This weeks reading consisted of an article called Critical Race Theory. Its main purpose was to specify and address the problem that social workers are not having a full understanding of cultural competence. To be very honest in reading this I was perplexed! I felt as though they want social workers to be fully aware of cultural competence by teaching them these" stereotypes" of certain cultures. Yes, some things may be true and some things may not be true. My thing is no one can learn from a book what consist of a culture, they must experience it first hand.The problem may be HOW this topic is being taught.. maybe they should consider having a cultural competence class that is structured around field placement and if that is not an option then just reminding future social workers to be open minded,I think will do just fine.
I currently don't have that much knowledge about other cultures but living in a diverse place as Austin I have learned to be open to different things and ways.The only way we learn is by experiencing or asking. So with that said I feel being taught about all the perceived ways about a culture, it can possibly create bias that was not there to begin with.
However, I can see why we will need to understand SOME information about different cultures and that is to be able to assist clients to the fullest potential.
What I do think is very important for us to learn is different ways that we can seek justice for these clients and the inside out process of agencies that we will be dealing with. Plenty of times, even if you are the individual helping, you have to go through the same process as an individual who are applying for the benefits would. Working in a agency that helps people, I know there are loop holes that we can take if the individual knows about it or simply speaking to the right person can go a long way.
I just want to get taught the tools that will enable me to help people. Not explain to people why they are oppressed.
May -
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your views on the topic of Cultural Competence. I was first introduced to this term when I took the Research Methods class here at U.T. I feel that understanding as much as possible about certain cultures is an extremely helpful tool once we are actually working with clients. During my volunteer assignment for the General Social Work Practice course, I worked at an agency in which the majority of the clients were of Hispanic origin, and many did not speak English that well. Part of my job was tuturing the adults in English, reading (vocabulary, grammar, etc.), and math skills. When I first went there, I didn't think I'd be good at the tutoring part (childcare was also involved), but by the end of the semester, I felt more enriched than at the beginning. The coordinator told me that some of the clients expressed to her how they appreciated my patients and kindness towards them. Some of them were impressed by my Spanish speaking skills also (though that area is very rusty, and I hope to take a refresher before graduation). I ride the bus a lot, and understanding of culture is part of my daily life. Not all males are taught to offer their seats on the bus when it's crowded, and not all of them will allow females to board the bus first. I was told that in some places, it's all about "me" and getting what you can get before someone else comes along and gets more. My approach is human kindness, not matter where a person is from, but not everyone thinks like that. I feel that the electives we need in order to fulfill the graduation requirement is a good area in which people may take classes about other cultures. No, we can't learn everything from textbooks, nor in the classroom setting, but those two areas may be used as opened doors to begin to learn about people who are different than those with whom grew up. Volunteering in environments that may not necessarily be our first choice or comfortable may be another way to experience the richness of other cultures. I feel that clients don't necessarily care about a social worker's background (unless he/she can somewhat relate to the client), but are more interested in his/her present attitude and attentiveness to the client's problem at hand. "Can you help me to solve my problem? and Are you genuinely concerned about me as a person?" is what I think clients want to know. It's sad that so many students (at least appear to) think that success in their careers lie in the pages of their textbooks. But, a person is truly blessed when he/she knows that it takes book KNOWLEDGE, and WISDOM (practical application) in order to be successful in a human services job. Hang in there! :-)
Shirley, thank you for your feed back and your perspective. I agree, being blessed comes with knowledge and wisdom.
ReplyDelete