Essay \"Agents of Change\" - Grade A PDF

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Talk about social work and the fields, major figures, and type of social work you are interested in...

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Professor Johnson SW 101 05 April 2016 Agents of Change Being an agent of change can mean making a difference in the community and helping people in need. Anyone can make a difference in the community if they set their sights to doing so. Agents of change possess skills that can be used to help better the world and to better the lives of the people in it. Everyone possess’ skills that are able to be used to better help social work and the community if they decide to go through that route. In Kirst-Ashman’s book, Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare, she explains that social work is “the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities,” and being an agent of change is having the ability to work within those boundaries and make a change to the policies or programs in order the better the people, groups, or communities (Kirst-Ashman, 2013, p. 6). For example, many famous social workers like Frances Feldman and Jane Adams are agents of change because they strived to change the way that people were treated, the way that communities were helped, and policies that were made to better the lives of others. Finally, an agent of change assists in transforming organizations and policies by focusing on matters of development and improvement. The first person that I consider to be an agent of change would be Frances Lomas Feldman. She has always been intrigued by social policies and administration (“Frances Lomas Feldman,” 2004). Her career began in 1934 and she was an administrator and social worker for a long number of years in which she focused on the public’s welfare and family services (“Frances Lomas Feldman,” 2004). During 1954 she became a part of the School of Social Work at the

University of Southern California (“Frances Lomas Feldman,” 2004). Additionally, when she taught, she covered the areas of “social welfare history, policy, and administration” (“Frances Loman Feldman,” 2004). Most of the research she conducted and the writing that she focused on were centered on the “psychology, social, and economic meanings of money and work in American families” (“Frances Lomas Feldman,” 2004). The writings that she invested her time into on the meaning of money are still held up in high standards in the social work field. She is recognized nationally and internationally because of the work that she has done and the contributions she has made to the field of social work. On very important research project that she made on the “work experience of persons with cancer health histories” made a huge development in the funding of psychological research for the American Cancer Society (“Frances Loman Feldman,” 2004). She was able to make groundbreaking contributions to the “psychological effects of cancer” and provided help to families with financial problems and assisted them with how to deal with their “money problems” (“In Memoriam,” 2008). Due to this research project, it allowed for states to make adjustments to their fair employment legislation in order to provide fair and equal work opportunities for those with disabilities and health issues (“Frances Lomas Feldman,” 2004). Additionally, she was most influential and finding the first social work curriculum in the west (“Frances Loman Feldman,” 2004). “280…credit counseling services” are established throughout the nation due to her efforts in establishing them to provide counseling and programs to those that need them (“Frances Loman Feldman,” 2004). In addition, the work that she has contributed to social work and social policy is still highly regarded and called upon by many groups in action today. For example, the “McCone Commission” used her research and policies in order to “examine the Watts riots of 1965” (“Frances Loman Feldman,” 2004). Similarly, even large corporations look at her work and consider it for the “impact of

downsizing policies and actions on employees and their families” (“Frances Loman Feldman,” 2004). Frances Lomas Feldman has received many awards for her work in social policy and administration. She served on “state and national committees and commissions” and she retired in 1982 (“Frances Lomas Feldman,” 2004). Lastly, she continued to do research and served on agency boards and participated in workshops around the United States and other countries up until she passed away in 2008 (“Frances Lomas Feldman,” 2004). I selected Frances Lomas Feldman as an influential agent of change due to the fact that the research that she has provided and the work that she participated in made a real impact to the field of social work and social policy. People continue to look at the work that she has done in order to change and modify social administration and policies regarding health and families. I thought that her story and the work that she has dedicated her life and profession to, proved that she was an agent of change because she strived to better the community and better the individuals that live in it. The second person that I consider to be an agent of change would be Jane Adams. Jane Adams is the founder of Hull House and is the basis of the “100-year old social work profession” (“Jane Adams,” 2004). She was born in Cedarville, Illinois and was born into a Quaker family (“Settlement work,” 2009). Around 1889, she created the first settlement house, Hull House, which was located in a European neighborhood (“Settlement work,” 2009). Adams worked with the poor; however, she also took part in “political action” and “established new laws to protect them” (“Settlement work,” 2009). Because of the Hull House it allowed for the contribution of political focus and an “analysis of real situations” that contributed to social work later on and the “social science research” (“Settlement work,” 2009). Adams used the settlement house in order to correct the wrong-doings and “unjust differences in opportunities provided to different social

classes” (“Jane Adams,” 2004). She sought to give those that were left without help an upperhand and to assist them to get the opportunities that were not given to them because they were poor. Similarly, Adams wanted to understand the poor and how they got to where they were in life. She was focused on the poor and their living situations. Adams wanted to use her work and research in order to better improve the lives of the poor (“Jane Adams,” 2004). She and many other influential people to social work lived in Hull House and the other settlement houses. Additionally, the settlement houses made way for the type of social work where the social workers made trips to the people and to their homes rather than the people coming to them and then making decisions from there (“Jane Adams,” 2004). On another note, Adams continued to focus on the “effects of war on social progress” and became the president of the Women’s Peace Party which led to her winning a Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 due to her pacifist work and her social work experience (“Jane Adams,” 2004). I chose Jane Adams as an agent of change because she was one of the most influential social workers that made a huge impact on social work then and today. She created one of the biggest movements for social work which paved the way for social work to become more respectable and noticed. Because she created the settlement houses, she was able to help those that were not able to help themselves. She was able to help the poor that were not able to get the same opportunities as the rich. Additionally, her settlement houses were also used in order to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor and to bring the community closer together. Currently, I have the ability to become an agent of change. With the skills and knowledge that I acquire through the social work class that I take and through my involvement in my community, I am able to make a change for the better of the people. I volunteer my time at churches and at events that serve to help the homeless. In those events, I have the chance to talk

to the homeless and am able to figure out why they have come to where they are in life. Since I am able to talk to them, I can lend advice and a helpful hand that can one day persuade them to turn their life around and better themselves. I am also helping the community when I volunteer at those events and at the Boys and Girls club as well. While volunteering at the Boys and Girls club, I tutor the children that come there after school. I am helping them further their knowledge and hone in on the skills they already have. Furthermore, if I continue in the social work path, I am able to become more skilled and practiced to actually become an agent of change. Continuing in the path of social work and becoming a social worker in a specified area would allow me to become an agent of change. That is to say, I would be able to work closely with social administration and policy and could eventually, one day, become someone that creates a policy or modifies one in order to better help people and the community. Having patience and being persistent is also key in being an agent of change. It allows me to keep a steady head and know that change takes time and I need to push through and stay calm in order to make a difference. Also, being able to ask the tough questions and work for the solution is a way that I can be an agent of change. Looking at what is wrong with social work and the policies that are set up and being able to question them and look for answers aids in my participation in being an agent of change. Together with patience and being able to ask tough questions, I have to build relationships with those in the field and those that are trying to make a difference today. The more people that I connect with, the more help I will have when I try to make a difference. By continuing to look at the issues that are presented in everyday life and the policies that are made to better the people and the community, I am able to be of service by being an agent of change and attempting to participate in the movements and policy changes in order to better the nation.

References Frances Lomas Feldman. (2004). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from http://www.naswfoundation.org/pioneers/f/feldman_f.htm In Memoriam: Frances Feldman. (2008, October 1). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from https://sowkweb.usc.edu/news/memoriam-frances-feldman Jane Addams. (2004). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from http://www.naswfoundation.org/pioneers/a/addams.htm Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2013). Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Critical Thinking Perspectives (4th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole--Thomson Learning. Settlement work in North America. (2009). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from http://www.historyofsocialwork.org/eng/details.php?canon_id=137...