In Charlie Sheen's voice... "Learning"

There are many issues that trouble people today. There is poverty, gender inequalities, racial inequalities, just to name a few. What I find interesting is the differing viewpoints on the different issues. Luckily in my social work class we get to hear anyone’s perspective.

At first, I used to brush off the tough issues with some type of light hearted joke that would just barely scrape the surface. But then I started to get into the topics we were discussing. But this is not because they were necessarily interesting.

With that being a core class, we get a very wide arrange of views. For the past 3 class periods we have pretty much just heard people explain why they believe abortion is wrong, why affirmative action is outdated, or why gay marriage should not be allowed. All of these issues can and have caused really heated debates. I personally lean on the “liberal” side for most issues, but there are some topics I am conservative about. I try to not choose a side on an issue before I hear the background of it.

My favorite part of social work is listening to this one super conservative young man speak. I most definitely do not agree with him on the majority of issues, but for some reason I enjoy listening. I also enjoy watching other people’s reaction when he speaks. I have a lot of respect for the guy( let’s call him Stern Man). The weird thing is that there are people in my Social Work class that are also in this class and I know they know exactly who I’m writing about. But anyways I enjoy talking about controversial topics in that class.

The reason I enjoy it is because I enjoy learning about other people’s reasoning behind why they choose a certain side on the issue. Their reasoning could be based on faith, morals, or even past experiences. Nevertheless most people will deliver it in a way that is very unique.

But back to Stern Man, during one in class activity, Stern Man was only on that leaned a certain on one issue.  The teacher asked why he felt that way and he said that he didn’t want to talk about it because he knows other people wouldn’t like what he says.

This saddened me a bit because I really wanted to hear what he had to say. Now I want to go and introduce myself and talk to Stern Man because I want to know how he thinks. Some of my neighbors in the class do not take me serious when I tell them that I want to talk to Stern Man because they know that I do not agree with him on many issues. However, I really wanna talk to this guy.

But enough about Stern Man. Now I know that I want to learn why other people feel a certain way about certain issues. But sometimes I feel that it is weird to walk up to someone, even someone I know, and say “hey, what do you think about abortion” and “oh, why?” Maybe since I’m an RA I can make that some type of even in which people just come and talk about their perspectives. When people explain their perspective, I believe that there is more reception with the listeners. By explain I don’t mean someone simply saying, “That’s the way it’s always been.”

Being in social work did definitely teach me something about myself. I enjoy listening to others. But don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not always actively listening. Sometimes my mind will wonder off, and the person speaking will sound like an adult in a “Peanuts Cartoon.” You know “wah wah…wah wah… wah wah wah wah.” Hopefully that makes sense my  readers.

So if you learn anything from this, I enjoy listening to others. But don’t always count on me to repeat exactly what you’ve said. You may end up disappointed.