Happenstance it's been happening all week!

It's been a great first week on placement in Craigmillar, as usual I've been speaking to lots of people, seen community guidance in action , visited several projects which my placement organisation works in partnership with and I've met a fair few of the good people of Criagmillar. So far so good, and what I've become very aware of this week is the power of happenstance , and the extent to which looking back I can see it influencing my career choices and opportunities.To me happenstance is really a mixture of opportunities bourne out of networking and chance meetings and this week because of it I have been able to reconnect with old colleagues, hear about potential job opportunites and gain some useful insight for my essay. It has also given rise to a few questions about the theory itself , and how it can be used in a guidance situation, as taking advantage of these opportuniites and seeking them out in the first place I think requires a level of confidence, assertiveness that many of the people we are working may not possess. So how do we help enable people to be more confident networkers and to take advantage of opportunities ? This is certainly something that I don't feel we can tackle alone and certainly where young people are concerned it's an issue for parents ,teachers, youth leaders also. Perhaps one of the ways we can can contribute is in career education with young people perhaps incorporating some of the kinds of things we look at within the confident futres team regaerding being effective communicators and things like presentation skills and actually talk about the value of networking and how that is useful not just in the world of work but in other areas of our lives also. There is a danger however with chance opportunitiesthat we get seduced by the proverbial red herring and rather like the bargains in a sale instead of choosing wisely we seize any opportuniites just because they are there and we can, but then again perhaps Krumboltz would say does this really matter is trial and and error such a bad thing isn't it the best plan just to be trying things out, taking risks and grasping those opportunities with both hands ?

Community, Involvement and Guidance

I really didn't buy in to the idea that through our work we are potentially "smashing communities". People are by and large much more mobile now than they once were and often this is to do with going where the work is, but not always, some of us just have a sense of adventure and like to explore. However just because you leave one community doesn't mean that you don't become part of another. I have travelled alot over the years, lived in several different countries, joined different communities and have been greatly enriched by that experience, don't get me wrong it hasn't always been easy but I see it as very much a positive. As we discussed in class there is an up and a down side to everything, communities can bring out the best in us when they are about including, pulling together and looking out for eachother and the worst when they are characterised by small mindedness, exclusivity and isolationism.
My background is in Community Education and nearly all the projects I have worked in over the years have grown from needs identified in particular communities and localities and from directly involving the people in those communities in their planning and development. Projects that are deeply rooted in the community and that are much needed are better equipt to withstand threats to funding and changes in goverment policy as communities feel that they own a particular service and will fight tooth and nail for it's suvival. I think this is something worthwhile to think about for the development of more community guidance. I would like to see less of an emphasis on delivering careers guidance in school, taking it away from those influences and associations. I think there are many young people who would engage with it much more readily if the people offering guidance had a better idea of their world and where they are coming from. Involving young people and other community members themselves in the setting up of small projects and services would be a good idea, meeting young people in their own homes or whereever they are hanging out, youth clubs, community centres etc . Having a real equitable dialogue with young people is so important and I think it can be difficult to achieve this in the school setting.