Sacrifice, Adjustment, and the Reality of Progress

  Hey everyone! I think today's blog post is going to be a little more personal than the last few. I was completely enthralled and moved by Dr. Aguilar's talk in class yesterday. His time and advice were great resources to me as a Social Work student. I was really inspired by his knowledge and achievements in the field. That's not exactly what I want to address in this post, however. His words in class were stirring, but there was one point he made in particular that hit so close to home it had me, and I hope I don't sound too dramatic, almost on the verge of tears.
  I'm sure we've all had unexpected moments of abrupt emotion. Something comes up that opens a wound we may have forgotten we had. That happened to me when Dr. Aguilar began to address the sacrifices he made and the things he lost in pursuing a higher education. As a first generation college student myself, his insights hit me in a very personal way. I don't think a lot of people assume that my background is what it is. I'm a white girl in a prestigious University, I attended an elite private middle and high school, and I think maybe those experiences reflect themselves in the way I present myself in the academic world. But, the reality is that I was not born into a situation that would naturally lead me to where I am now. I'm my Mother's second child. The first she raised as a single mother for six years. During that time, and for the first five or six years of my own life, she worked as a house cleaner. My father is a chef. He earned his culinary degree in his mid thirties after spending his preceding adult life working as a line cook in restaurants. Neither attended college. My sister and I are the first in our family to earn degrees. My sister and I attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School on a full scholarship, because our Mother took a job there as a receptionist in 1996 and the school offers scholarships to faculty and staff children who pass a certain level of testing. When I started 6th grade there my entire life changed. I drove half an hour across town to go to a school where I was the only one from a working class family. I can't imagine that this is comparable to Dr. Aguilar's experience, but I do think that I can relate to the alienation he felt. None of the kids I grew up with went to school with me after that point, and most wouldn't talk to me because they thought I was a snob for going to a private school. After high school I enrolled in Bennington College in Vermont on a partial scholarship. My sister had graduated from there a few years ago and I wanted to do anything I could to be like my Sister! There again I was in a world completely detached from the world in which I was raised and to which I feel I belong.
 Now that I'm back in Austin, having transferred to ACC and then U.T. little under two years ago, I feel more at home. I've reconnected with people from my past and to an identity I can comfortably call my own. But, having experienced nine years in a form of social exile, I can relate to the sacrifices Dr. Aguilar described. People at my high school and Bennington, not to mention anyone who hears I've attended those schools, so often assume that I'm from a background of extreme privilege. I also noticed that when I was in those environments and let elements of my actual experience, identity, and cultural heritage display, that people often would react negatively and I would be alienated from my new peer group.
  I am thankful for my experiences. I've seen a broad swath of American experience, including the dramatic differences in opportunity and lifestyle. I've had friends in trailer parks and friends in mansions. I've observed the ways in which we are all the same and the ways in which our experiences make us vastly different. Even though I can appreciate what I've learned now, I still can remember how painful it was at times to be in that position. 

Lum Chapter 3: Response

 The third chapter of Lum's book was very thought provoking for me. I entered this class thinking I knew what "Social Justice" meant, in a broad sense and as well in my own personal belief system. This chapter asked some pointed questions that have helped me to reflect on my definition and open it up to informed critique.

    The chapter mentioned empowerment as a key role in Social Justice. This aligns well with my existing beliefs. The old "teach a man to fish," parable fits well with Social Work ideals. The author also mention access as a significant issue in Social Justice. I can understand that idea. Maybe we can't make all resources and opportunities equal for all members of society, but we can strive to make access to these resources and opportunity equal.

   On reading this chapter, my mind kept floating back to the concept of Utopias. While Lum kept herself in check, always coming back to the idea of ideal v. real, it does start to sound sometimes like maybe what we're doing when searching fro Social Justice is striving to apply our own visions of Utopia to the world around us. Given that Utopia is a concept which, I believe, is personally defined, the act of applying one's vision of Utopia to the world around them can be dangerous. This chapter made me think, " How can we work towards a self-reflective practice in which we constantly reconcile our personal beliefs with those of our clients and people around us?"

Social Justice and Social Work: Response

On reading Pelton's essay "Social Justice and Social Work," as well as Scanlon's subsequent response, I was as interested as I was conflicted about the content of the piece. The subject of Pelton's writing is important, and the author raises questions that we all should be considering. However, I found his perspective to be somewhat different from my own and the tone of the writing to be unnecessarily inflammatory. While there is a fine line between group-specific advocacy and discrimination, I think it is dangerous to be overly cautious about acknowledging and working on the assumption of group differences at the risk of blinding ourselves to realities that could improve care.
     Pelton makes the point that "statistically valid stereotypes" are stereotypes none the less. I must disagree with this on the basis that observable, measurable and statistically quantified differences amongst social, ethnic, and cultural groups, while still up for constant re-evaluation, move out of the umbrella of "stereotype" and rather become measurable phenomena occurring in a specific portion of the population. I do agree with Pelton that it is important to look first to commonalities between us all as humans, but I think also that when you're working in a society in which there exists structures which, whether implicitly or explicitly, discriminate against certain sections of the greater population that it is valid to examine these structures in order to subvert their  negative effects.
I appreciated Scanlon's response. He acknowledged the validity of Pelton's concerns while bringing to the table what I feel to be a more realistic and reasonable perspective. Scalon also brings up the possibility of utilizing population groups and their existing differences as a strength in Social Work practice, which I think is a constructive alternative to Pelton's proposal. Maybe we are not all exactly the same, but why should that have necessarily be bad? Diversity in all areas of life can help to make a more vibrant and thriving society.

First Post

Hi, my name is Claire M M and this is my first blog post for Foundations of Social Justice. Over the course of the term, I'll be posting my thoughts and reactions to class readings and discussions. Like many of my classmates, this will be my first time blogging in this format. I'm really looking forward to sharing and reading all of your posts!

<3
CMM