Chapter 2: The Historical Roots of Macro Practice
Chapter Two discusses how social work has become what it is today, as well as ways that it will be changing in the future. Its starts with how our society has changed throughout time as the result of population growth and immigration, industrialization, and urbanization. Before these changes occurred people were more independent and relied less on outside help, however, once these changes began individuals became more reliant on each other, as well as outside organizations. During this time society typically believed that the poor and other groups deemed as inferior, brought their misfortune upon themselves and that helping them would not get them out of poverty. Oppressed groups during this time were plentiful, with most groups, besides European white Americans, being discriminated against. Such events included the Trail of Tears for Native Americans and the continuous oppression African Americans faced before and after the Civil War. Social work began as a result of such societal issues; one of the first social work organizations was the Charity Organization Societies (COS) and Settlement House movement. COS organizations worked with smaller agencies to provide services to individuals and were run mostly by upper and middle-class volunteers. Charity Organization Societies usually thought of poverty as a problem with the individual who was experiencing poverty and not as the result of societal problems. Settlement houses around the same time as COS agencies, the first being Hull House in Chicago. Settlement Houses focused on societal change, as well as the individual. These organizations were both private agencies and the government had little involvement. This all changed with the great depression, with a major shift from private organizations to government agencies. After this, government agencies dominated human services for several decades. Beginning in the 1960s with President Johnson’s War on Poverty, there was once again a shift back to private organizations with the government contracting outside organizations to provide services.
This chapter also discusses how social work is a constantly changing field, partially because our society is also constantly changing. Some changes that have impacted social work, and will continue to impact the field, include technology and lack of communities. In American society, individualism has always been favored over togetherness, with a recent decrease in group activities. This has impacted communities as a whole, and has had an impact on macro practice social workers. Technology has also had an impact on the social workers role in society. There are two ways it does this, one being that the problems individuals face will be different, for example cyber bullying has recently become a significant issue in our society. Technology will also impact how social workers do their job with the development of computers, tablets, and other advances. These are only a few of the ways our society will continue to change in the coming years.
The book also points out that even with all of the changes that have occurred; our society still has a long ways to go when it comes to oppression of groups. With there still being a significant amount of discrimination towards certain groups, such as the LGBT community. Finally, this chapter also discusses how necessary continuing change is for our society and how important it is for macro practice social workers to strive for it. There are several different types of change including people-focused, technological, and structural change. All these focus on different aspects of our society and are necessary to continue improving it.
Hi, this is Lori. I read Chapter 2 and still find it so disturbing to read about the racism, discrimination and oppression that so many individuals suffered when they were only trying to find a better life in the United States. Of course I learned all of this in school as part of our history but when I again read this information as an adult it has a different and more meaningful impact. I suppose I continue to be naive at times still and am only truly beginning to comprehend what "white privilege" means but continuing to discuss and be exposed to the truths that occurred in our history and continue to occur now only help me become more sensitive and aware to the inequalities that continue to exist in our society and culture.
ReplyDeleteThe organizations that were initially created that are mentioned above really paved the road to what we have now and continue to build upon. We, as a society, still have a lot of work to do in order to make our country a better place for all those that live here no matter what their skin color is, how they speak or how they look. That is obviously evident with what has been going on in Ferguson.
Technology is also a benefit to our society but can be perceived as a negative as well. Of course technology makes our lives easier, faster, etc. However, is that a good thing? I am not so sure all the time. I find in my life that technology has distanced me from friends because it is so much easier to "like" a picture or text them rather than give them a call. I also fear for what children have access to and are exposed to. I try hard to be a vigilant parent and monitor what my kids see but of course I cannot control everything. I think technology brings on a whole new set of issues regarding social work and the impact it can have on individuals.
I hope that through this program I continue to become more aware of the impacts that our history has had on our current society and how many of the issues that were occurring then still continue to occur but only in a more covert or hidden way. I also believe that I will and have become more sensitive and aware of the inequalities that are continuing in our society which will enable me to better advocate for those that I will work with in the future.
I agree with Lori on the technology issue. I think technology is extremely important and useful today. There has never more been a time where information has been so readily available. However, much of what we read and see is not accurate. It's gotten to the point, that I don't trust the majority of the information I read anymore because I cannot decipher whether or not it is true. I think media could be a wonderful outlet for delivering information but unfortunately in most cases it is not used to inform the public of clear and concise information. Moreover, I worry that with all of these technological advances, whether my children and their children will even possess the necessary communication skills. No one calls or meets in person anymore because we are all wrapped up with technology. I know that I am guilty of this too.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to oppression, I agree it is still an issue. However, I think it is important to remember how far we have come in many areas of oppression. What we know based on our past is that it takes a significant amount of time to make the slightest difference for those who are oppressed. I think it is important to acknowledge where we have improved. We can incorporate what worked and apply that to future goals.
Maggie, good job of summing up the chapter. I almost felt like I didn't really need to read the whole thing, you did such a good job : ) I'm working on it, though, and one of the paragraphs that really stands out to me is about media and technology with regard to public discourse on p. 58. The author refers to Rodin and Steinberg (2003) who agree that the disagreement and “incivility in public discourse” has been long-standing but now, because of technology and modern communication methods, it is much easier for everyone including the most negative to get one’s message across wider and faster. “On the other hand, the same innovative communication methods can be used to disseminate thoughtful and moderate messages if their senders become equally skilled in using these new methods.” I think that this is a challenge for us as social work students and later as social workers to use these tools to build awareness, consensus, and “buy-in” in our communities.
ReplyDeleteKathryn I think you hit it on the head as far as technology being used to publicize certain information; however we do not know whether the information is accurate or not. Often, we do not feel the need to read anymore or self-advocate for ourselves because it is easier to go to internet on your cell phone versus the county library. Also, technology is great when used correctly and in moderation. Even now my friends and I can barely hold a conversation because we are even texting, on instagram, or another social network.
ReplyDeleteExample: As a child I played outside from sun up until the street lights came on, my mother couldn’t get me to come into the house. Nowadays children do not even want to go outside because they are stuck in front of the computer, video games, or tablet all day long.
To add my personal opinion about oppression I think that sometimes oppressed people to stay oppressed. This is my personal opinion because I have seen a lot of generational curses, and many suffer from lack of role models and policy makers that do not invest in communities of poverty. Usually when individuals are from or around an oppressed area they tend to give more freely or base more attention on that particular community. An example would be how limited the African American police officers are in Ferguson based on the actually population of the minority. I think it is easier for those officers to be so insensible about those residents because they cannot relate or simply do not care. This would bring about the importance of change from a structural and people focused stand point, change happens within first.
In a nutshell, social workers need to understand and get down or go up to our clients level/community to understand how and were can we make necessary improvements.
Great summary Maggie! It seems like everybody, including myself, thought that the technology portion was something quite significant. It does seem as technology continues to change, it will continue to change the field of social work and other professions as well. I think a factor that has not been mentioned is the difficulty in keeping confidentiality with the advancement of technology. I think that the majority of the technology is an asset to the field, but there are drawbacks. Confidentiality is a major part of being a social worker, and having files on computers or tablets makes that part that much more difficult. There is the potential for other people to get ahold of that information which would breach that confidentiality. Although I love technology, it could pose a potential problem in the field of social work.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter although al little dry is important because we need to know the history of our field. It is vital for us as social workers to know the problems and issues many that we still are dealing with today that created our field. This allows us to gain a better understanding of our job, communities, residents, individuals and fellow co workers. It is beneficial to be able to look back and see how far we have come and how far we still have to go.
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