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.