today was also really exciting because i had a meeting with my advisor, where i learned two things. one: i knew i needed to take a summer course, but i learned today that i can do the study i sent earlier and get credit instead of taking another lecture. SO COOL. i get practical experience, i can put it on my resume, and I make my own schedule. doesnt get much better than that! funny story to go with this: i was telling my prof that i missed new york because people were real - if they dont like you they tell you, if you mess up they tell you. here, everyone smiles then talks behind your back. I told her ''as my roommate (a canadian) told me, "all canadians are tellytubbies."'' so, she said '''i know the perfect person for you! 'shes loud and gets in your face and complains and shell meddle in your work! she needs someone for a project; are you interested?" to which i said yes, of course! so there ya go. now ill be doing research for her, interviewing kids/teens in the youth justice/youth protection system =] (details about the project below)
in other awesome news, i think i mentioned to you guys that I had designed this grant proposal? well, to make it short I designed a proposal for a grant ($30,000!) and then found out i cant get it because im not canadian. but i thought it was a good idea and i didnt want to give up on it, and today i got (tentative) approval to use my idea as my isp!!!! isp is independent study project, which can either be a thesis (as i had planned on doing) or a practical (which I will now do). the project is basically a lit review and then needs assessment of the existing best practices and current practices used for teens/youth who are pressing charges against people who have molested or sexually exploited them. it was 100% inspired by stories from marian hall and other disturbing news stories of cops raping kids. and of course law and order svu. =x SO ill be submitting a formal proposal in march and hopefully conducting research in nyc this summer!!!! i plan to interview people at 17th street and a few other organizations ill be researching. i am SO excited =]]]]]
besides school news, my internship is getting better. i made a solid friendship with one girl and casual friends with the others, and i finally got an interesting assignment. im now doing data analysis of military training documents from armies around the world to see how they train soldiers on youth protection. its cool stuff, but really sad to see that about 50% is dedicated to telling troops not to/ to stop raping civilians and children. did you know that one of the best indicators to measure the growth in prostitution and sexual exploitation in a poor country is the presence of peacekeeping troops? disgusting. but, im glad to finally be doing meaningful and stimulating work with a purpose =]
aside from spewing about my nerdy interests, life is good =] i went to DC for thanksgiving to see my entire extended family. it was not said, but everyone went with the assumption that itll be the last time were all together before my grandpa dies. i had a good time and was really happy i was able to go, but i think you always forget how warped and crazy your family is until you see them all in one (dry!) place. yikes. luckily, im still young enough that i can spend most of my time playing monopoly with my cousins =]
details about my practical course:
The Writers in the Community (WIC) program is jointly run by the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF), and The Centre for Literacy. The WIC program, started in 2003, is designed to expose marginalized teenagers and youth who have been left out of the artistic and social mainstreams to writers who present them with opportunities from the literary arts. The WIC program pays a writer-facilitator to go into schools and youth-based community organizations to facilitate writing groups for eight sessions and selects two locations a year. Each group normally consists of 5-10 participants, most of whom are under the age of 18.
These two organizations are interested in collaborating with the McGill School of social work to carry out a program evaluation of the WIC program. This evaluation would focus on interviewing the youth who have participated in the program. As the QWF/Centre for Literacy work in partnership with Batshaw Youth and Family Centres (BYFC), a research submission application to the BYFC ethics committee is required in order to proceed. It is hoped that approximately 15-20 youth would be interviewed.
Madeline!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have some really awesome research opportunities!! and that would be SO COOL to be in NYC this summer-- THANK YOU for having a passion and desire to investigate such an important issue. I hope you get the grant and are able to shed light on these oh-so-present injustices.
Sorry to hear about your g-pa, hope you were able to spend some good quality time with him while in DC.
Much much love,
Kylie