I haven’t met
with my group yet but I have spoken to the president a few times on the phone.
I’ve also spoken with the vice president and the treasurer. I’ve known all
three of them for a couple of years.
Although I was
never actually a member of the SVO I have worked on a few things with them in
the past. They’ve been trying to get me to officially join the group and attend
meetings for the past couple of years but I haven’t had the time to give. I’ve
definitely lost touch with them recently so it’s nice to be reconnected. It’s
going to be hard to stop attending the meetings when the semester ends. But I
have to. I honestly don’t have the time to participate in a group while I’m in
the MSW program. I’ve already informed the president that I’m only going to be
able to participate in the group for one semester.
I’m pretty
interested in seeing how the group functions in its meetings. I can’t help but
wonder how they manage their time and resources. I know they have a few big
projects they are working on but I don’t know how much time they spend
discussing them in their meetings.
Group dynamics
has always interested me. Just as with any group or population, you never know
what you’re going to get when you’re working with a group of veterans. In some
cases the group will be as organized as a military unit. Everyone will have a
purpose and everything will run smooth. Leadership and roles will be
established and ach member will be focused and determined to complete whatever
the mission is. But in other cases, the group could be completely disorganized,
lacking any quality leadership, and unable to focus on a task, let alone
complete one.
I’m really not
sure what my role in this group will be yet. I think the hardest part about
being in this group will be that I’ll want to participate more than I’ll be
able to. If I had more time to invest in this organization I’d be as involved
as I possibly could be. For now I just want to attend some meetings and be an
observer. If an opportunity arises for me to become more involved with
something specific, I’ll probably take it. I guess I won’t know until I go to a
couple of meetings.
Hello Phil,
ReplyDeleteI agree that one of the difficulties of this project is only engaging in a group for a short amount of time. I would think this would be extra difficult for you considering this organization is one that your are personally connected to and passionate about. I am sure you will also have extra pressure to be involved from the friends you know.
I have also been feeling bad about pursuing a group and fully engaging and involving myself in it, knowing that I will be unable to participate in a couple months. It will be hard to hear about the great need for participants and invest in the mission of an organization and then disconnect in a couple months.
I also like your questions about group dynamics. I think that will be an interesting element to observe. I also wonder how group roles and power/ authority structures develop and play out in the course of a group. I suspect it is similar to the establishment of group elements and norms that occurs in support groups which we learned in practice last semester. We will have to compare the differences between our groups.
Looking forward to continuing to hear more from you.
Jess
Hey Phil,
ReplyDeleteI must say I think it is great that you get to reconnect with friends, I think that might be a great help not only for the assignment but for the group itself as well. As for the organizational standpoint, maybe it might be disorganized, lacking leadership, but that could be something to focus on. It seems as though you would love to see this group prosper and maybe you could be the one to help them do so. Your participation does not have to focus souly upon the larger group projects, but possibly reinforcing the group dynamics and the inner workings which keep it as a cohesive unit working as one.
I understand that it can be difficult wanting to play a larger role, and it is good that you can recognize the inability to do so before hand. Although you may not have the time to accomplish many things the knowledge of a deadline can push you harder to give your current group work your all. Keep up the good work and hope you get to meet with the SVO sometime soon.