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Not All Those Who Wander

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The concept of psychogeography represents a fascinating deviation from our cultural obsession with efficiency.  Defined as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals", psychogeography focuses on the effect weather, social interactions and the physical environment have on our mental and emotional selves (Debord, 1955).     How do certain places, landmarks, or geographical locations make us feel? The history behind psychogeography and its conception as a form of staunchly anti-capitalist "playing" via the Situationists of the '50's is interesting due to the fact that many of our societal expectations around productivity have not changed (Ridgway, 2014).  We still follow the same routines, day after day - we wake up, we make our living, we run errands, and then we go home.  We rarely deviate from the norm, especially when it comes to where we c...
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Unpacking the Culture of Privilege

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Patricia St. Onge's (2013) text about cultural competency, privilege and practice on a larger scale has so may important lessons for us as social work students to remember as we progress through our educational programs.  I found her section on the various types of power particularly fascinating, especially since many of the ones listed are not ones we wield consciously.  Although she spent much of the piece discussing the importance of understanding culture as it pertains to a specific organization (i.e. a departmental ethos), I couldn't help but be reminded of my power and privilege from a broader, societal perspective.      It is my firm belief that every human being, particularly those born to privilege (i.e. white, cisgender, hetersexual, neurotypical individuals) should have the experience of being in the minority at least once in their lifetime.  (Preferably more than once, if the lesson is going to have a real opportunity to sink in....
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Small Town Problems

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As someone who has spent the majority of their life living and working in rural Maine, Burgard's (2013) article about the ethical dilemmas surrounding small-town practice really resonated with me.  I saw these issues play out in real-time during my year of service with AmeriCorps VISTA working with the Penobscot Nation on Indian Island.   Google, 2018. The reservation occupies a very small portion of land (about 22 square miles) and there are approximately 600 tribal members who call Indian Island their home (US Census Bureau, 2010).  My experiences there showed me how truly interconnected that community is.   Due to the fact that I was a volunteer in the Human Services Department, I had the opportunity to get to know many of the clinicians working on the Island.  I saw many of them serving individuals that they had known all of their lives.  On Indian Island, you either have a direct relationship with someone or you have a direct r...
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The Empowered vs. The Experts

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(Google, 2018) Fresh off of a weekend-long training in Denver with AmeriCorps VISTA, NSAIE (National Society for American Indian Elderly) and dozens of other post-grad volunteers, I moved into my tiny Bangor apartment at about 90% nervous and 10% excited.  Or the opposite?  It was tough to tell, honestly.  I had no clue what to expect from my new position on Indian Island in the Penobscot Nation Elder Services Department, but I had a ton of ideas I'd compiled to assist them in building capacity while effectively engaging the elder population on the reservation (utilizing a Community-Building model), and all the enthusiasm in the world to do it.   None of it actually turned out like I had planned, but I like to think that's for the best.   Burkhard's (2014) chapter about community organizing has, unsurprisingly, brought to mind my one personal experience with community-based practice to date.  It was a chaotic year, to say the ...
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Dr. Seuss and Deservedness

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Google, 2018 Who remembers Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches and Other Stories ?   Published in 1953, it tells the story of creatures called Sneetches, some of whom are born with the image of a star on their bellies while others are not.  In this clever poem, the Sneetches born with "stars upon thars" enjoy privilege because of their marks.  They purposefully exclude the unmarked Sneetches from social activities, consider themselves superior for having been born this way, and thus the two groups (who are much more alike than they are different) are kept separate from each other.   I couldn't help but read Ingram & Schneider's (2005) introduction about the social construction of deservedness and think about Dr. Seuss' witty way of commenting on society's perspective of difference.   My work with the homeless population through my internship at Preble Street has provided me with a fantastic lens through which to view social policy's des...
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