Part of the reason I wanted to take Social Work 201 was because I know I will need an understanding of Canada's social work systems someday when I am a teacher. This module was particularly insightful to me as it held a lot of information about child welfare in Canada. It is a difficult topic to read about as I think anyone would like to imagine a world where there is no need for child welfare. With that said, it is paramount that people do not avert their eyes from uncomfortable information lest we avoid change by lack of knowledge. I want to make a difference in the education system. I want to be an informed educator who makes school a haven for students as opposed to a prison. That is my purpose concerning social work, and I appreciate the tools I have gained so far in this course.
*Note: I see the practice of teaching and of social work as so intertwined that when I refer to "my role as a teacher" it means the same as "my role as a social worker".
A Highlight
I think the most helpful and personally relevant piece of module 2 for me was the "A Day in the Life: High School Social Work" video. It was incredible to see social work fully present in a school, and the impact of a social worker who really wanted to make a change in the lives of the students he was there for. While I was watching it I kept thinking about how I could incorporate some of the practices they implemented into the schools someday will work in. The first step that comes to mind is a simple club. The video explains that Archbishop Molloy High School has a "peer group which meets twice weekly and is lead by a guidance counsellor and trained peer group leaders." (Oxford University Press, 2015). While this would take a fair amount of advocating to implement, a simple club with the same kind of layout would allow me to try this on a smaller scale.
Intersectional Thinking
The textbook "An Introduction to Social Work in Canada"" (Hicks and Stokes, 2017) touches on child welfare of Indigenous children in Canada a few times. I have learned about the horrors of residential schools and "the 60s scoop", but our society seems to encourage forgetting the lasting impacts of these atrocities on the affected communities.
"[Indigenous] children in Canada are over-represented in out-of-home care making up just 15 percent of the total child population, but 40 percent of children in care."
(Hicks & Stokes, 2017)
Decolonization is something I intend to be at the centre of my practice as a teacher. I want to be as educated and trauma-informed as possible. In this module's Zoom session with interviews from the teaching team, I was very intrigued by Mathemata's work on decolonization in the immigration system and people's beliefs about their place in Truth and Reconciliation.
Questions and Feelings from Mathemata's Interview:
-I wonder where this kind of research will go?
-I feel hopeful for further decolonization in the future.
-I wonder what the most common perspective on colonization and reconciliation is from the people who are interviewed?
Final reflections...
I see my role in the future spanning micro and macro social work. As a teacher in a classroom, I can impact students on an individual level. Chapter 7 of Hicks & Stokes (2017) has a lot of information about mental illness. This is something I can teach about and hold space for in my classroom as well. On a macro level, I can fight for reform in the education system on a larger scale. I can advocate for decolonization in education while first uplifting the voices that have been doing so long before me. I am a believer in community care and will advocate for this as a practice in schools while giving attention to individual students as well.
My main personal reflection on this module is about my role as an individual in a very large system.
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| (Baldwin, 1980) Image created on Canva |
They are Children
They are your responsibility.
They are everyone's responsibility.
Observe them, be aware.
Speak to them, and always listen.
Help them find their voice,
their words.
As infants, we learn to speak
to tell our carer our needs.
Are you hungry?
Are you cold?
Are you sleeping?
Are you safe?
Am I protecting you?
What is hurting?
Am I helping?
Am I hurting?
They are children.
They are strong;
though they should not have to be.
References
Baldwin, J. (1980 November 1). Notes on the house of bondage. The National. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/notes-house-bondage/
Hick, S., & Stokes, J. (2017). Social work in Canada: An introduction (4th ed.). Thompson Educational.
Oxford University Press. (2015 April 29). A day in the life: High school social work [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjptGJgtw0s
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