Overcoming Barriers

Today to help out with the research and how to create this documentary I went to see Rosa from Learning mentors. We spoke for a while and speaking about my personal experience and with some professional views and opinions notes were taken on how to approach the correct question and what I personally done to overcome those difficulties. These notes were only short but this helped in how to link a various of sub topics, like school life and education, and how to ask the appropriate question.

Notes (these were notes taken on my personal experience and how Rosa viewed me or about what I should be asking)

• Decision to focus on education as a means on avoiding the responsibilities or home life
• Not making/ repeating the same mistakes as others around
• Role model
• Becoming the adult and taking responsibilities
• Self awareness
• Survivor or Victim?
• Victim= drugs, alcohol, smoking, negative
• Survivor= got through fine and in control of themselves (may smoke or drink but not excessively), they cried, got angry but they are out of it fine.
• Other people were priority above myself
• Learning from others
• Changing your way of thinking
• Negative or Positive (is there a link with the survivor/ victim )
• A survivor is someone who can cope in the face of adversity
• A victim is somebody who can not cope with the difficulties and turns to something like smoking/ drinking to help them cope

From these notes we developed a series of appropriate (draft) questions to ask the public:

What is your understanding of a survivor? (from a 'broken home')
What is your understanding of a victim? (from a 'broken home')
What skills do you think you need to survive/ overcome barriers to difficulties both in your personal life and school life?