Larger Systems
"The macrosystem is the larger cultural or subcultural
context in which development occurs. It is the outermost environmental layer.
Effects at this level are impersonal and often indirect (Korsomo, 2014)."
context in which development occurs. It is the outermost environmental layer.
Effects at this level are impersonal and often indirect (Korsomo, 2014)."
foster care systemI was lucky to have a great foster family and a happy ending to my foster care story. Unfortunately, my story is not a common one in the foster care system. Only a small percent of foster children return to their families. Many, like Andy Bridge in Hope's Boy spend their whole childhood longing to be reunited with their families. I personally remember I was not given any explanation why I was taken away from my father. After he failed to pick me up from daycare, I was taken in a police car to a large institutional housing facility, which I, being 5 at the time, called "kids jail". I was not told what had even happened to my father, I thought that I had been arrested because I had done something wrong. Through my own personal experience and what I have learned from other peoples stories, such as Andy's, I have come to the conclusion that we underestimate the perceptiveness of children in foster care. We rob them of their self-determination and sometimes treat them like criminals based on circumstances completely out of their control. What children need that the foster care system as a whole is lacking in is love. Maybe I cannot change the whole system, but I can do my best to bring love into the lives of foster children. Andy found that in his teachers, and I hope that in my career as a human services professional others can find that in me.
|
Educational systemSome children and young adults thrive in the school environment. I tried very hard to succeed at school from a very early age. However, no matter how much I achieved, I still felt isolated. I drifted in and out of social groups and made very few connections with my teachers. This feeling of rejection manifested itself in a number of ways. As we read in the Lethality of Loneliness article, feelings of rejection and isolation lead to a number of health problems, both mental and physical. My health started declining from the amount of anxiety I was experiencing. As a result, I missed weeks of school, only worsening my social isolation and making it increasingly difficult to succeed academically. The educational system is not well equipped to handle psychological distress and many schools are unaware of their students mental wellbeing. This is why adolescent issues such as depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders etc often go unrecognized. As a society, we often view children's wellbeing as the responsibility of their caregivers. However, the old saying "it takes a village to raise a child" relays a lot of truth. Often times we need something more than what our parents or caregivers can give us. My personal social isolation in high school was in part because I never found a community that I felt I was apart of or a solid support system outside of my family. If we are going to send our children to school 6 more more hours of the day, we should at least provide a secondary support system that extends beyond academics.
|
THe future
"The difficult I'll do right now, the impossible will take a little while (Loeb, pg 4, 2004)."
Larger systems have had a profound impact on my life. This impact could have been viewed as negative, but I choose to view it positively. Adversity is not necessarily a bad thing and this is the attitude I hope to keep throughout my time as a human services professional. Part of the reason I am in this major is because of my interaction with other systems, particlarly the systems I have mentioned so far. Without my struggles within these systems, I may have not realized that we need caring professionals within them. The adversity that I have faced has taught me more than any success ever could and I hope that I can inspire others to look at the challenges they face in this positive light. In my future as a Human Services professional, I hope to take everything I have learned in my past and present and apply it to helping others in need.