By Julie Cooper Altman, LCSW, PhD, Professor and Director, MSW Program, California State University, Monterey Bay
Educating the next generation of social workers, we faculty in schools of social work take seriously our role as gatekeepers to the profession (Elpers & FitzGerald, 2013). At times, though, I worry we place too much emphasis on guarding the gate, and too little on making it attractive and inviting.
I love my job! I think I have the greatest job in the world. Every day I literally leap out of bed with thinking of all the incredible possibilities there are to make a difference in this job, in this profession, in this world, at this time.
It’s wonderful…it’s energizing…it’s rejuvenating…it’s that feeling that you are so full that you are nearly bursting. I hope all my students can have a social work job someday where they can say the same thing. Opening that gate, enticing students to believe that social work is the greatest profession in the world (and it is), is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. But it isn’t always the easiest.
When we have politicians saying that giving people food stamps is akin to feeding animals in national parks…when America’s neighborhoods are more segregated now than they were 40 years ago….when we hear the news of yet another deadly mass shooting…the problems can seem overwhelming. Keeping a positive, affirming, efficacious perspective can be a daily battle.
Some days, it can feel like all we get done is treading water. Other days, it can sometimes feel as if we are drowning in a sea of problems.
In nurturing these nascent social work professionals, we educators attempt a balance. We try to help them see opportunities hidden in the realities of their difficult daily work, while enlarging their capacities to bounce back from the challenges they will inevitably encounter.
A new student asked me recently, how is it you have been a social worker for so long? How can you still stay invested and vital after all these years? The answer is this: I have never given up swimming. I refuse to let the waves of social problems overwhelm me. Instead, I think of the endless possibilities, the many ways we can think and act to solve the challenges of this world, creatively, effectively, and with humility. I keep my kick strong, my stroke smooth, and know that I CAN DO THIS.
I would not be a social worker if I did not think it were possible that we all, collectively, can do this…that we can make a difference in the world.
Social research suggests that optimists can find solutions where pessimists do not, and those with grit, the kind that sustains your interest and effort while pursuing long term goals, more likely to achieve those goals than those without (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007).
As the new academic year begins and we open the gate to a new generation of social workers, wish them all much perseverance, joy, optimism, grit, and hope as they enter this wonderful profession.
Help them see the possible.
REFERENCES
Aspinwall, L.G. & Richter, L. (1999). Optimism and self-mastery predict more rapid disengagement from unsolvable tasks in the presence of alternatives. Motivation and Emotion, 23, 221-245.
Duckworth, A., Peterson, C., Matthews, M., & Kelly, D. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 1087-1101.
Elpers, K. & FitzGerald, E.A. (2013). Issues and challenges in gatekeeping: A framework for implementation. Social Work Education, 32, 286-300.
