NASW Texas is constantly updating their website to keep members informed about state-wide issues (policy) and about resources for professional development. The staff recently added very helpful information about the Social Work Reinvestment Act which is vital for the future of the profession of social work in Texas. This is a "must bookmark" website for social workers in Texas.
in reference to: National Association of Social Workers - Texas (view on Google Sidewiki)Friday, December 4, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Positive Thinking
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
One Sentence Journal 9/29/09
Friday, September 25, 2009
Rules???
Friday, September 18, 2009
You Must Read This
Thursday, September 17, 2009
One Sentence Journal 9/17/09
Monday, September 14, 2009
One Sentence Journal 9/14/09
Image by jaxxon via Flickr
Monday's are so long and so busy there is hardly time to breathe, so my goal today is to take at least one deep cleansing breath each hour and to look for opportunities to give and receive the gift of laughter and good humor.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
One Sentence Journal
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Two Problems
Monday, July 27, 2009
Blurred
With mothers controlling upwards of 80 percent of household spending, it was only a matter of time before mommy bloggers, and now Twitterers, were reviewing and promoting products and services.
Companies from Wal-Mart and Kmart to Ragu and Michelin tires work with mom bloggers, and in some cases, Gumbinner says, lines are being blurred.
Educational Policy 2.1.2—Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice. Social workers have an obligation to conduct themselves ethically and to engage in ethical decision-making. Social workers are knowledgeable about the value base of the profession, its ethical standards,and relevant law. Social workers
• recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to guide
practice;
• make ethical decisions by applying standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and, as applicable, of the International Federation of Social
Workers/International Association of Schools of Social Work Ethics in Social Work,
Statement of Principles;
• tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts; and
• apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions.
At the end of the report, I heard about Blog With Integrity - then I nodded my head in approval, visited the link, and signed the pledge.
Everyone who reads blogs (or any source of information) needs to praactice critical thinking. Blog of Integrity is a great tool for critical thinking. How do you critically evaluate blogs or digital meda?
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wisdom
I thought, "How our students will demonstrate this competency?" which then led to "How do I demonstrate this competency?" I have multiple sources of knowledge - my professional library, access to social work journals, etc - but what about practice wisdom? My traditional sources of practice wisdomEducational Policy 2.1.3—Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments. Social workers are knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned discernment. They use critical thinking augmented by creativity and curiosity. Critical thinking also requires the synthesis and communication of relevant information. Social workers
• distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including research-based knowledge, and practice wisdom;
• analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and evaluation; and
• demonstrate effective oral and written communication in working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and colleagues.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Frustrating
Judging student competencies is very difficult for some supervisors. My last practicum supervisor and I had lengthy conversations about the matter. The line between "meeting" and "exceeding" expectations wasn't clear to them. For example, in the area concerning understanding policy, they thought it had to do with how many policies I had memorized, rather than having an understanding about policies and how they impacted the work. It was very frustrating.
Frustrating indeed! Nothing kills our motivation to learn and grow more than unclear expectations. This also is a precursor to burn out and compassion fatiuge. This also points out the importance of social work faculty establishing clearly stated ways of measuring competence. I see the bigger challeng: keeping the focus on learning and not get caught up in the grading process.
How do you set standards that are good enough for yourself and others? How do we keep our eye on the process of learning and growing and not get caught up in the details of the way we are evauated?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shellysblogger/3684995003/ by ShellyS
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Adequate is Just Fine
Visual Thesaurus defines competence as "the quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually." Adequate. Hmm. VT defines adequate as "having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task." This definition intrigues me and makes me wonder how we respond to the term "adequate." In my experience, adequate is not good enough.
What do you need to feel successful? I know the question is about what I need in order to feel successful, but when I began to think about my answer to that question, I was more interested in whether I actually feel successful right now, and if I do, what is it that does or doesn’t make me feel that way…
She ends with this thought. " I have a picture of where I’d like to be professionally when I’m “settled,” and I’m not quite there yet."
These are important questions to consider. Let me know if adequate is good enough - or not.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Professional Organizations
This morning, NASW posted this link to the Social Work Career Center with lots of excellent resources for such as examples of resumes and cover letters, how to prepare for an interview, social work salaries, and more. I will add this to my list of resources for seniors who are job hunting and for juniors who are applying for internships in social work agencies. It is also useful for those who are seeking to move up or find a new position. This is one example of why I value my membersh in NASW.
Another reason why I value my NASW membership is the opportunity to networ
Image by luc legay via Flickr
k with local social workers. Most of us stay busy in our agencies, trying to keep up with the never ending workload, and rarely have the opportunity to meet with colleagues at any level from local, state, national, or international. Because I am an active member of the Tarrant County unit, I have made important connections across the community that I would not have been able to make on my own. The richness and diversity of my professional network makes me more effective as a social worker.There are just a few reasons why I value my NASW membership. I hope you are connected and active in professional organizations like NASW. Let me know what organizations you are member of and how that has contributed to your effectiveness in the field of social work.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
My Favorite Websites & Blogs
Image by ashley rose, via Flickr
- Social Work Blogs (5)
- Life in the Second Half
- Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus (0)
- Educational Origami (1,037)
- Almanac of Policy Issues: Social Welfare (10)
- The White House Blog (415)
- Twitter Reading List (263)
- Information for Practice (4)
- National Association of Social Workers (113)
- 26 Charities and Non-Profits on Twitter (257)
- The Innovation Diaries - The Hierarcy of Tweets - Analysing the Psychology of Twitter (233)
- 100 Awesome Blogs by the World's Smartest People (303)
Image by foxypar4 via Flickr
om friends and families, and explore the places they called home and where they died."Friday, June 19, 2009
What? My life and paradox?? Yep!
Today I had the privilege of participating in a Courage and Renewal North Texas workshop led by Elaine Sullivan and inspired by Parker Palmer. What a wonderful time to step out of my noisy, busy, world for the whole day to reflect on "Paradox: Embracing Complexity in Life and Work."
Throughout the day, I discovered and unpacked new concepts such as
- Paradox
- Thin Line
- Polarities
- Tension of Opposites
- Formation
It knows that summer is already growing like a seed in the depth of winter.
It knows that the moment we are born, we begin to die.
It knows that all of life shimmers, in shades of becoming that shadow and light are always together, the visible mingled with the invisible.
Excerpt from “Paradox” by Gunilla Norris
I tried to take a picture of my Mandorla but my camera did not meet my expectations so you are spared from kindergarten "show and tell."
Today's experience of renewal and focus was an amazing gift.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Comfortabe with Paradox
- blogs design (use of color,format, photos, font)
- themes (clinical social work, self-reflection, new social workers, adovacacy, blowing off steam)
- simplicity vs complexity
- length of posts
- frequency of posts per month
Image via Wikipedia
we try to systmatically work with clients, there is never a clear path to walk with our clients towards goal attainment. In fact, if we do stumble upon an easy case, we stop and scratch our head and wonder, "What's going on here? What am I missing?" Easy and clear are not terms that are common to social workers. This is one of many realities of the social work that shapes our personal and professional lives every day. The "grist for the mill" in all of the social work blogs I read today touched on this reality in one way or another - which was drew me into reading and commenting on all of those blogs today.Sunday, June 14, 2009
Celebrating Flag Day
- Social Workers are in high demand at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to support troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of positions at the VA increased by more than 650 from 2005 to 2006. Click here to read articles on Help Starts Here's Web site about Social Work.
- In the Department of Defense, the Army, Navy and Air Force each have 200-900 social work jobs.
- The Forest Service (In the Department of Agriculture) employs over 400 people classified as “Social Services Aid and Assistant.”
- The Bureau of Indian Affairs contains the majority of social work and social services positions in the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service each contain an addional twenty positions in social services.
- The Indian Health Service provides the majority of positions in social work and social services in the Department of Health and Human Services.
- The National Institutes of Health (part of the Department of Health and Human Services) employs more than forty people in social work.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Quote for June 10, 2009
There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force that changes our lives from within. And the same instinct tells us that this change is a recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in ourselves.
– Thomas Merton
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
7%
Some worthwhile, reasonable, uplifting thoughts herein.
Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio . "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
It's estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'. I'm in the 7%. Remember that I will always share my spoon with you! Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Quote for May 9, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
In the Zone for Self-Care
What are the clues that we are doing well or "in the zone" for healthy social work practice? Here is my big clue: The last time I woke up at 3:00 am and couldn't go back to sleep was so long ago I can't tell you exactly when it was.
When I started this post, I imagined having a long list of clues. Hmmm. Not that easy. This will be a work in progress. Share your clues that you are "in the zone" and doing well.
P.S. I just discovered Amy Baird's Life in Brief blog (what a great example of how a Web 2.0 social worker). Keep up the good work Amy!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Self-Care Strategies
How do we teach new social workers strategies for self-care? Why is it so hard for social workers to take care themselves when they are SO good at taking care of clients?
I have been wrestling with these questions recently as I have seen several students come close to falling apart under the stress of their internship, family problems, financial difficulties, etc. At BPD conference in Arizona last month, I learned how one social work program requires their students to have a self-care plan as soon as they declare social work as their major. What a great idea! They also require their students to update their individual self-care plan every year, so that when their students enter their Field Education experience, they already have an effective self-care plan that helps them succeed in their internship. I think this is an excellent idea and hope that we integrate this into our updated curriculum.
I also have realized how I have NOT done a good job of intentionally following an updated self-care plan. What strategies do I have to insure I am protected from burnout, compassion fatigue, and the other occupational hazards of the profession?
One of my new strategies is to go geocaching. This quote from Geocaching.com summarizes of my new self-care strategy:
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.I started at the end of January 09 and so far have discovered 113 caches! (My husband has over 200!) There are many benefits to geocaching. Here are a few:
- Gets me out of the house and into the community
- Takes me on a journey of discovery to places I would not have found on my own
- Exposes me to amazingly creative geocachers who hide caches in the most amazing places
- Introduces me to new friends (Wee Willie, TreasureNut, and others)
- Creates another way for me to spend time with my spouse and best friend!
I'm off to go caching with my hubby. Take care!
P.S. Check out the photos from today's geo-journey
Friday, March 27, 2009
Social Work 2.0
This blog is a place for me to understand, analyze, evaluate, and reflect on the major themes of my professional life as a social work educator. I am trying to model in the digital 2.0 world what it means to be a "life long learner" to my students and colleagues. I also want this blog to be a place where I practice the core skills of mindfulness.
My work on this blog has been inspired by what Michelle Martin shares in her blog "The Bamboo Project." Her goal is to help people like you and me "use best practices and social media tools to construct life-long learning." I love that! Every time I read her blog, I discover so many new ideas! I feel like my head and heart are exploding with the tons of new information and ideas about social media and Web 2.0. It is very exciting and also a bit scary as I realize how BIG the 2.0 world is.
So, what the heck is web 2.0? This diagram was an "ah HA!" moment for me that explains what web 2.0 is all about. It is from Dr Barret's online tutorial Web 2.0 Tools for Lifelong & Life Wide Learning.
Which leads me to my big questions: how can social work practice utilize the 2.o tools for best practices AND how can I as a social work educator utilze web 2.0 tools to help my social work students develop and demonstrate competency as new professionals?? These questions are the heart of this blog.
Finally, I am curious about where social work as a profession is in the web 2.0 world. My simple analysis is that we are way behind the curve. Our clients, especially the younger Milennials, are deeply involved in the web 2.o world, but most social workers are not using those tools in their professional work. They may be Twittering, LinkedIn, or on Facebook for personal reasons, but not for their professional practice. The exception I have found so far is NASW's twitter and facebook, but these are examples of large organizations using web 2.0 tools. How are individual practitioners and social work educators using web 2.0?
Let me know how you are using web 2.0 and join in this discussion about the advantages, disadvantages, and ethical challenges associated with this professional practice in the web 2.0 world.
Credit for Cartoon