Young people in society
Provided by the Professional Order of Social Workers of Québec (Ordre professionnel des travailleurs sociaux du Québec), these articles are intended to help you deal with everyday life. They could also help you help a friend!
Come back to read it!
General culture
by Claire Leduc, Social Worker, Family and Marriage Counsellor
Francis has just failed his art history exam and he doesn't understand why. He received excellent grades for his other classes. Francis wants to work in film and help make action movies. Ever since his childhood, he has been watching movies and dreaming of someday being behind the camera.
Véronique is a go-getter and wants to become a businesswoman. During the school year, she received 61% on a French essay and was worried about failing. But since she wanted to attend university, she took action and asked her aunt to correct her writing. By working hard and correcting the mistakes her aunt pointed out, Véronique passed her class with an 81%. What a triumph!
The moral of the story is that motivation must be supported by effort and will. At the same time, it's important to keep an open mind. Even if, at first, the topics covered in class seem boring to you, having an open attitude will bear short-, medium- and long-term fruit.
Summer may be the perfect time to correct last year's mistakes and prepare for the next year. Of course, you will want to take advantage of the warm weather to have fun and to work to save up money for your tuition fees. But why not visit a museum of fine arts to find out about the painters you had never heard of until you took that difficult art history course? Or why not visit a big regional exhibition? Libraries are treasure troves of books by authors recommended by CEGEP and university programs. Reading a book or two could improve your spelling and stimulate your imagination and, who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it!
The period between 18 and 25 years is a crucial time during which your unique personality is forged. As you find work and studies that are suited to your tastes, this development takes place gradually.
It is important to keep up to date on cultural, political and scientific ideas. A little knowledge of history can also help you understand how human thought has evolved and could continue to change. The more you find out about the world around you, the better equipped you'll be to participate in it!
Learn to develop a general knowledge of culture and curiosity about current events. Teach yourself based on history and learn a useful methodology to improve your learning and development in your chosen field.
Use the summer to delve into new knowledge. You're sure to discover wonders you would never have expected!
