Sally Gelardin, Ed.D., International & Multicultural Education
Overview and Rationale.
Making a transition can be difficult, whether its planned or unexpected, happy or sad (i.e., marriage or divorce, move, birth, death, award, layoff, graduation). The transition process can be managed most effectively if applied in the context of one's own life.
Icebreaker Exercise.
Share, with a parter or with your career advisor, some of your favorite childhood memories up to the age of ten. Include places, actions, people, visual memories, sounds, scents, and physical activities. If you are working with a partner, each person in pair has 4 minutes to share his or her memories. Later in this lesson, you will have an opportunity to write a poem that will include your early memories. You may be able to find sources of support to manage a current or future transition from these early memories.
Expected Participant Outcomes.
*to identify internal sources of support to help manage a career transition;
*to identify external sources of support to help manage a career transition.
Audience. This is an activity for career practitioners to use with clients from 16 years old on up.
Lecturette
Definition of Tranistion
A transition is an event or non-event that results in change. A transition is characterized by a change in roles, relationships and/or routines. An event is something that happens, such as getting married, having a child, getting a job. A non-event is something that you expected and wanted to happen, but it did not like not getting a promotion. an event or nonevent that results in change. (CDF Student Manual, Unit, pp. 20-22).
Severity of Transition
Four things determine the severity of a transition (Schlossberg, 1989): (a) situation, (b) self, (c) supports, and (d) strategies. By asking client questions about each thing separately, you and your client can understand more about the transition.
Sources of Support
Define external and internal sources of support. Draw chart. One column is Internal Sources of Support. Other column is External Sources of Support. Give examples based on Parisima Poem below (for poet of Parisima, internal source of support are the multi-senses; external sources of support are family, cultural traditions and social gatherings).
Activity
Write an "I Am From Poem" to discover what supports you have to make career and personal transitions. Include favorable memories from childhood. If you have time, include some current positive images in your life. You will not be required to share your poem with others, if you don't want to. Here is an example:
Parisima - A Holiday
by Carmen (a woman of Nicaraguan heritage whom I met on a plane ride on the way home from a conference).
To celebrate
The Immaculate conception
Patron of Nicaragua
Father had a beautiful alter.
Flowers smelled like heaven.
All the neighbors visited my house.
They brought apples from Costa Rica,
Chicha - a corn drink - pink, a little sour.
Mixed with sugarcane.
Vacatamales - like a tamale.
That was the best part of my life
When I was little.
It makes me feel that
I can be a child again.
Your "I Am From Poem"
On a piece of 8 ½ x 11 paper, write your own "I Am From" poem. fter participants have written poems (about 5 minutes), ask for volunteers to read their poems. Relate external and internal supports to poem.
Schlossberg's Transition Theory and its implications.
Use example from participants' poems or poem above. For example, in the poem above, Carmen likes her current job, but wants to change after the holidays. She wraps gifts in the gift-wrapping department of department store. She would like to go into sales. After looking at the poem that she composed, she said that she is artistic and likes designs and colors (internal resource). Referring to the festive holiday from her childhood, she said that she is social, likes to meet people and talk to people (external). Reflecting upon the poem reaffirmed her decision to discuss with her supervisor her desire to go into sales.
Assessment
On a blank sheet of paper, draw a chart, listing the external and internal sources of support found in your own poem. Some of these sources of support may be from your youth. Add other sources of support that you have developed over the years.
Summary
We used the poem to help chart internal and external supports. The next steps in Schlossberg's Transitions Theory would be to determine how to implement the transition goal, how to make maximum use of external and internal supports, and how to develop skills to overcome barriers.
Resources
Connelly, M. F. & Avis, J.( Summer, 2001). A model for counseling older workers and their families. Career Planning and Adult Development Journal. Richard L. Knowdell, Publisher. Sally D. Gelardin, Guest Editor. Volume 17 Number 2 (pp. 27-41).
English, F. (1998). Videotape: The forces within us. International Transactional Analysis Association 436 14th Street, Ste 1301, Oakland, CA 94612. Email: ITAA@ITAA-net.org.
Gelardin, S. (06). The Tightrope Model of Career Decision-Making. Keynote. SUNY CDO. Networking on the High Wire: Supporting Student Decision-Making with the Assistance of Parents and Technology. sal@jobjuggler.net
Gelardin, S. (2002). The Mother-Daughter Relationship: Activities for Promoting Lifework Success. CAPs Press. http://www.AskDrSal.com .
Gelardin, S. (2003-2006). The Job Juggler Employability Program. http://www.JobJuggler.net .
Harris-Bowlsbey, J. Suddarthy, B.H., and Reile, D.M. 2001 (revised first edition). Facilitating Career Development Student Manual. http://www.ncda.org
Schlossberg, N.K. & Robinson, s.P. (1996). Going to Plan B. new York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
Schlossberg, N. (1984). Counseling adults in transition, Linking practice with theory. Springer.
Sturdevant, K. (1998). The Laugh and Cry Movie Guide: Using movies to help yourself through life's changes. Lightspheres.
Attachment 1: Four things that determine severity of a transition Attachment 2: Major groups of external supports Attachment 3: Major groups of internal supports Using Poetry Comments
