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- Jul 31, 2011
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Today in a social policy class, when discussing The New Deal, one of my classmates volunteered that he is a Tea Partier and supports one of the Tea Party candidates who is running for President.
A couple of us were shocked (including me). My professor said something very interesting. I have to preface this first, though: she is very experienced and has been teaching since the 1970s. She said that in the 1960s when she went to school, that social work was largely a "radical," "leftist," and" democratic socialist" (her words, not mine) field, and that there weren't many people who would describe themselves as conservative or Republican who were interested in social work.
Now, she says, the percent of students who openly identify as conservative or Republican is higher, and she said that's been a big surprise to her over the decades. She mentioned the Reagan Administration, and how she started getting more Republican students during those years. She stressed that Republicans are social workers too and deserve respect, and I thought it was telling bit a little funny that she sensed the need to stress this to a class full of MSW students. I would hope that we already knew that!
For those who have been in the field a couple decades or longer, in particular, I wonder--what are your thoughts? Do you see social work becoming a more conservative field?
This type of thing fascinates me. I've only been involved for a few years, so I'm afraid I don't have any long-term perspective of my own.
A couple of us were shocked (including me). My professor said something very interesting. I have to preface this first, though: she is very experienced and has been teaching since the 1970s. She said that in the 1960s when she went to school, that social work was largely a "radical," "leftist," and" democratic socialist" (her words, not mine) field, and that there weren't many people who would describe themselves as conservative or Republican who were interested in social work.
Now, she says, the percent of students who openly identify as conservative or Republican is higher, and she said that's been a big surprise to her over the decades. She mentioned the Reagan Administration, and how she started getting more Republican students during those years. She stressed that Republicans are social workers too and deserve respect, and I thought it was telling bit a little funny that she sensed the need to stress this to a class full of MSW students. I would hope that we already knew that!
For those who have been in the field a couple decades or longer, in particular, I wonder--what are your thoughts? Do you see social work becoming a more conservative field?
This type of thing fascinates me. I've only been involved for a few years, so I'm afraid I don't have any long-term perspective of my own.