ALMA RAMIREZ

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HD411 Working with Adults

HD411 working with adults, consisted of social change in an adult service setting.
Working with adults focused on leadership, communication, the value of diversity with an antibias approach, evaluating staff and observing adults. I will further explain the goals I
accomplished in class, my developmental growth and the importance of communication.
Fulfilling my goals through class began with adult observation and the opportunity to see
the dynamic between the adults from the PTA group. Working with adults in a parent project
classroom was not the same as when I conducted the adult observation. The communication in
the PTA group was at times passive, understanding and easy going. Other times, different
opinions would get the best of them; one of the six ladies in a group was very opinionative, they
were coming up with an idea to raise funds. Her idea was to sell ice cream at the end of school,
whom seemed to be the president, disregarded her idea by shutting it down and not giving her the
opportunity to elaborate more on the idea. Cases like this can block communication which
hinders the growth in a working environment.
Social change happens with the contribution of communication. Communication consist
of active listening, empowering and understanding the power of the message. Something that
was lacking in this adult environment, communication goes a long way, for it opens our minds to
different ideas and experiences. Communication has two components consisting of receiving and
sending, within a work environment much of that component is lost. Communication is a skill
that combines an engaged listener, communicating assertively and managing stress.
Also, in my developmental perspective I learned how behavioral, mental and contextual
aspects play a role on a persons development. Traumatic and social events often shape our
developmental growth, pausing our developmental growth, building walls and setting

ALMA RAMIREZ

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expectations really high can often discourage the social change that needs to happen for a better
adult environment.
Working with adults has helped me understand the diversity of people. Not only
traumatic and social events shapes a person, culture is also a thing to take into consideration. The
fact that my culture does it one way it does not necessarily mean it is correct. Ethnocentrism
came up often in our discussion and observations, often many ethnicities believe that different
cultures are not smart. Social change happens when the thought of ethnocentrism is abolished
from our vocabulary and in return there is open-minded, appreciating the similarities and the
differences of each individual. I have learned that these similarities and differences give me the
skills to respect each individual, thus changing the dynamics for social justice.
Reflecting back on concepts that were brought up throughout the semester are things that
continue to stimulate my thinking. My approach to all this is to express my opinion as well as
respecting others if and when our opinions do not coincide, active listening which is very
important and be open-minded and remove judgments from my thoughts.
In conclusion, working with adults brought out a brighter perspective of how adults
interaction can be both positive and negative. I touched on the dynamics of my observation
between adults, the importance of communication that better a bond within a group and the
importance of social change. All these important aspects can better the adult development if and
when the person is open-minded and appreciates differences and similarities. In other words
focus on positives, grow on those and not bring out the negatives.