38th WeeK

We started the project in groups! I’m going to work with Alexia, Dani, Mia and Bente.  At the beginning I was really interested to know something more about the young criminals and the way of working that field in other countries…but finally in my group we decided to do the project about the teenage mothers. I think is an interesting issue, the truth is that I didn’t think about that topic before, but when my group mates proposed that issue I agreed with them. I don’t know anything about teenage mothers so I think I gonna learn too much in that project! At least I hope so.

I think that the most difficult to do a group project is the beginning. It’s difficult to find a unique way to work, because everyone has their own way of working. The first days of meeting with the group work we were discussing about the “index” of the project, and our first aim was to search some information about our own countries. So at the moment I think we are in a good way…

Richard Lee Stevens came to the class to give us a lecture about the  social policy and social work practice in Europe.

As a social worker (social educator) when you are working with young people, the most important thing, for me, is that you should have to be real, because you are a professional with a knowledge to help the other, but also you are a person with your own problems. So for me the methods you use are not enough, the most important thing is to be real.

Another issue we were talking and I would like to say is that we’re going to work between two different worlds: on one hand the subjective world, as an informal way; and on the other hand the objective world, as a formal way. One of the basis of the social work is to communicate this two “worlds”. For example to work with young people is too important to consider the interests of young people, so this is part of the subjective world, but you as a social worker are in an objective “world”. For me these are the most relevant ideas I learned in that lectures.

37th WeeK in Kovenhavn

In this week we did a “student forum”, it means that we were in three small groups to work and discuss about two different texts. I think it’s a very good idea to be in a small groups because I think that it’s an opportunity for everybody, to participate in the discussions, and say whatever he/she want. I’m a shy person and it’s too difficult for me to talk or to participate in a big class, but in a small groups it’s very different, and for me it’s like a “free space” because I can say everything I want.

Well we was discussing a little bit in a groups of three about the first text related to the Social Work in Europe and then we were discussing about “the influence of national cultural traditions on pedagogy: classroom practice in England, France and Germany”. The first text make me think about the difficulties to find a unique way of understanding the social work, because there’re many different countries and each one have its own culture, traditions…and also each country have different needs, different problems to solve, so it’s difficult to find only one way of work.

On Friday morning came to the class the first guest teacher, Anne Mette Danielsen, who spoke about the rights of the children. I think that it’s very important for me, as a social educator to have a minimum idea of the rights that the children have, because I would like to work with that collective, so I think it was helpful for my education. 

36th WeeK in Kovenhavn

In that week the first day we were talking a little bit about the history of Denmark. It was an interesting class for me because I like to know something more about the country where I’m studying. I was really surprised when the teacher told us that Denmark is a “new” country, because “only” 20000 years ago it was only ice (the last iceberg).

In the same week we had the opportunity to visit two different Danish institutions. It was really good because I could see the way of working in a Nursery and in a Children’s Home.

Last year, during my practical placement in the University, I was working in a Children’s Home and it was a really good experience for me, both personal and professionally. So it was very nice to see, as I mentioned before, the way of working in a Danish Children’s Home, and I could compared it with my previous experienced in the same field.

The most surprising for me was the geographic situation of the house, because it was a very rich zone of Kovenhavn and that is not usual in my country. Moreover, the way of working of the pedagogues in the house is very similar than the work of the social educators in Catalunya.

My first week in Copenhagen!

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The first week in Copenhagen is passed and it was quite intense!

The first days were too difficult for me since I didn’t understand what the teachers and my classmates said... and it was a bit frustrating for me! Probably I’ll improve it time by time.

The first days of classes we were working about the educational system established in our own countries, and I realized that all are very different.

We also spoke about the prejudices, prejudgements and preunderstandings. Everyone have prejudices but we should be able to minimize them, because we can’t put everyone into the same box. For example, not all the Japanese people have to know everything about the computers!!!

“Intercultural meeting”

This concept was the protagonist in our multicultural class. I personally think that there are many ways of understanding this concept and everyone is respectable. In my point of view the “intercultural meeting” means that in some place, different cultures are interrelated with each other, it could be through the food, through the language… For example, the camp where we went last week was an intercultural meeting because we were living together for three days, and we are from different countries

My expectations of the international course

In that course I would like to know different methodologies of work in the different countries that are represented in the class. I think it’s really interesting to be in a multicultural classroom, and a good opportunity to learn about other cultures and lifestyles.

Something of myself

Well, I am Laia and I'm from Sant Julià de Vilatorta, a little town near Barcelona, I use to speak catalan with my family and friends but I can speak Spanish too. I'm 20 years old and I’m studying to be a social educator. I’m in my third year and the last one. I think that I’m a happy person but I’m a little bit shy.

This International course is a personal challenge for me, and I think it could be really interesting to know other people, from other countries, with different lifestyles, different points of view…

About my hobbies…Well, I love football and I’m really fan of BARÇA. I like to go out with my friends and stay with my family.