Experience of a single mother about being a student - Term Paper Example



Reflective Paper
Name of the Student
Education
Name of the Concerned Professor
November6, 2011
Abstract
This course has not only allowed me to put in context my past experience as a single mother and a professional, but has also extended to it a formal direction and scope. During the course of my studies, I garnered ample insights regarding my writing and research skills and abilities. On the basis of such realizations, I have come out with a plan aimed at honing my writing and research skills.

Reflective Paper
Being a mature person actively engaged as a single parent, executive and now as a student, I must say that this class has amply stimulated me to not only analyze my strengths and weaknesses, but has also motivated me to place them in a positive context and perspective. I have realized that I innately possessed much strength that was extended a formal direction by this course. However, I have also identified some weaknesses on my part as a student that I plan to work on, with sincerity and zeal.
I graduated in 1982 and after being divorced I remained amply busy as a single mother to a 14 year old son and first as a county caseworker, and later on as a credit analyst with At&t. Initially I feared that I had come a long way from my dream. However, since I joined this 1st class, I realized that my past experience as a mother and a full time employee has endowed me with much insight into the essentials of Family & Community work. While studying for my undergraduate degree in social work, back in ’82; my only thought and passion was to help others. I had an innate conviction that a career oriented around working with children, families and communities will be really fulfilling for me. For 15 years I worked as a caseworker with the county, helping families to get and continue on the food stamp program and Medicaid services. Later on, I shifted to the corporate world in quest for a better financial scenario, considering my responsibilities as a single mother. Now, when I think that I have the requisite space, opportunity and the time, I want to revert to and work on my original dream of helping families and communities. I expect much help and insight from my past experience, while pursuing a Masters of Education, specializing in Family & Community.
Being away from a formal academic environment for such a long time, I face some difficulty with the essentials and nuances of academics, which are writing and research. Initially, when I joined this course, I was confident that my writing skills were at par. However, soon I realized that my past writing experience was primarily limited to professional and official writing. So writing is one aspect of my academic life that I need to work on religiously. To some extent, I feel the same about my research skills. To begin with I believed that in the current age of computers, search engines, online libraries and databases, and the internet, I will rarely face any problem locating and researching the required sources. However, it was a surprise to know that all the information published on the internet is not credible, and a credible online source needs to be affiliated to reliable bodies of opinion, government organizations, academic institutions and authentic publishers (Deane, 2010, p. 41). One more thing I need to focus on is my referencing and citation skills.
Well, so far as my writing skills are concerned, I know I need ample practice and hard work. It is my belief supported by my teachers and superiors that the more I write, the better I will get. I am also working on my citation and referencing skills and talking the help of the concerned texts and experts. Through research and interaction with my teachers, I have realized as to what constitutes plagiarism and how one can avoid plagiarism in one’s academic writing. I well understand that it is vital to credit a source accurately while pursuing academic writing (Deane, 2010, p. 4). Also, it is a must that the cited source is credited as per the expected formatting style. I am confident that with my enhanced engagement in reading, writing and research, I will accrue much expertise and growth over time. I am moving ahead with confidence and a positive attitude towards the challenges that I come across in my daily academic writing and research.
To put it simply, education and its associated elements like reading, writing and research are lifelong processes, and their scope extends much beyond this class and my academic life. I know I have served well as a single mother and as an employee. Now I intend to bring in the same dedication, sincerity and hard work to my academic pursuits and endeavors. My goal is to complete the 1st class successfully, to become a better and more confident writer and to be circumspect and responsible in my research.
References
Deane. Mary. (2010). Inside Track to Academic Research, Writing and Referencing.
New York: Longman. Read More