There are many facets to social work and many different angles a person can look at what drives the need. In this essay I will critically examine three approaches to social work. These three include the Structural Perspective, the First Nations perspective and the Feminist Perspective. To start off, looking at social work from a Structural Prospective is helping a worker to see from a wide scope lens. In Karen’s story on the tape An Interview with four social workers, we see a boy helped more by broadening the scope and looking at the invisible walls surrounding him. By identifying these invisible walls we see more of a different perspective and helps us deal with the problem in a different light. Each individual holds different beliefs; assumptions and values of life, and many angles need to be explored to evaluate a case. When I was young I saw my family as very needy because of the lack of money and trying to feed eleven in all was very frustrating for my father. My family was very proud and going on welfare was the last resort. Back in the 60’s, if a family was on welfare the whole community new about it and we were labeled at school as ‘poor’.
Bags of clothes would appear on our doorstep, and nobody would know where they came from. The attitude of today is much different with regards to helping others. People are more willing to give openly and help each other through hard times. When I think back now, my family had many private troubles, which are now public issues. Some of these include incest, family violence, child abuse, learning disabilities, grief, poverty, teenage pregnancy, eating disorders, residential school abuse, sexual abuse, and young offenders. The invisible wall I see now that had a lot to do with the private troubles appearing was classism. Friends, teachers, parents, counselors, coworkers, and relatives labeled us in society. Teachers blamed my lack of concentration on my work at school as “Radical child, maybe we should put her in a special class where she will stand out more.” Being a rebel was the only way I knew how to cope and to me this was not a choice, but a reactive response to my circumstances. If I were a social worker reviewing my case as a child in grade four, I would definitely take the structural perspective approach to understanding the situation. These workers are concerned with changing the oppressive structures, which have brought on the private troubles in the first place.
The Essay on Juggling Work, School, and Family
When I decided to go back to school, I realized it would have a lot of consequences and not only for me, but also on my family and maybe also my daily job. I work a fulltime job; I’m married and have a daughter and a son still living with me. With all that considered, I had to work out all the possible effects it would have on all the effects it may have. I work as an “accounts receivable analyst ...
According to the Social Work Module 1V, “Structural social workers believe that only when the primary structures of oppression are dismantled can social justice occur.” (p 69) These oppressive structures that surrounded my family growing up, preserved my family well and enabled the dysfunction to flourish. According to my own philosophy, we did not choose this way of life, it chose us. My family was unwilling to work with the ministry because my parents were too proud to admit there was any kind of problem. Back then I think social work was more in the form of a Band-Aid that had a hard time getting past the ‘why is this happening’ stage. Because of this uncommon ground between the social workers and my parents, to critically look at the situation and to develop a personal and political plan of action was out of the question. This definitely contributed to holding back any help that my family needed. This definitely put a damper on the Structural Perspective being able to thrive in my home. As I grew older and started socializing more with kids my own age, I became aware of how other families lived. My family was not singled out anymore for being different.
The Term Paper on The Native Family Versus the Dominant Culture
... class life.” Her stories unfold where native family and dominant culture clash yet ... marriage, or through formal religious or social affiliations. (Encyc of No Amer Indians) ... characters are met the way people in real life are met: ... Affairs School while her grandparents lived on Turtle Mountain Reservation nearby. ... Johns Hopkins University. (Habich) She worked at a variety of jobs: life ...
I learned that other families had personal troubles, sometimes more intense than ours, which was ironically a sigh of relief. During my teen years I had many dealings with native people whether they be friends, acquaintances, or me looking after their children. Back in the 70’s we didn’t refer to them as ‘First Nations People’ mainly because they probably weren’t recognized by society in this way. My parents called them ‘the Indians next door,’ and I was known for attracting all the Indians in the neighborhood. If we acted out in any way were referred to ‘a bunch of wild Indians.’ Prejudice was everywhere and if your skin color was a little off such as the First Nations People, you were made to believe that you were invaluable to society. According to Ben Carniol in Case Critical, “Prejudice refers to attitudes and beliefs consisting of [negative, unsupported, and overgeneralized evaluations (prejudgments) of individuals and groups who are unfamiliar to us.” Many people carry the belief that natives are unintelligent and live to drink, without ever considering why all this has come about. My father never appreciated them because he said all they do is drink alcohol and fight in bars.
He knew this because he was there right along beside them many nights that he chose not to come home. A friend of mine in high school was native and she was much better at class projects and worked well with others. I also admired another native friend who in grade ten started writing poems about native people and their gifts to society. I baby-sat for the natives next door and sometimes I wouldn’t see the mom until the morning of the next day. The five children were all of different fathers and were very hard to handle. I believe this action by the family was a coping mechanism to get along in the white world. In other words this family acted this way because this is the way society labeled them. The native family rolled with the punches to cope with the system that was set out for them. I do not condone this type of behavior, but I blame the structure in which the family abounds. At the end of Social Work and the First Nations chapter, we read a dialog by House and Stalwick regarding Native Child Welfare and the experiences of Native Women. The lens in which the author views these topics is by a First Nations Perspective. The conclusion of the article states, “Once Native and non Native social workers are clear on their purpose, then study and action concerning ‘personal problems and public issues’, as well as the setting of assignments to solve them, follow naturally.”(p 106) Natives not living on reserves also have values and beliefs that are evident but a lot of times go unnoticed.
The Term Paper on First Nation People And Justice In Canada
First Nation rights in North America have a history of being overlooked and exploited. The first law that exploited Native people in North America was the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which was designed by the British Crown to take the sovereignty and lands away from the First Nation peoples. This law knowingly violated two of the prevailing European principles of international justice. The Crown ...
Some include good child care so parents can work at a good job, decent places to live and treated with respect. At the same time there needs to be a way to preserve their language and culture. There must be a First Nations Perspective if people are going to get along in the world today. I could not imagine my whole belief system, my way of life, and my values stripped from me to live the way someone else wants me to live. I should not have to make this choice. If I want my children to learn my beliefs and values, there shouldn’t be any question as to what and where they learn. Native people have had to cope with their Identity taken away from them and forced to live the life of a white person. In the report of Liberating our Children, Liberating our Nation, a native observes the takeover of Canada. ” They felt obliged to save our people from ourselves by imposing a European structure of power and authority over our lives and a European Christian structure over our souls.” (p 1) Europeans continue to push their values on the natives without looking at the First Nations Perspective. I agree with Robina Thomas in An Interview with four social workers on how she connects the private troubles and public issues with regards to the First Nations People, “Natives have been labeled by whites without looking underneath to see why they act out as they do”.
When it comes to the word ‘political’, I also see the words ‘fight for justice’. To me, being political mixes with my feminist perspective. I am female, divorced, and a mother of two. I believe standing up for what you believe in is a good feminist attitude to hold. Ever since I was a young girl men dominated my life. I learned from my mother to keep my feelings hushed and ‘what I see happening is not what is really happening’. Growing up with this perspective a child learns not to trust his/her own feelings and judgments. Back then I didn’t know how to stand up for myself and desperately needed a boost in self-esteem. My father and brothers believed the woman’s place was taking care of mans every need. I carried this attitude into my marriage and blamed myself for it breaking down. It wasn’t until I divorced and was forced to grow on my own that I learned the true meaning of feminism. And I know I do not stand alone when I speak up for women’s rights, the rights of children, or whatever I feel needs to be addressed at that point in time. I’ve learned that whether you are in front of a podium, or at the neighbors having coffee, speaking your mind on issues must be upheld for change to happen.
The Term Paper on Men And Women Gender Jobs Work
... between men and women in a child's future work environment are imminent. From early childhood, children are taught traits ... -303. Hale, Sylvia M. (1995). Gender Relations: Competing Perspectives. In J. Miller, B. Tess man (Eds. ), ... focussed upon in this paper is the social construction of gender. The purpose of my ... and control the power of industries and nations. Men are seen as natural born leaders ...
There are many advantages to having a feminist perspective in the school of social work and we are seeing the outcomes of these teachings in today’s society. Walls have been taken down in the home and women’s issues have been exposed for the entire world to see. This may be a disadvantage to a controlling husband who believes like my father did that women should be seen to clean and take care of the mean. In other words if you don’t do as I say, you’re out of here. Private troubles and public issues are in very close resemblance to the feminist principle ‘the personal is political’. Ben Carniol shows us an example of this in Case Critical. “The gendered and unequal division of paid and unpaid labor in and beyond the home, with it’s negative impact on women’s health, income, and status, is defined as exploitation that impacts personally and politically on all women.” (p 115) Myself, I am very much a liberal feminist and believe the issue facing women is denial of equal opportunity rather than oppression. A woman or women’s group need’s to speak, be heard and have an equal opportunity in today’s age if they are going to grow.
The Term Paper on Contemporary Social Work Theory and Issues
Assignment Title To what extent can social work be adequately conceptually understood in terms of a position at the interface between social exclusion and social inclusion? To what extent can social work be adequately conceptually understood in terms of a position at the interface between social exclusion and social inclusion? According to the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) the ...
Regarding Gilroy’s statement “?social work is deeply enmeshed in the structures of inequality that exists in the wider world, including the inequality between men and women,” this is very true. The inequality between men and women is only a part of the inequalities and structures of our society. When you look back to the woman’s role in the home during the 1800’s, a person can see why the ‘personal is political’ and serves as a leader in getting issues to the limelight. So we see that all three of these perspectives, the Feminist Perspective, the First Nations Perspective and the Structural Perspective are all needed to view different angles of life. In other words, the right lens must be on before our focus is correct. It is my hope of future generations to stand up for their rights as a person, a member of society, a parent, an ethnic group and as a nation. n
Bibliography:
Works Cited An Introduction to Social Work Practice (Robina Thamas).
(1995).
Interview with Four Social Workers. Part A. Carniol, B. (1995) Workers on the Front Line. In Case Critical: Challenging Social
Services in Canada (3rd ed)(p56).
Toronto, Ontario: Between the Lines. Hobbes, Thomas and Locke, John. (1996).
Liberating our Children. Liberating our Nations. Social Work 200A Manual. House and Stalwick . (1996) Native Child Welfare and the experiences of Native Women. Social Work 200A Manual. Moran, B. (1992) A Little Rebellion. Vancouver B.C. Arsenal Pulp Press Social Work 200A Manual. Module 1V (1996)
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