond that and into the applications of writing in the real world. With this class I have an opportunity to reach out and use my english skills in a way that they would be used in real life, the freedom to choose any topic and dive deep into it in the way a freelance journalist would is a unique opportunity that may not be found anywhere else. To be honest, every year I get less and less out of my english classes as we do the same things over and over, changing the books we read, and the vocab we learn, but not the fundamental styles of the learning itself . This is also an opportunity to get a greater feel for the real world, where you do not have every detail of what you need to do laid out for you, but instead you have to make your own way to success. This is something I end up doing on a regular basis, seeking out unique opportunities such as this so that I can have a broader sense of the world around me and get to know this I may not otherwise.