Social Workers and Policy Advocacy Essay

Both Delegate Chris Hurst and Senator Ben Chafin replied to my email supporting the Bill. They both were excited about Radford City Schools transitioning curriculum to prepare students for the 21st-century workforce. I thought it was neat that Both Delegate Hurst and Senator Chafin took time out of their day to respond to my

The latest action on this bill was made by House Education and the Workforce on April 29, 2015. The type of action was Committee Consideration.

H.R. 3099 was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Please know I will keep your views in mind should further action be taken on this issue.

Not only do students lose opportunity in learning from these areas, but the law is also underfunded which the defeats the purpose as well as contradicting itself in the sense that students won’t be achieving the goals set by this law. By 2011, more than 50% of schools were labeled “failing”, and lawmakers saw the need for a change, but weren’t able to produce a bill. That year, the Obama administration offered states a reprieve from many of the law’s mandates through a series of

That decision is being revisited at the November 8 meeting of the current School Committee. Six of the seven who approved it in 2015 are still members. The mandate is being challenged by a high school senior who wants to make the project optional. He and another student spoke at a recent School Committee meeting where he shared that an online petition has garnered over 150 signatures. Reasons cited for changing the policy were anxiety, added pressure and time commitment to already busy schedules and

Teacher support of the Common Core is also declining, down to 46% from a high of 76% in 2013. Again, political polarization is evident. Republican teacher support falls 34% since 2013, while democratic teacher support falls 15% (Henderson 10).

Common Core will prosper in places where former standards-inclined reform approaches have failed. Bleiberg and West (2014) report that education campaigners contend that the Common Core Standards were designed in combination to teacher, investigator, and education expert feedback modules for learner

In order to conduct meaningful change and to be effective in influencing policy, there must be a well thought out plan in place. In the text The Policy-Based Profession: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers by Popple and Leighninger (2015) they argue that “For an action strategy to be effective, it is imperative that the people taking the action have a firm grasp on the problem they are dealing with and on achievable goals. You must do your homework before taking action” (p. 262). It is crucial that we do our homework when it comes to influencing policy for medicaid expansion in Texas. This includes having a better idea on who our coalition partners are, these are individuals and groups who share a common goal and purpose. This also includes knowing some strategies to increase public awareness, and as well what potential barriers may lie ahead that could possibly influence our success.

Anyone would be hard-pressed to find a politician in recent years who has been elected to a national office without promising to improve education and focus their efforts on the betterment of their constituents’ children. Many of these politicians have succeeded at passing legislation to do so, but the latest of these, the Common Core standards initiative, is facing a very important query right now: does it work in America? Although Common Core is very well intentioned and in selective ways could be considered a success, there are many failures to consider as well. When dealing with such education, a vital issue, these failures must be dealt with. In order to ensure not only an equal education but also one of higher quality which the citizenry

This assignment involves a case study where Ralph, a fourteen year old boy, is currently in foster care because his mother; Kerry, felt she was unable to control him due to his behaviour. However, Kerry has now expressed that she is unhappy with this foster placement and has requested that her son be returned to live with her and his two younger brothers. The scenario becomes more complex owing to the fact that Ralph has disclosed that his mother had regularly hit him with a walking stick. In this essay I will seek to consider the main practice issues raised by the scenario of the case study. Using the materials provided within the course along with my own professional experience, I will outline relevant legislation

This article, written in 2014, titled, Common Core Switch Could Be Costly, gives the reader an overview of what Common Core really could do to American taxpayers. A taxpayer is someone who, “pays a tax or is subject to taxation,” (dictionary.com). The cost relates to how times have changed because a lot more money is spent on trying to give children a bigger and better education. When people think about how school was 100 years ago, and then think about where life has gone to today, there is a vast difference. Technology is one thing, but the way children were taught and how many children did not even go to school is quite another. But many differ from the point of view that it was better way back when, just as Kimberly Kennedy does in her article Common Core Is Working, Don’t Break It in which she states, “We must prepare our kids for a future where technology reigns and more jobs will require college degrees,” (Kennedy). Technology is an argument in itself, but it does play a certain role in Common Core, but that will come further along. Nevertheless this article argues the fact that Common Core is helping Kentucky with scoring higher grades on tests and becoming a smarter

Ethical dilemmas happen frequently in the social work and how one handles them could be the difference on how a clinician keeps their license or not. The problem is there is no way to prepare a person from knowing what situations will arise. Scenarios arise all the time and new ways to handle them is constantly changing. The ethical dilemma can happen anywhere and at any time with anyone, it could be a client, co-worker, and even supervisors. No social worker is safe from them. One however can practice with scenarios and be aware of personal biases. A social worker needs to evaluate each dilemma with the different frameworks and principals to determine which one applies best, anticipate what possible outcomes could happen, and what interventions a social worker would implement.

1) Last week, Congress overhauled NCLB and indicated that Common Core would not be implemented. What are your thoughts on these two pieces of legislation? I have confused and mixed feelings. Everything has a purpose and a reason. I am hoping if and when this happen is to benefit the students. Students are the ones that will be dealing and adapting themselves to a new curriculum. Special education students need to time, dedication, and help when it comes to adjusting themselves. Hopefully not implementing common core will help students achieve higher and teachers will be able to focus on the students more. “A student identified under the IDEA category of Specific Learning Disabilities would still be held accountable under NCLB, but other sources of academic progress may need to be considered in addition to a very specific grade-level exam (National Center for Learning Disabilities, n.d.). For example, a sixth-grade student falling under this category of IDEA may be reading at the third-grade level as a result of his or her disability. As such, other ways of demonstrating academic achievement are important because grade-level testing, as required by NCLB, may not be acceptable under IDEA’s individualized approach to academic progress (National Center for Learning Disabilities, n.d.).(Eckes, 2009,pg.2480) We have to understand that special education is a process, a process that can’t have a time frame or limitation. All children learn differently and in result will show

School social workers work within schools to provide a variety of social, emotional, and mental health services to students to support overall success. The intent of this research is to evaluate the significance of having a school social worker available to general education students within the Owatonna High School setting and to examine the gaps in services that may have appeared since removal of this position in 2009. Various related studies were examined to outline a range of ways in which school social workers are used to support student success. During this study, a total of seven employees of the Owatonna School District were interviewed regarding school social work. As a whole the participants identified a large number of gaps

As the saying goes, “Our children are our future” and who you are as a child can determine who you can be later on in life. It is important for a child to be in a safe, comfortable and loving environment during its development so that the child can have the full advantage to become the best he can be in his future. My future career as a social worker will ensure just that. I chose this profession because of my own history. Growing up, I’ve had my share of social workers in my house. I experienced them as people who helped my family during a hard time. This is a career where I can fight for people’s rights. I will also be able to protect