Revelations

A few weeks ago I was asked to come and speak to a Sociology senior seminar class about the MSW program. So, I prepared some facts and dates and went to speak.

What I didn't prepare for, was to get there and talk about how much the program can change your life and how much it has already changed mine.

Yeah, they definitely don't put that in the brochure.

From day one of the program your entire value system, beliefs about education, and knowledge base are questioned, challenged, and changed. You're taught to fully commit to your beliefs but at the same time, pull off being Switzerland and validating your clients.

My time in this program has been the first time in my entire life that I've felt fully accepted for who I am. I've developed a stronger commitment to the issues I already felt so strongly about.

From an educational standpoint, we learn how many different possibilities there are for learning. We've all grown up as products of banking education, which means teachers have spouted out information at us, we take it in like sponges and spit it back out. In my policy class, we practice problem-posing education. We sit in a circle because that divides the power equally and enables the students to be the teacher and teacher to be the student. We lead group discussions and there are no tests. We make group decisions about how we want to be graded and what will be the most effective learning strategies for us all. It goes against everything we've ever been taught in banking education and feels so weird to do at first, but I feel like I'm being challenged and learning so much more.

The majority of my growth has occurred via my learning in my Social Work Practice class. There we learn therapeutic techniques as well as coping skills, and all about human emotion. We often practice therapizing with our classmates to use our learned skills.

I never expected to learn so much about myself through learning how to learn about other people and help them. I've gotten to the root of many deep-seeded issues in my life and have been able to reflect on situations and know why I acted the way I did. Or, how I am affected now by the things that happened so long ago. This feels utterly dismantling and like soul cleansing all at the same time.

Revelations: they happen in the MSW program. They've happened to me, they've happened to everyone.They can be good and bad and may be something you'll struggle with for the rest of your life. Never did you imagine graduate school would change you this much.

"There's no limit to how much you'll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go." -Dr. Seuss

Take the lead of the MSW program and challenge yourself. Have a revelation. Learn as much as you can. Go beyond zebra and see what you can find because "progress is not possible without challenge and change." Believe me, it'll do your soul some good.