News-Record.com

I don't know what social workers do in our schools - but here's something I do know:

Students (kids) find identity, meaning, and purpose in life ... through actually doing things. That's where Self Esteem comes from - it cannot be given (all you can give are opportunitied for kids to do things), and Self earned Self Esteem decreases dropouts, cuts violence, increases school interest, and jump starts economic development.

"A better workforce requires that our students find identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community"...

What tripe...liberalism 101.

Yellowbookdotcoooooooooooooooooooooommm.

A better workforce requires students who can read, write and do math, Nolo. Employers hire employees because they have essential knowledge and skills to do the job, not because the employee feels good about themselves. Terry Grier has done an excellent job of brainwashing people with his academic tripe. It's much easier to make kids feel good than to actually educate them. JDR is right. If you want to feel good about yourself, then become educated and achieve by doing.

"A better workforce requires students who can read, write and do math, Nolo"

A-freaking-men!

***************

"What tripe...liberalism 101"

Neokitty, if you are not part of the solution, you ARE part of the problem.
You are the proverbial broken record.
We heard you. We know how you feel. Weeping Jesus on the Cross! Come up with something new!

If anyone believes this "smoke & mirrors" jive from Grier regarding reducing the number of School Social Workers, then I have Pacific Ocean beach front property in Arizona that I will sell you!

It is a ploy to get what Grier wants, not what is needed. Then, Grier hopes everyone will sing the praises of he and his stooge BOE!

Shalom

Darryl,
It IS a ploy to get the public to demand more funding. He has no plans to lay out social workers, assistants, etc. This is but one of the many arrows in his quiver to get more funding. He is the master of the shell game with funding. Not necessarily a bad thing all the time.
BIGGER CONCERN:
Anita Sharp is not running for re-election next time. That presents a problem in the making---who will that wacky district five send us? Anita is, in my opinion, the smartest one on the board. She knows how things work and she will not be intimidated. We will NEVER have another Anita, but let's hope they don't put up some Billy Yow type on the school board--that district has some wack jobs down there and that's the last thing we need.
I hope and have encouraged Anita to run for Billy Yow's seat on the Commissioners.
keep your fingers crossed!

H. Nolo, I agree with your letter. I know full well the breadth and scope of what the Profession of Social Work accomplishes and attempts to accomplish. Your third paragraph describes a tight framework of what you are trying to describe.

This is not liberalism 101--Social Work, as a profession,is far,far beyond that.

Everyone, especially students at all levels, have full plates of everything--the easy and the DIFFICULT. Individuals, Groups, Communities, Local Government, State Governments and our National Government need to be engaged with and challenged to facilitate the enhancement not only of the quality of life for the citizenry but to help ameloirate the difficulties that are so hard to negotiate without help. Our school systems demonstrate this need almost every day as seen in the daily News and Record.

Social Work is not a profession of "liberal handouts and gimmee's"; Social Work wants to build on all the strengths that are currently available throughout all the systems just mentioned. Social Work wants to see productivity, creativity, opportunity for all--
and everyone will "have to work to make it happen".

Regarding self-esteem. Sure it's something that maybe I can only give myself but if the obstacles to self sufficiency and therefore to self-esteem are too large, then not too much can be hoped for. If "I" don't see, think, or feel that there is hope--well--that's one of the places that Social Work comes into play. Social Work also holds its clients (generically speaking) accountable for what they do or don't do. Social Work isn't in the "dole business".

It takes at least two challenging years to earn a Masters Degree in Social Work. A brief letter and/or a brief response cannot do justice to the complex activities (Micro, Mezzo, and Macro) that Social Workers study and then perform.

Maybe Social Workers need to make themselves more visible and educate us more;and maybe the citizenry needs to study the aim, objectives, and activities of the Social Work profession so that inaccurate perceptions can be modified.

We need more Social Workers everywhere or else we will just unproductively point the wrong fingers in the wrong direction and blame everyone, everywhere and in the end--all will be unproductive.

JoeJoe,
Thanks for your post. No wonder the world is in such a polarized state when the likes of "neokitty" litter the landscape with their baseless indictments.
I am certain that neoKitty would not last a day in the shoes of a social worker. In his world, everything wrong is to be blamed on liberals, democrats, and anyone who cares enough to be searching for solutions.
Thanks again for your post.

Hate to agree with the NeoCon on this one, but most social workers I have known (I have had management responsibility for them in past jobs) are whiners and bleeding hearts. There are a few good ones, to be sure, and I applaud them. I remember one in particular who pushed her clients to accept personal responsibility for their behavior, even as she was trying to work the public money system on their behalf. But social workers like her are a distinct minority. Just my opinion.

Concerned Parent, Thanks for your response. Like you, I know many, many social workers. Every profession has its peculiar few, but I too have managed and supervised and coordinated with social workers for thirty years and my experience is, by and large, "they are good heads up professionals". Sometimes the whining I hear is about lack of resources or the difficulty in motivating a person who has been trampled down in our complicated system of health care. Sometimes I have been called a "bleeding heart" when I was merely trying to "balance the playing field".

"If we shortchange students from a complete schooling experience, our community's economic development potential is weakened."

Does that mean students need a social worker to achieve a complete schooling experience? (catchy term BTW). We used to call the "guidance counselors". Same thing?

I would say our community's economic development potential is weakened when we have kids graduate from school who cannot read, write and perform math at a 12th grade level, much less be prepared for college.

One personal example. My brother has a PhD in geochemistry and works for a large (eeeeevvviiiillll) oil company. He is one of a handful of Americans in this field at this company, most are imported from Asia some from Europe.

So here we are worrying about students finding identity, meaning and purpose in life thorough connections with the community, not to mention the latest on Paris Hilton and American Idol. Meanwhile the Asians are academically (which leads to economically)kicking our asses. Makes sense to me.

"Hate to agree with the NeoCon on this one...."

Well folks, now we know NeoKitty has more than one screen name! LOL!