Bridging the Digital Divide in Social Work Practice

     As a White woman in academia, I have watched highly qualified People of Color earn DEI director positions, and at first, I felt hopeful. “Finally, the right people were being invited to the table!” But I soon saw the reality of my ignorance. One by one, my friends and colleagues in these roles were systematically the first to be pushed out, their terminations disguised as “budget constraints.” What a setup for them. Now the excuse is a presidential executive order. We face a government that actively works against the very concept of equality this country once fought a war to achieve. White people in power created this mess, so why aren’t those of us who see the truth stepping up to fix it? Why aren’t we confronting and dismantling the racist and colonialist systems that still govern our institutions? Meanwhile, do you know who has educated themselves, mobilized, and taken action? White supremacists. If they can be that committed and organized to oppression, why aren’...

The current political climate and frustration over feeling powerless to affect macro changes has me reflecting on what social workers in a micro practice can do to create an informed America. This blog post is a breakdown of how to teach clients skills which could potentially influence future elections without crossing the line into political discourse. This is a micro strategy to promote fact-based evaluation in a client’s own environment on their terms. This may feel like too small of an action with the blaring misinformation being shared on the Internet, but small steps lead to bigger changes. This may be a subtle strategy, but it is a significant one. I would like to be clear: by education, I do not mean addressing political topics in session or providing clients with fact sheets on divisive issues. Initiating political conversations would be unethical. When fear and misinformation underscore the basis of client voting behaviors, teaching critical thinking to inform their decisio...

During the previous term, a significant portion of my grading hours was dedicated to evaluating the presence of AI in student assignments. This involved distinguishing between AI-generated and non-AI-generated posts, tracing AI-generated references, analyzing how students utilized AI in their work, and engaging in discussions with students who excessively relied on AI about issues of plagiarism and the ethical use of AI. Additionally, we deliberated on how unethical AI usage in academic settings could adversely affect their future practice in social work, especially with vulnerable and marginalized populations. This process has been exhausting. As an educator, my primary role is not to police my students. Therefore, I seek to find a way to assist myself, my colleagues, and my students in navigating this complex landscape, allowing us to focus on course content rather than the intricacies of AI usage. I propose an expansion of the current academic standards, particularly the APA forma...