Running head: EVALUATION OF PRACTICE PAPER

Tiera Couch fe2598@wayne.edu

Evaluation of Practice Paper
Professor Althea M. Grant
Wayne State University

Running head: EVALUATION OF PRACTICE PAPER

I intern in the public school setting. I most benefit from applying what I am learning in
the social work program to working with clients and real life situations. Through my coursework
and internship, I have developed as a critical thinker.
When working with clients it is important to keep track of what interventions worked, did
not work and why they did or did not work. Humans are complicated and diverse there is not a
one size fits all recipe to servicing them. Through practice, I learned that when working with
clients your approach must be adapted to each sub-group within a population. It is also important
to learn what each individual client responds well to, how I attempt to do this is by keeping good
records. I document my work with clients and compare it to our earlier work. Through process
recordings, I have been able to track the clients progress from our initial meeting. I also
document non-verbal communication to determine how a client is responding to our sessions.
I work with students who range from kindergarten to the twelfth grade and through trial
and error I learned how to approach each age group. From my experience I learned that the grade
school students mostly respond well to warmth, smiles and praise, the middle school students
mostly respond well to acting as both an ally and an authority figure and the high school students
mostly respond well to being treated as a peer. I have observed the high school students work
with other staff and I infer that our interaction is different because they know that I am a student.
In many cases, because I am an intern my work is disregarded until I prove my
competence. I understand the reasoning behind this thinking and do not let it affect my work.
I also evaluate my practice with clients by monitoring my ability to apply corrections.
Additionally I rely heavily on feedback from my field instructor, fellow interns, other school
faculty and as well as my clients. Feedback from colleagues allows for dialogue between people
who have had similar experiences but with different approaches. Feedback from clients allows

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for me to get a consensus on what approaches are getting the best response across the board. The
information I am receiving from all of those experiences allows for me to examine my work and
improve upon it.
By tracking my client's progress from our initial meeting, I learn whether or not our work
together has made an impact. For example, one of my clients had difficulties communicating
with her sister and refraining from reacting explosively to negativity in school. We came up with
ways for her to cope with anger and decided that writing a letter to her sister would open the
doors of communication. Currently, the client is dealing with negativity by reporting incidences
to school staff before they escalate and taking responsibility for her part in those situations she is
also now able to communicate with her sister more effectively. She reported to me that these
changes are the result of her applying the skills and techniques we worked on together.
In my field placement, the bulk of my work is helping students get through the day by
helping them cope and collaborating with the schools staff to advocate on their behalf. I also
defuse conflict and educate the students on topics like bullying, communication, and peer
pressure. A school social workers job goes far beyond the duties I perform. In order to work as a
social worker in the school setting, I need a range of skills and knowledge much of which I will
not learn at the bachelor's level. I would need a masters degree focusing on school social work
and 500 hours working in the school setting on a master level to qualify. There are so many
facets to working with students who suffer from cognitive, emotional, social and or behavioral
issues I would need to know how to recognize the signs of different disorders and how to start
the process for diagnoses. In addition, I would need to be well versed in doing assessments and
testing and writing behavior and education plans and all other tools specific to working with

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adolescence. I have observed my field instructor perform these tasks, but I lack the necessary
hands-on experience.
Flexibility is important working in the social work field. I learned that having your day
planned out means nothing. You have to be able to adapt to whatever the day brings and still
make your deadlines. Working with people makes your days unpredictable you have to be able
to manage the obstacles and maintain control especially in high-pressure situations. School social
workers act as a link between many of the client's systems and, therefore, need to establish and
maintain relationships in and out of their schools. They also need to have a wealth of knowledge
about community resources as well as knowledge about the laws and policies that affect the
students, their families and the community the school is in.
At my internship, the population and the field of practice are both suited for me. I both
empathize and identify with the population I serve. I grew up in a similar community and so I
share many of the same experiences as the clients and their families. I also feel strong about
education through my internship, I witness the barriers some students face just making it
through one school day and I want to do my part to help those students succeed. I feel
passionately about using education as a tool to break barriers and dysfunctional cycles especially
in high-risk neighborhoods.
In order to improve my social work practice with client systems, I have to stay as current
as possible on what effects the population I am serving. I have to be a go-getter when it comes to
advocating for my clients, all while setting measurable outcomes. It is important to be realistic
when setting goals. As an intern I think about what can be achieved within the time frame I have
with the client. I stay aware of my limitations by knowing what I can actually do and how my
supervisor, colleagues or other professionals can help me reach goals when what the clients

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needs are above my skill level. I also have to stay aware that I cannot fix every problem
sometimes progress is the goal. A good way to measure what can be done is to strategize and
make a step-by-step plan on how outcomes will be achieved.
I know that in order to be effective it is important to stay on top of tasks by handling
them as they come and staying mindful of deadlines. As a helping professional a lot of times
client's and their familys lives and livelihoods are in your hands. A case manager at the school
received papers from the social security office that required him to update them on his clients
progress. The case manager did not send back the papers and because of that the family lost
income they were depending on. Prevention and doing no further harm are important factors to
consider especially when working with marginalized populations. I understand how
overwhelming things can get when managing a heavy caseload but being organized and
prioritizing tasks is one way I plan to enhance my practice skills and protect my clients interests.
My experiences at my internship have allowed for me to apply my knowledge of ethical
social work practice to my work with clients. Through my coursework, I learned the importance
of the client's right to self-determination. Initially, I found it difficult to word concepts in a way
that ensured that the client knew that I was offering options, suggestions and tools they could
choose to use. This was especially important in working with younger clients because they are
typically accustomed to being directed by adults. Working at the school I have been able to see
first hand how informed consent works on each level and what it is appropriate when working
with children and their parents. Privacy and confidentiality are especially important to consider I
always ask clients for consent to consult with my superior in order to work on their behalf.
Sometimes the client's teachers want information about our work and I have to explain to them
my position. I have had to address the issue of physical contact and boundaries in my experience

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the younger students like to hug when they see me which made me uncomfortable initially but in
the school setting it is common for the students to run and hug their favorite teacher or staff so
while I do not initiate or request hugs I do not chastise a student that hugs me.
The biggest lesson I learned from my internship is to refrain from making assumptions.
The work I do and the conclusions I arrive at have nothing to do with what I think happened its
about investigating and gathering evidence, doing research and analyzing the results to get the
truth. The truth is based on facts, not feelings and not up for interpretation. I recognize the
difference between arriving at the truth after putting evidence together and making an
assumption based on what we think and what others may think.
The social work office often receives referrals from the schools staff and in my
experience they often offer their opinion about the incident that caused them to make the referral.
It is important to do as much independent investigating as possible. Examining motives are also
important I ask myself why does this person feel this way, does this person benefit from arriving
at a specific outcome and does intervening consider the client's best interest. One of the factors I
remember when working with other professionals is the understanding that social workers are
trained to think and act in a way that may be different from the people they work with.
When working in the school system there sometimes are a lot of faculty members
involved in determining a students outcomes or meeting with the students and their parents to
discuss a situation and or a plan of action. Sometimes those involved are teachers,
administrators, disciplinarians, psychologists or counselors each tasked with giving their input.
From observing these meetings, I often compare how social workers and other professionals
approach similar situations. Often after these meetings I witnessed my supervisor speak with
staff about their approach or voice her frustrations. From these experiences, what I have learned

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is to control what you can control. When I go into the field I have to be aware of the different
styles of communication and the different ways professionals arrive at decisions. I have to do my
part to uphold the standards of my profession and to build strong relationships with my
coworkers that allow each party to learn from one another.
I witnessed a school faculty member request that my field advisor cut corners in order to
submit a grant proposal on time. She voiced how she knew the grant was important to the school
and would do her part to meet the deadline but refused to adhere to the staff members request
and explained her ethical standards and obligations as a social worker. I now understand that
some of the professionals I will work with do not have the same values and are not held to the
same ethical standards so I must make sure my principles are not compromised.
Overall my experience at my agency has broadened my capacity to think critically and
make responsible decisions. I have grown since starting at the school and I am eager to work on
the areas in which I need improvement. Through my work with clients and staff, I have learned
to be more flexible, assertive and understanding.