Teaching Philosophy Statement Analysis

On September 21, 2015, I met with Ms. Katie, a student in the MSW program at NCSU, to conduct an interview. We met at Starbucks in Cary, in the crossroads shopping center. Ms. Katie’s responses helped me learn and think about social workers in the child welfare social field. As a prospective social worker, my questions were formed based thoughts that I was concerned about my responsibilities in the social work field..

With a master 's level education in social work, I see myself envisioning clients’ health and well-being. As a student, I will study and practice techniques, beyond a generalist perspective, that will allow me to give clients hope and the ability to see something greater than what they are facing. Upon completion of a Master of Social Work direct practice degree and certificates in gerontology and mental health programs, I intend to become a licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I will competently incorporate specialized skills in different professional settings while developing my knowledge of a wide range of social issues and professional standards. With commitment, I wish to develop skills that will enable me to create or find hidden resources and services for my future clients, create platforms through counselling for victims of trauma.

I have always wanted to become a teacher. From playing school with my little sisters, to volunteering a summer camps and elementary schools, there is not better feeling, to me, than to know that I have helped someone to accomplish a goal and develop better as a person. I think that there is no better way to impact the lives of other people than to become a teacher. As a teacher, not only will be able to affect the lives of these students from day t day, but I can also make an impact on the life of each child and hopefully their family as well.

Entry 1 On this module you have explored what might have led you to join the social work profession. Why is it important to think about your motivations for becoming social workers and how might this affect the way you practice? Why is self-awareness important in social work practice? Given your own unique background, what areas of social work might you find challenging and why?

Before beginning the Master of Social Work program at Laurier I figured I had a strong understanding of what social work was. However, I quickly learned that I had only scratched the surface. I knew oppression existed, but I never understood the depth of it. I now know that I was afraid of it. It was easy for me to stay silent, because it was such a comfortable position to be in. Doing nothing meant I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This was influenced by the privilege I had.

This was a very eye opening class for me. Coming from a mental health counselling background I have to admit it is a major difference in how social workers operate versus therapist. In this essay I will reflected on how this social work class has genuinely affected me, my strengths and weaknesses, and what I have taken away from this class. I always gain a great deal of satisfaction from helping others. I remember from middle school on through adulthood I was the go to person. If a person had an issue or needed to talk. I was the voice of reasoning. I was the one able to grab hold of certain resources if someone was in need

The past couple semesters we have focused on theories, techniques, role-plays, etc. However, I think learning more about the human services profession as a whole is extremely beneficial. For this assignment, I conducted an interview with a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) named Joshua Feinberg at Chestnut Ridge Hospital. Joshua has been working as a social worker for four years. He enjoys the counseling aspect more than anything as being a social worker. At Chestnut Ridge Hospital, LICSW are technically called a “Clinical Therapist”. They are called clinical therapists because they mostly do counseling at this facility. During the course of the interview, the questions focused on the professional roles, positives, negatives,

In order to gain a better understanding of the role of a good syllabus in teaching, I present my critique of the syllabus of the course SOWK 732: Social work practice with organization and communities. Before starting the critique of the syllabus, it is necessary to review the purpose and characteristics of a syllabus. A syllabus is not only a contract between the instructor and students (Step to a good syllabus, n.d.; Cullen, 2013), but also an attempt to improve the learner-centered academic experience. With these purposes, I consider a good syllabus as one of the basic communication channels between the instructor and students. Thus, this communication channel should be clear, specific, and informative in the expectations, objectives, and

Social work is a career that finds and chooses you, rather than you selecting it. Social work has always been an immense portion of my life even when I had no recollection of what social work entailed. My life revolved around so many situations that had a social worker stepped in, my life would be totally different than it is today. Many individuals and agencies lack the compassion and empathy for oppressed people. Having been in many circumstances, has given me the experience and background that influenced me to go into social work, as well as the understanding of my role and responsibilities that I will assume as a professional social worker, and my reasons for selecting the program at ASU School of Social Work and thoughts on how the Mission Statement addresses my career goals.

Self-reflection and correction in social work practice is important for continued learning and professional development. Without self-awareness, social workers cannot separate their personal feelings, values, and attitudes from their professional. This is important because we need to focus on the needs of the client, not what we think they need. Knowing how to separate our personal feelings and values from our professional feelings and values will prevent us from getting burnout and help us maintain professional boundaries.

I've learned the goals of a social worker because of this class. Professional Roles and Responsibilities states that a social worker “must remind our nation and its leaders about how the social work profession helped make the United States a compassionate world leader in the last century and that social workers continue to advocate for social justice and provide necessary services for all citizens” (2015). I have appreciated this class and its objectives. Helping troubled families was one of the best social workers classes I have had taken. This is because I learned more about myself, my family, and the helping profession. I give thanks to challenges when they come my way. If it wasn’t for the challenges I experienced in this course, I wouldn’t have grown or learned as much as I did. Although challenges can be difficult to manage, if you have a life free of challenges, you would never grow and never be able to live up to your full potential. When I look back on every challenge I faced through this class, I notice they have played an important role in my life. This course helped me grow in a personal and professional way. I can't wait to continue to learn more about myself, my family and the helping profession. Leaving this class, I feel well prepared to help others as a social

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a national association of educational programs and individuals that confirms and improves the quality of social work education to become a professional job. CSWE puts in a countless amount of effort to strive for this mission by setting up a bachelor's and master’s degree programs in social work. On the other hand, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with approximately 132,000 members. To be more specific, NASW has a determination to intensify the maturity and developmental process of its members. The main goal is to retain professional standards and to create fair social policies. NASW progresses

I believe that engaging students, getting them excited about course content, the learning process, and the values and standards of social work practice are the vital tasks of a social work instructor in addition to informing students the course content. This can be achieved by providing students opportunities to express and discuss subject matters, and reflect on their strengths, understand contradictions, handle criticism well, and integrate feedbacks in their learning. Additionally, I see my role as a motivator by sensitizing students to social, cultural, clinical and political (policy-related) issues. I have seen that most students find their motivation to be a social worker from the aim of helping others; however, professional social workers’ motivation needs to be aligned to the knowledge and understanding of social work ethical values, principles, and standards. I emphasize with my students frequently, even in the research class, that having a good goal, intention, and heart may not necessarily make them professional social work practitioners. Discussion around students’

What is the most essential knowledge that social workers students must have to work effectively with families? The social work profession has always emphasized the importance of strong family functioning. When families are successful in meeting their goals, individuals and society as a whole thrive. Throughout the history of the profession, social workers in child welfare, child guidance and mental health have worked with families to ensure that children are safe from abuse and neglect, that parents know ways to manage emotional challenges of childhood and that families know effective communication processes to resolve the symptoms of mental illness. Over time, however, the approaches to building effective family interventions have changed and schools of social work need to be attuned to the demands on agencies to offer services that are effective. Students who want to work with families must graduate from their academic programs knowing how to deliver effective interventions. In order to best educate students for this, faculty at Springfield College School of Social Work have participated in curriculum development workshops at the Wheeler Clinic in Plainville Connecticut.

Garthwait, C. L. (2014). The Social Work Practicum: A Guide and Workbook for Students (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.