Frederick Buechner once said, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” That's why I will graduate college in May with a Bachelor of Science in Child & Youth Development, a K-6 Teaching License, and a Minor in Social Work.
When asked what my passion is, I simply respond, "helping people." Yes, I love teaching. I absolutely love seeing those lightbulb moments when a child learns to read. But just as great is my love for helping, and loving. As cliche as that sounds, I feel like a majority of my purpose in life is to love those who are rejected, degraded, and who many consider to be unloved.
It just so happens that I can combine both of my passions in a classroom, teaching young children's minds, as well as teaching them to love themselves. I can find subtle ways to bring my social work background into my lessons, and my students have no idea. They are so much more accepting of my love and support because they come to trust me over time. I'm not just a strange social work lady who comes by every once in awhile and asks them about their problems.
What is social work, you ask? According to the University of South Carolina's College of Social Work, it's a "helping profession." Social Workers "not only consider internal struggles, as other counselors might, they also work with people to examine their relationships, family history, community environment, and the structures and policies that impact them. Then, a social worker will use that knowledge to identify ways to help address a problem or challenge, and bring progress to the situation."
If you will go back and read that definition of Social Work again, ask yourself, "Isn't that what teachers do?" We consider not only a student's internal struggles (Why is she/he struggling or not progressing?) but we also consider their home life, relationships with their family members, friends, other teachers, other adults in their lives, etc. We ask if they have any type of community involvement, and if it's a positive interaction. We ask what challenges they face on a regular basis, and how that affects their performance and attitude at school.
This is what a social worker is trained to do, yet it's what good teachers do every single day. These two fields go together hand-in-hand, yet it seems like no one has ever noticed before. I'm a firm believer that teachers should receive training in social work, because it truly does work together so well.
I began taking classes in social work because I was struggling with the idea of changing my major. But when I began learning and immersing myself in this field, I realized that this was just the icing on the cake. This training was preparing me to be a better teacher, it was just supplementing my education classes.
Someday, I hope to officially have a job where I can combine these two fields within the school system. In the district where I'm currently student teaching, this position is called a Family Liason. They are charged with contacting the family when an issue arises, or when a teacher notices a problem. This Family Liason sets up home visits, and personally travels to the child's home to see him/her in their own enviroment.
That's what a social worker does!! If you job shadow a social worker, that's exactly what you will see them doing. I can't wait to jump in and combine these two amazing fields to help my students succeed. My heart melts just thinking of all the little lives I can impact in my teaching career thanks to my background in social work!
