Idealist.org: Grad School Fairs 2010 Schedule

Idealist.org - Action Without Borders is relaunching its annual graduate school fairs across the country. Before I enrolled in graduate school, I attended these fairs for several years. It's a great way to network with different universities and learn many different career pathways (e.g., business, education, international affairs, public health, public policy, social work, etc.) in service of the public good. In the past, I have attended the graduate fairs in Ann Arbor, Chicago and Washington DC. If you are interested in a nonprofit/social sector career where you can have a social impact, I highly recommend attending these fairs in your local area.

Here is the schedule below:

New York, NY - September 16 - (200 schools will be there)
Providence, RI - September 20 - (75 schools)
Boston, MA - September 21 - (180)
Pittsburgh, PA - September 23 - (50)
Philadelphia, PA - September 27 - (65)
Toronto, ON - September 29 - (60)
Washington, DC - September 30 - (200)
Minneapolis, MN - October 18 (70)
Chicago, IL - October 19 (135)
Ann Arbor, MI - October 20 (75)
Denver, CO - October 25 (60)
Seattle, WA - October 27 (80)
Portland, OR - October 28 (80)
San Francisco, CA - November 1 (120)
Los Angeles, CA - November 2 (115)
Atlanta, GA - November 4 (75)

Review: Macro Social Work Practice - A Strengths Perspective (2006)

Macro Social Work Practice: A Strengths Perspective (2006) by Dennis Long, Carolyn Tice and John Morrison. The authors define the history of macro social work practice and social welfare and different types of macro-practice roles (e.g., social planner, administrator, evaluator, community organizer, educator, policy analyst, facilitator, program developer, grant/proposal writer, etc.). Furthermore, they highlight the strengths model, which focuses on the assets, innate abilities and optimism of consumers and communities. It is common for many professionals to focus on negativity (e.g., problems and social pathology). A strengths model works with people rather than subordinates them. Each chapter has a summary, review of key terms, case examples, reflection exercises and suggested readings.

Sample chapters:
Ch. 1 Defining Macro Practice
Ch. 2 Adopting a Strengths Perspective in Macro Practice
Ch. 3 Considerations for the Practitioner
Ch. 4 Calling on Consumer and Citizen Strengths
Ch. 5 Enriching Organizational Life
Ch. 6 Developing Community Resources and Capacities
...and much more!

This is one of the best textbooks/handbooks on macro social work practice. It provides an excellent introduction to this area of social work, which is often misunderstood or underrated. As a future macro social worker, it gave me the tools, values and perspectives on work with larger social systems at the community, organizational and societal levels. In addition, there are various types of macro social work practice (e.g., social research, social planning, policy analysis, organizational development, advocacy and social action, and much more!). I highly recommend this book to students, faculty, and practitioners because social justice is one of the core values in the NASW Code of Ethics. In other words, social workers also work to solve community and social problems by working with consumers and gaining allies in the process.

Michigan Girl's Cafe Among Top 50 Blogs for Social Work Professionals

Breaking news! My blog is ranked #15 among the Top 50 Blogs for Social Work Professionals by MSW Programs.com, which provides comprehensive coverage to accredited social work programs and careers in the United States.

15. Michigan Girl’s Cafe. A graduate of the University of Michigan provides guidance to aspiring social workers and provides helpful links to show how a degree in social work can be used.

This is truly an honor. Nearly 18 months later, my efforts are finally paying off. Please spread the word to your colleagues and continue to support this website!

Libraries vs. Google

On InsideHigherEd, Barbara Fisher explains how libraries and Google are similar and different. Some people wonder whether Google will take over the role of librarians. I believe this comparison is excellent because it shows how both have different ways in connecting people with information. Click on the link below to read the differences.

Ways libraries are like Google

• Both have as their mission to organize and make the world's information accessible.
• Both make it possible to get digital information no matter where you are and even if you're still in your jammies.
• Both have books, articles, videos, music, images, and other materials from all time periods.
• Both offer tools to help you focus and narrow a search that most users ignore.
• Both have blogs.
• Both experiment with new technologies.
• Both launch uber-cool technologies that, it turns out, nobody actually wants.
• Both can be a huge time saver and a huge time waster, often on the very same day.
• Both have good information and lots of information that is outdated, useless, incorrect, and biased.

Ways libraries are not like Google

Review: The Road Not Taken (2001)

The Road Not Taken: A History of Radical Social Work in the United States, by Michael Reisch and Janice Andrews, traces the history of radical social work during the twentieth century. Three factors contributed to its downfall: the blacklisting of social work intellectuals (e.g., Jane Addams, Florence Kelly, Marion Hathaway, Bertha Reynolds) under anti-Communism, the professionalization of social work, the marginalization of social and political action, the rise of conservatism in the 1980s, and the growing emphasis on material wealth and status. This book is an important contribution to social work because future generations of social workers will understand that their previous generations made many sacrifices to openly address social and economic issues that were not mainstream.

I highly recommend this book to all social work students, faculty and practitioners, especially in macro practice. It opened my mind to the truth, the feelings that bothered me ever since I entered graduate study in social work: Why is the field today more clinical-oriented rather than social action-oriented? How did earlier social workers get involved in social movements? What were the consequences of their actions and its effects on national social welfare policy? This book addresses those questions and the decline of radical social work since the 1970s. Nationwide, families' safety nets are gradually disappearing today; social workers should rise up and promote social and economic justice. The voices of the past, who risked their lives and careers against larger forces, shall not be forgotten.

Ogletree: Importance of Diversity in Libraries

Honorary Spectrum Co-Chair Charles Ogletree of Harvard Law School answers questions from an American Libraries reporter about the value of libraries in his upbringing and why diversity is more important than ever in libraries.

WIll the Middle Class Become Extinct?

The New York Daily News has an article about the future of the middle class. As a future social worker, it worries me that as more Americans cannot find work, they will fall behind on their bills, lose their valuables, and eventually become impoverished.

The middle class in America may soon have no pulse at all. Although the U.S. once had the biggest, richest middle class ever, fundamental changes in how giant corporations hire workers mean that the rich are not only getting richer, but everyone else is having to scrimp, save and compete with Third World laborers for work, according to The Business Insider as reported on Yahoo.com.

The United States once had a vibrant middle-class that rivaled other nations. Now, the gap between the rich and poor has widened to such an extent that the middle class is feeling the pinch very hard.

For the first time ever in the history of this country, banks own a greater share of the residential housing network in America than all individual Americans combined...How are former middle-class workers getting by? For the first time in the history of this country, more than 40% of Americans are getting food stamps. And 21% of all children in America are living below the poverty line this year – the highest rate in two decades.

The poverty rate in America will continue to increase unless there are changes in social and economic policies that reverses the damage and promotes social equity.

ALA: Library computers essential for those trying to get new jobs

In this national economic downturn, more people than ever are utilizing their local public libraries to find employment information and apply for jobs electronically. Poverty and the digital divide are real, yet states are cutting back funding in these crucial areas. Public libraries are at the forefront by providing greater access to information and educating patrons on how to become more informed citizens.

A sampling of findings from the American Library Association study of Public Library Funding and Technology Access reveals the following:

# 99 percent of public libraries offer free access to computers.
# Public computer and Wi-Fi use was up last year for more than 70 percent of all libraries.
# 89 percent of libraries provide technology training, including classes in computer skills, software use and online job-seeking.
# Most libraries offer Internet services ranging from subscription databases (95 percent) to online homework resources (88 percent).
# 66 percent of libraries provide assistance to patrons completing government forms.
# 76 percent of libraries report public use of Internet computers increased in 2009.
# 88 percent of libraries provide access to job databases and other job opportunity resources.
# 15 percent of all libraries report decreased hours of operation and 56 percent report flat or decreased operating budgets in fiscal 2010.