I thought I would use this last assigned blog to talk about next steps. At this point I know I will finish the MSW program. Even though I have two summer classes left to complete, finishing up this semester feels like I have accomplished what I came to do.
So what did I come here to do?
· After a thirty year hiatus I came to finish my education.
· Be a responsible professional in the human service field.
· Understand what I have been doing all these years and how and why it is important.
· Share ideas with and learn from expansive thinkers in the field.
· Figure our specifically what niche works best for me.
· Make myself more hirable as I age and relocate.
· Work more deeply in a profession that supports my personal value of altruism.
· Increase opportunities for me to work with people holding the same values and ethics I do.
At this juncture I feel like I am well on the way to completing all the above except one – what niche works best for me. After forty years of human service work and education I don’t know exactly what specific area I want to work in. One person I interviewed with for a potential LCSW intern position suggested I pick one that I feel drawn to and see how it works out. If it’s not the right one simply move on to another one. Of course that is what I have been doing my entire work life. If I may indulge myself without boring the reader too much: ranch hand, electrician (residential, commercial, and shipboard), group home operator, inpatient psychiatric technician, mental health counselor, mental health program director, HIV prevention coordinator, adolescent mental health and substance abuse counselor, adult treatment program supervisor, graduate student, family court mediator, college instructor, and foster family case manager. Of course each one of those professions has sub levels. For example I was a phlebotomist drawing blood for HIV testing in an outreach program when I was working as a HIV prevention coordinator and I served on several boards of directors for community based programs.
Whew. Maybe it is time for a rest instead of figuring out what to do next – as if. My current plans are to continue teaching at the local community college and work in various programs and clinics in the area to acquire my LCSW hours. All very part time. That is one thing I am absolutely certain of. Working part time. A more proper description might be setting my own hours. I simply work better when I work twelve hours one day, none the next, and six the next.
Without trying to sound ‘Zen like’, I think the next thing I do is simply the next thing I do. I enjoy being with real people talking about real things. Not great on small talk but if there is a human problem to solve I am there for it.
I think it is also time to not spend so much time in my head. The last four years of college have been focused on reading and writing – which I thoroughly enjoy doing. But my physical work skills are ‘a laggin’. The next few years will include playing the guitar, fixing bikes, and building things for myself and others. I don’t see these activities as separate from social work. Some of the best work I have done has been talking to an adolescent while digging a ditch for a water line.
I hope by writing the above I can somehow encourage others to embrace the things they love doing with mindfulness and respect. Professor Yellow Bird in the Humboldt State University MSW program keeps talking about the importance of engaging the neurons in the frontal cortex. I think talking about how to engage the frontal cortex is another way of emphasizing the importance of living life in a mindful and respective manner. I also believe that living life this way builds on itself. It becomes more and more natural and the mirror neurons (see previous blog) of those around us kick in creating a more mindful culture. I want to live in a mindful, respectful culture. I want my family and children to live in a mindful and respectful culture. I want my community to be mindful and respectful. And of course the world. The only way that can happen is if I am mindful and respectful.
So as I write these lines the next few years come into focus. Stay as mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy as I can. Spend time with my family. And work in the area of social work I find most exciting – today.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Is the world they show us the world that is?
For many years I have held the idea that the news media is not in the business of free speech or informing people what is going on the world or sharing important ideas. The news media is in the business of entertaining. By new media I include TV, the internet, newspapers, radio, and news magazines. I encourage you to watch a 6 minute video by Alisa Miller, head of Pulbic Radio International on Ted.com :
http://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_news.html
In the above 2008 video Alisa Miller uses “Eye-opening stats and graphs” to talk about the increasing interest of people in the United States about events in the world in the last 20 years – from 37% to over 50%. She also talks about the reduction of foreign news bureaus by 50%. People are more and more interested in world news and the news media is showing less and less. So what do they show? Pop culture. Why do they show pop culture? It’s cheaper and it still sells. As stated above I believe Ms. Miller’s video supports my contention that the news media little more than another entertainment program.
News pundits spend hours and hours of news time expressing opinions and making proclamations. With less and less world news information flowing in (down 50% as stated above) it is clear we cannot depend on the news pundits on FOX or CNN to tell us little if anything of value. But, again using stats from Ms. Miller’s video, 1 or 2% of the news available through the media contains world news. This means that at least some of the worldwide news picture is there. It means that we are responsible for informing ourselves and questioning everything we see and read. I am struck again with what a waste of time watching most of what is on TV. If you are watching a movie, somewhere in your mind you know it is a story someone wrote. If you are watching the news it is being proclaimed as the truth. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t – you don’t know.
So what does this have to do with social work? One of the key areas for me is that as social workers we make ourselves aware of the cultures we are working in. Where are is this culture getting their information? If a 90 year old woman is living with her 50 year old developmentally disabled son and both are afraid to leave their house, what are they watching on their media programs? She is watching the news about the lasted killings in the south bay and he is looking up porno on the internet. This same couple can experience their life completely different if they get transportation down to the senior center or community college and spend time with other people walking in the woods or playing cards or cooking food for each other. Life changes from fear and secrets to fellowship and healthy relationships. Other topics include fear of other cultures, misunderstanding the behaviors of youth, and the importance of eating good food. The latest McDonald’s advertisement shows a picture of french fried potatoes with the slogan “gotta have it”. Dr. Kristie Leong on the Health Mad Web site http://healthmad.com/nutrition/are-mcdonalds-french-fries-the-most-unhealthy-fast-food/ describes those same fries as ". . . being high in calories, fat, and carbs, . . . (offering) little in the way of solid nutritional value". A person won’t see that information unless they look it up somewhere. In a healthy social setting that information can be easily shared.
This blogger defines social work as teaching people how to think for themselves. Pointing out the discrepancies between what is said on TV and the porno web sites and real life. Helping people find out what they really want and helping create healthy avenues to meet those needs. Mindful social work – teaching ourselves and other how to engage in the world – and life - in meaningfull ways.
http://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_news.html
In the above 2008 video Alisa Miller uses “Eye-opening stats and graphs” to talk about the increasing interest of people in the United States about events in the world in the last 20 years – from 37% to over 50%. She also talks about the reduction of foreign news bureaus by 50%. People are more and more interested in world news and the news media is showing less and less. So what do they show? Pop culture. Why do they show pop culture? It’s cheaper and it still sells. As stated above I believe Ms. Miller’s video supports my contention that the news media little more than another entertainment program.
News pundits spend hours and hours of news time expressing opinions and making proclamations. With less and less world news information flowing in (down 50% as stated above) it is clear we cannot depend on the news pundits on FOX or CNN to tell us little if anything of value. But, again using stats from Ms. Miller’s video, 1 or 2% of the news available through the media contains world news. This means that at least some of the worldwide news picture is there. It means that we are responsible for informing ourselves and questioning everything we see and read. I am struck again with what a waste of time watching most of what is on TV. If you are watching a movie, somewhere in your mind you know it is a story someone wrote. If you are watching the news it is being proclaimed as the truth. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t – you don’t know.
So what does this have to do with social work? One of the key areas for me is that as social workers we make ourselves aware of the cultures we are working in. Where are is this culture getting their information? If a 90 year old woman is living with her 50 year old developmentally disabled son and both are afraid to leave their house, what are they watching on their media programs? She is watching the news about the lasted killings in the south bay and he is looking up porno on the internet. This same couple can experience their life completely different if they get transportation down to the senior center or community college and spend time with other people walking in the woods or playing cards or cooking food for each other. Life changes from fear and secrets to fellowship and healthy relationships. Other topics include fear of other cultures, misunderstanding the behaviors of youth, and the importance of eating good food. The latest McDonald’s advertisement shows a picture of french fried potatoes with the slogan “gotta have it”. Dr. Kristie Leong on the Health Mad Web site http://healthmad.com/nutrition/are-mcdonalds-french-fries-the-most-unhealthy-fast-food/ describes those same fries as ". . . being high in calories, fat, and carbs, . . . (offering) little in the way of solid nutritional value". A person won’t see that information unless they look it up somewhere. In a healthy social setting that information can be easily shared.
This blogger defines social work as teaching people how to think for themselves. Pointing out the discrepancies between what is said on TV and the porno web sites and real life. Helping people find out what they really want and helping create healthy avenues to meet those needs. Mindful social work – teaching ourselves and other how to engage in the world – and life - in meaningfull ways.
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