Social Work and Human Services Revised

Social Work and Human Services
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Abstract
This paper presents a personal exploration of the experiences of a typical K-12 student. The experiences are divided into three categories; peers, teachers, and other people and activities. Each category is explored separately to describe the factors that enhanced or hindered the attitude and the success of students with respect to school-based purely on a personal experience. The paper asserts that the influences of classmates in the K-12 system are either positive or negative. As such, the values of friends play a critical role in a student’s academic accomplishment and results. Teachers assume various roles in a normal classroom with the most critical academic function being to instill knowledge and understanding to students. Instructors should be actively involved and skilled to ensure the full potential of every student is realized and this, of course, requires the collaborative participation of both tutors and scholars. Participation in extracurricular activities is positively associated with the success indicators of the K-12 system as seen incredible sources. The essay concludes by discussing how personal school experience will inform the school social work practice.
Keywords: kindergarten-grade 1 to 12, the K-12, education sector, instructional methods, social work practice.
Peer Experiences
My best experience with fellow peers as a K-12 student was interacting and engaging with diverse and interesting colleagues that helped form long-lasting social interactions and friendships.

The ability of peers to influence personal achievement is central to several key policy issues in elementary and secondary education. These concerns include the effect of school choice programs, management of special education learners, ability tracking in institutions, economic, and racial desegregation. From a personal viewpoint, I believe that school choice programs such as charter schools and vouchers are crucial in furthering the interests of institutions that uphold traditional public school systems which induce competition and consequently improve quality. Categorizing learners by their academic abilities and potentials also bears lasting effects on student development and achievement depending on the degree of peer impinges. The impact of desegregation issues on achievement is dependent not only on probable overflow from normal competence but on whether various students and peers exert contrasting levels of influence on personal outcomes (Openshaw, 2008).
Based on a personal experience, I strongly believe the influences of classmates and students in the K-12 system are either positive or negative. On the positive side, peer influence serves as a crucial incentive for students to excel in school and curriculum activities. I saw that pupils who engaged and interacted with well-behaved and motivated peers exhibit desirable educational outcomes and were likely to succeed and prosper. The appropriate type of peer influence furthers the success of K-12 students in school and later in life. On the flipside, negative peer influence has the power to cause disciplinary issues and evoke delinquent acts at school and at home. My worst experience with peers involved bullying and harassment particularly from students in higher grade levels. I saw that the students and the scholars who interacted and associated with those of unquestionable character had high chances of expulsion. This was because they were negatively influenced to engage in group fights, peer confrontations, and finally lost the focus of attending class sessions. This in the long term impaired their academic abilities leading to poor grades and resulting in dropouts.
The Personal Experience with Teachers, Tutors, and Instructors
Teachers play different roles in a normal classroom with the most important function being to impart knowledge and to contribute to the intellectual progress of scholars. Effective teaching and learning is an effective instructional method particularly to students and pupils of different competency levels and potentials. This is so despite the extent of heterogeneity in class groups. My worst experience with instructors was being tutored by incompetent and unconcerned teachers. It was evident that the learners under that particular tutelage are fated to record poor academic and educational progress, despite having the potential for academic progress and ability. More clearly, I realized students with a high potential for education progress failed to show a good impression when tutored by incompetent instructors. A study on K-12 classroom management asserts that students guided by tutors regarded as most effective are expected to receive around 52% in credits in a year’s achievement. Alternatively, learners under instructors labeled as less effective are projected to gain only 14% of grades on an annual basis. This was primarily because competent teachers were well equipped with an array of teaching and learning strategies and techniques which positively influenced the educational outcomes of K-12 students (Openshaw, 2008).
Based on my experience, it was clear that teachers prevent a range of discipline problems by keeping the pupils engaged in learning activities and paying attention to their psychological and emotional issues. K-12 students are diverse and the probability of emotional and domestic problems exceeds the academics. During my school days, students experienced domestic problems which transcended into the class set-up. This demanded a deeper and personal level of tutor-student attachment to overcome. As K-12 students, our group was dynamic and often faced confrontation and conflict among peers during class breaks. Students further experienced emotional changes that hindered learning and the knowledge acquisition process. For example, students who faced abuse from fellow peers concentrated less during class sessions, they feared sitting with bully classmates and consequently performed poorly. From the above experience, it was evident the teacher was responsible for creating a supportive learning and academic environment by controlling the level of peer grudges and school fights, identifying and reporting possible cases of abuse and bullying. In this realization, therefore, I believe tutors and teachers should be well conversant and skilled with the students’ social life to ensure that the full potential of every student is realized (Openshaw, 2008).
Other People and Activities
The best experience was participating in clubs and other extra-curriculum school activities and programs. This interaction made it possible to interact and associate with students of intriguing personalities which facilitated social connection, learning, and peer interactions. Several of the functions of the school clubs like art, sports, and entertainment empowered pupils to broaden the scope of formal knowledge received during class sessions. More clearly, school clubs and extra-curriculum activities supplemented formal classroom learning and the regular academic sessions by enabling students to break from the otherwise monotonous class sessions. Perhaps the most pertinent signs and important features of a functional and a good K-12 school system include such factors as academic excellence, consistent attendance, and the desire to further education after high school. From a personal observation, participation in the extracurricular activities is positively associated with the above success indicators. The best-performing students, based on a personal observation, enrolled in more than two clubs and programs. Participation in a club or band was a supervised constructive activity that eliminated the time that would have otherwise been consumed doing less constructive activities such as playing video games or indulging in dangerous groups.
The downside of clubs and other social programs is the amount of time and energy it drains. The degree of success in extracurricular activities was largely influenced by the tutelage and the inspiration of instructors in the various fields. During my school days, adults such as coaches, art or music teachers served as role models and as sources of friendships and social support. Different developmental theories underscored the gravity of adult coaching for child and youth development. Students that engaged in after-school relationships supervised by a mentor were less likely to be involved in reckless activities as opposed to students that did not participate in such relationships. It is evident that involvement in supervised constructive activities offers students opportunities to gain social skills from interactions with adult mentors and peers. It was further clear that other people in the school like the social workers, the principal, the school psychologist, and counselors were altogether pertinent to providing a definite shaping experience to K-12 students.
Conclusion
The diversity of functions and roles by the school social workers results in a wide variety of roles and responsibilities that shape the student’s academic potential and educational progress. The primary objective of social work is to facilitate the students to function competently in the attainment of instructions and lessons. My experience as a K-12 student means that I understand the dynamics involved which will inform my school social practice. Being a former student and a product of that particular K-12 curriculum will make it possible to associate and to connect with students on a personal level. Effective social work practice includes consulting, determination of behavior plans, collaborating, consulting, and coaching others to manage their overall school and educational experience(s) (Openshaw, 2008). It is important to note that these fundamental functions can best be executed by people with adequate experience and with sufficient information of the K-12 school system.
References
Openshaw, L. (2008). The Role and Function of the School Social Worker. Social Work in Schools: Principles and Practice. Guilford Publications.