Social Work Dichotomy

Poverty is not a topic to be pushed to the side for later conversation. It is evident in the streets and in cities and countries, whether it is liked or not. Many children grow up not knowing the joys of having whatever they want, whenever they want it, and do not have some necessities in life such as correct school supplies or decent clothing. Kids have to choose how they are going to deal with their situation: some are kind and hard workers who try their best in everything they do while the others play around, are not hard working, have no manners or etiquette, and do not care about their appearance. Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, born into poverty, have different views and actions because of their upbringing and the environment they are born into. Both

There are so ways people express the ways they have had to deal with poverty in society. Also they are endless songs, movies and books expressing about people who have money that take advantage of those who do not. The Horatio Alger book called Ragged Dick deals with the many aspects of inhumanity, greed and the American Dream where it’s believed through hard work, strong ‘ethics, and being respectful a person can achieve a better life for themselves. I believe both of these aspects to be true to those who are in poverty and those who are rich.

I didn’t grow up poor, we had nice clothes, a nice home, good schools and plenty of food and we went on vacations every summer. Me and my 8 siblings had a great childhood. It’s one thing to read about poverty and it’s another thing to sit in the dark with an empty refrigerator, hungry and wondering how to get yourself out of poverty.

I interviewed Kim, a LICSW working in private practice in Providence along with her two brothers. She takes on a person-centered approach to her therapy and is very focused on helping her clients achieve their goals, whether it be overcoming grief or dealing with a large adjustment in their lives. Kim certainly appears to be running a very successful practice and by being able to speak to her directly, I learned much more about the social work field.

locate my work within the broad areas of social theory, political economy, and labor and social movements. In my research and writing, I investigate, largely in the U.S. context, overdeterminations of race, gender, class, and power. The geographical impulses shaping my analyses are deliberately counterintuitive. What I wish to do is disarticulate commonsense couplings of sites and struggles and disrupt assumptions such as the idea that politics happens in the milieu of the state, or that value comes from wage-controlled workplaces.

In the profession of social work, a worker comes to realization that there are many areas of human rights and legal concerns that are troubling and painful for the people in our care. Yet, as workers provide these services it requires them to advocate, protect, and provide the highest level of service as the worker explore the concept of the person and the environment. Also, it is imperative for all social workers to understand the theory behind how people change from conception to death in order to provide the necessary services intended for the clients in which we served such as loss, success, betrayal, and death. When a worker fully understand the theory then this will governed the type of services that will be offer and be professional.

In the society we live in today, there are many problems people face whether it has to do with family, friends, jobs, stress, money, children, abuse or, etc. Although many people face issues in their daily lives sometimes these issues can be overwhelming and in these cases it is important to realize that there is help from people. Social workers are put in place by the government to provide help and assistance to those who need it and even those who may not accept it but are in need of it. There are many times a social worker will be seen as the bad guy but its hard to forget that they are just doing their job and actually are doing more good than bad. Social workers provide the help and services that most families and communities need but may not be able to access or may have other conflicts which prevent them from receiving help. Whether it be help by necessary force or by willfulness of the person or family that needs help, it can be assured that a social worker will be there to provide just that.

This research paper provides an opportunity to demonstrate the understanding of the profession of social work and discuss potential strengths and challenges faced in the beginning exploration of the social work profession.(Group Practice Handbook pg 4)Social work practice supplies transferable knowledge, values and skills for the interactive approach. The main goal of the social work profession is to improve human well-being and help meet the necessities of all people, with percise attention to the needs and liberation of people who are impotent, distressed, and living in poverty.(NASW)

My current understanding of social work is that it is a profession which helps different people achieve various goals or obtain different types of services. Social workers may work with very young children or they may work with the elderly or any age group in between. Social workers are often advocates for underprivileged groups of people. Social work is often categorized into three main groups, micro, mezzo, and macro social work (Cummins, Pedrick, Sevel, 2012). In micro social work, social workers, “work with individuals, in families or in groups, and in public, not-for-profit, or private agencies” (Cummins, Pedrick, Sevel, 2012). In mezzo social work, social workers, “work in program and policy development or research evaluation within community agencies or private corporations” (Cummins, Pedrick, Sevel, 2012). Lastly, macro social workers, “may be involved with community organizing and development, or working in the political arena as a state or federal employee, elected official, policy analyst, or lobbyist” (Cummins, Pedrick, Sevel, 2012). No matter what area of social work a person works in social workers need to be culturally competent, and follow the social work mission and values.

Although many people that come from working poor or underclass family are able to find their way into a well-paying job, many kids will lack the motivation and drive to be successful. This is due to the fact that they see that their parents are able to get by with the jobs they have as laborers, salespeople, part-time workers, or living on welfare. Personally, I strive to be the best I can and I would like to have a job I enjoy while still making a good income. Although my family's social class may make a small difference in where I see myself in ten years, for me, it mainly comes down to how driven my dad is and has raised me to be. He pushes me to always do my best and reach for the moon in everything I

For me, growing up has been nothing but an exhilarating ride called the “You don’t get everything you want” train. By no means has my family struggled, it just would have been much different for us if we had been brought up by money. It took time to understand that I could not buy every toy in the store that I wanted, or go to the mall every weekend with my friends. Being raised in the middle class made me a stronger and smarter person in my opinion, but growing up in the upper class would have allowed us to spend more money on ourselves and not think about the consequences.

Many problems remain in the American society such as the increasing number of people living in poverty, the juvenile crime rate, unaffordable housing for the working middle-class and poor people, backlash against illegal immigration, and the shortfall in social welfare programs (black). Social workers try to combat these problems, which are a result of society, economics, and development problems. Social work in the United States is a profession about promoting and offering social services through practicing with people, communities, and organizations; advocating with and for clients; and creating social work knowledge (Writing in social work). Social work in the United States utilized the direct practice with individuals, families, and communities. Social workers need to continue to advocate for social problems (Writing in social work).

A large component of the social work profession is cultural competency. According to the National Association of Social Workers, in order to be culturally competent, social workers should understand culture and its’ role in society (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2008). Social workers should be able to recognize the strength of each culture, have knowledge of their clients’’ cultures, and provide culturally sensitive services to each individual with whom they work with (NASW, 2008).

Social class placement has intrigued me for roughly a decade. My intrest in how social class is established began when my middle class family lost our only source of income, and dropped to identify as struggling in the lower class. Class placement can be tough for a social worker to deal with, especially when the client aspires to achieve a higher class, say middle class, but does not have the means to do so. As a social worker, the job would have to be finding a way to achieve that goal, or helping the individual or family to establish new goals without emotional degredation from letting go of achieving a different class. This social construction not only affects how people view each other, but also how they view themselves, which means it can be an issue on several fronts, mainly social and psychological. Since multiple ways of viewing, and ultimately fixing, the problem of social class placement can be used, I decided to focus on the theory of structural functionalism for this assignment.

I grew up relatively poor. Not horribly poor. I mean not one person in my family was forced to wear one of those pickle barrels with straps like in the Three Stooges. Still, my family was very far from being considered rich and there were a lot of things beyond the bare necessities that we couldn’t live without. The only thing about my families situation is that I didn’t realize that I had grown up poor until I moved to Seattle my senior year of high school. Once I arrived there and my family settled down, my new surroundings kept screaming at me, “You grew up poor! Just admit it!” I was so confused. Not suprising though; Seattle can be a confusing place.