Week 12

I was unable to be in class this week due to an illness, but I did read the chapters of Sandy Schram's book that you sent us. Though I am far from being an economist, I found the chapters to be easy to read and understand, something that I think is usually lacking in most economist's writings. One part that really resonated with me in the first chapter was when he wrote about how the effects of the recession in 2008 have been systematically forcing people at the bottom of the economic ladder to survive on limited options. If we look at individual policies, we might be able to see the hugely detrimental effects on the lower class. However, if we compile all of the policies together, it is so much easier to see how we have gradually taken away policies and programs aimed at helping this disadvantaged population, especially for low-income African-Americans.

  I really enjoyed the 8th chapter of Schram's book and I agree with the idea that we have to work through these current policies based on neoliberalism, rather than work around them to address the inequalities that they create. If we only work around these policies, there's no way to completely address the inequalities that have been created by them. I also really like that Schram gave concrete ideas on how to incite change, especially the changing of these policies that inherently exclude disadvantaged populations.

   In getting ready to go home for Thanksgiving, I have been thinking a lot about my family and what sorts of conversations we will have while I am home. I am from a part of Wisconsin that is relatively rural, where people love their hunting seasons and Republicans (generally speaking). My mother and I have always been black sheep in our family regarding politics and social issues, but I enjoy having constructive discussions regarding politics. My family doesn't really talk much about politics when we're together because of the differing opinions, but I almost hope we do this year. Even though I often disagree with what my family believes, I do feel that it is important to understand the opinions of people who are on the other side of politics. Though my father and I do not talk about it much, I do know that he and my stepmother support Ben Carson (I know, it's horrifying to me too). My father's family is very religious, so I believe that is one of the main reasons they support him. At this point, I'm just glad they don't support Trump, though I think that Ben Carson is just about as scary a candidate as Trump is.

And because I love late night talk shows, especially Steven Colbert:

Week 11

I think that looking at art and artifacts from the past is so interesting and important and can show us how actual people may have been feeling at that time and allows us to compare and contrast that to today's current events. I think Celan's "Todesfuge" is such an important artifact from the Holocaust, because it's two voices are so interwoven that it creates this amazing dichotomy that can resonate so strongly with us. The two voices are always in harmony even though they're pursuing different paths. And even though more and more complexities are interwoven, you can always pick out the original voice. Listening to Celan in German, even if you don't understand the language, is so powerful and moving - I highly recommend listening to it after reading the translated poem. It's amazing what you can get and feel from something, even if you don't speak the language.


  I thought that the article by Ann Weick was actually very interesting and echoed a lot of my current thoughts on social work. While it's true that social work has historically been a woman's profession, I get so aggravated when people still believe that and see it as a negative thing. I definitely agree with Weick when she says "The problem of defining what social work do continues to plague us". I love that social work is such a broad field because I think it allows us to have influence in multiple aspects of society. But, I think that the general public, then, doesn't really understand what social workers can do. We, as a profession, tend to be in the background, which leads to a lack of knowledge about what we do. That being said, however, I don't know of anyone going into this field who is hoping for acclaim and acknowledgement. We truly want to help people, at least in my experience so far. 

   When I was trying to decide what to do with my life post graduation, I knew that I wanted to get a graduate degree in clinical psychology or something similar. But, I knew that I did not want to get my PhD yet (if ever) because I did not want to be in school for another 5-7 years. In doing much research on different programs, I decided on social work. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what a social worker did, but I know now that my knowledge was incomplete. At one point, I came across this article: http://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/reasons-to-join-social-care-2015. The first time I read it, I was inspired and excited for the journey I was about to embark on. After rereading it this week, I realize that, though it certainly is inspiring, it also does not show the whole picture. Social work can be very rewarding and you certainly have many opportunities to change lives. However, it can also be exhausting, heart-breaking, and challenging. I think that's something that this article is mentioning and something that I think needs to be taken very seriously. My field placement this year is at a school for children who struggle in regular-education settings, usually due to their behaviors. Every student at the school has a primary diagnosis of an emotional disturbance (PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, etc.). It can be very rewarding to work with the students and to help them make progress with controlling their emotions and making better choices, but it can also be heartbreaking when some of the kids don't want to go home, probably because at least at school they get 2 meals a day and aren't abused. We do all that we can to help these kids (like filing Childline reports on families that are abusing or neglecting their children), but if an investigation is conducted and the children can remain at the home, we often know that we are sending the kids into situations that they shouldn't have to be in. It's important to realize that we are sometimes the only support system for these kids. Social work is amazing and rewarding, but it's also important to recognize that it is often not an easy job. The video below is one that also moved me, especially the beginning.

Week 10

   In theory, the so-called "American Dream" doesn't seem like an inherently bad concept. It's good to dream of success and strive for something better, right? The problem is that the "American Dream" is exclusive and only available to some people. Also, success is subjective. Just because society's view of success is making money, having a home of one's own, or achieving more than one's parents, doesn't mean that that is my view of success. Indeed, the definition of success or the American Dream has changed over the years. When the idea of the American Dream was first created, the dream was not only making money, but also "enabled everyone to develop their capacity", and to own your own home. It was an inherently consumerist ideal. In the 50's and 60's, it also meant getting a good education, as well as getting a good job - yet another example of consumerist materialism. Though the markers of the American Dream might have changed slightly, the consumerist mentality never faded, and still remains to this day. It's interesting that many of the Republican candidates focus on the idea of "making American great again" - related to both the idea of American exceptionalism and the American Dream, which are are fairly exclusive ideals. One of the Republican Party's recent problems is appealing to younger voters as well as minority voters. It seems backwards to me, then, that they would focus on these exclusive ideals that may not be as readily available to those populations.
   Something that is happening in our world right now that relates significantly to the idea of the "American Dream" is the current refugee crisis. I'm writing my final paper in my racism class about this crisis and the refugee process as well as the barriers to mental healthcare, and it still astonishes me that nearly every day I hear people saying that we shouldn't let more refugees into our country because "we don't know if they're terrorists" or something equally as inflammatory. This country was built on refugees, and yet somehow people think it's ok to turn our back on people who need our help. I honestly don't understand how people can think that way. But I suppose that this is the world we live in. Those who need to shout against helping refugees should do as they must. But those who also call themselves Christians – what exactly are they learning in their church? Did Jesus say "Love (and help) your neighbor as long as it poses no risk to you"? Remember “WWJD?” (“What Would Jesus Do?” – a slogan American Christians wore on t-shirts and bracelets several years ago.)? Would Jesus turn the refugees away and say it’s too risky to help them because some among them might be terrorists? I am not claiming to know, because Jesus never spoke in my ear. But then I’m not one of those who display Christian slogans or attend church regularly.
   I think it is so important when we speak and learn about history to also view artifacts, including arts, poetry, and music, because that is how we can really see how this period in time affected people. I'm so glad that we have opportunities to do that in this class, and I found Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" to be so powerfully moving, which points out to me that art like this doesn't lose meaning over time. I'm also interested to discuss Todesfuge by Celan. I have a German major (as well as Psychology) and we discussed this poem in one of my classes at length. I remember listening to a recording of Celan performing it, which is similarly powerful to "Strange Fruit". I sometimes have a hard time comprehending poetry as much as I think I should, but listening to Celan (in German), I don't even think you need to understand the language to comprehend the feelings and emotions during that period in time.