I've added via Blackboard most classes being offered this semester. Downloading readings for courses in which I'm not enrolled could certainly be construed as a bit of productive avoidance, but these readings and this research could be useful in the future, and I'm not always going to have university (read: easy and free) access to these journals and studies. I'm already finding the GLBT-related readings for the Spirituality and Clinical Practice course to most interesting and probably relevant to other papers I'll be writing for one of my own classes.
I'm also most pleased to find out that in addition to the research I'll be doing this semester, (policy and interventions for homeless children, developing an elective for the program centering around the micro, mezzo, macro skills needed to work effectively with an immigrant population) I'll also be teaching a handful of classes for a B.S.W. capstone course. Yeah; super excited doesn't cut it. I wasn't aware that this would even be an option and I'm really looking forward to the experience.
Living the other side of the coin in the macro/micro battle, however arbitrary the conflict, feels good. To view work as either expressly micro or macro is an artificial division, in my opinion. And then to create a hierarchy is just plain infuriating. I realize that social work got bitched-slapped by the field's historical lack of the scientific method, but the pendulum swing (present in most fields I can think of) approach isn't the most appropriate. Clinical is better. Micro is worth more. These are the values put forth by the program, whether it admits to it or not. I was drawn to social work because of the flexibility and supposed interrelatedness of all levels of practice. Bottom line is that right now, I'm happier on the macro side of things. I'm surrounded by peers who read and ask questions and act. They put themselves out there and it's a welcome change. As time goes on, however, I'm realizing that I am no more macro than I am micro. If anything, I move toward whatever position is represented the least. I'd love to see a SW program that didn't rely on such imaginary divisions. I'm interested to know just how other schools structure their curricula.
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