My philosophy for preparing to work
with "grannie clients" is identical to back in my eons-ago pre-teaching
days. Seemed to my college self that it was way more important
to develop myself as a person than to take a curriculum severely limited
to "teaching of" technique courses. Oh, I considered
technique important. It's just that, to me, it seemed to play the
secondary role.
Which explains why my degree from
what's now Bryn Athyn College is in Philosophy,
with a History minor - - a radical major for a "New Church" woman back in the
early 1970s. As a sophomore
& later as a senior, I was grilled - twice! -
by the head of the Ed Dept for the WHY behind what was to him a downright quixotic pursuit.
How awesomely
amazing for a young woman, barely in my twenties, to be forced
to explain & defend to a mega authority figure my very
reasons for a life pursuit!
Can still hear the department head
warning me, "Just because you take an extra year of Ed classes is no
guarantee that you'll get a job within the church school system, even if one
should arise." Remember taking a pause & a deep breath before
responding, "Yes, Mr. Gladish, I understand that. But if I don't
take the classes & a job opportunity does come up, it's a guarantee that I
won't get it."
After taking my degree, I did come
back - as I'd always planned - for a 5th year of the very "teaching
of" courses I'd bypassed. And when a job teaching in the local
elementary school came up, I was hired!
No one was more surprised than moi that I turned out to be a bit a trailblazer, one of a few women whose actions showed a keen interest in the college's exceptional teachers & learning environment, not just its ed degree. FYI - today, Bryn Athyn College offers TEN majors!
I've set out to be a similar trail blazer with elder care. Yes, I lack what many senior care professionals assume are basic techniques. I have no expertise in helping with day-to-day life functions. Nor do I ever expect
to. Still, I've come to give great value to
the unusual quality I do bring to my grannie clients & their
appreciative families.
Just as I wasn't done with my preparation back when I got that bachelor's degree, I'm far from finished now. And what's needed now seems the same as what it was almost forty years ago - learning basic skill sets. Not as in how to help grannies & other grands with
day-to-day functional needs. That's not my area of strength.
But learning & mastering the mechanics of turning whatever it is I do into shareable
formats. I've developed the ME part of what I bring, but it's limited to
affecting the quality of life of two, maybe three olders. It feels like my life purpose is to help others get countless seniors engaged,
energized & empowered. Time to bulk up & build out my
shareable skill sets!
Been here before. In 2013 - as in 1973 - it's time
to knuckle down, to get going, to move onward & upward!
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