Thoughts on a (Terrifying) Fall Semester

Or: hopes, dreams and fears from a random guy in Ohio.

Our next semester begins on Monday, and I’m so excited about that. I’m also struggling to articulate a lot of complex feelings about the new school year, about the state of higher education in Ohio, and about academic freedom. As is often the case for me, I’m going to feel out some of these feelings as I write. And who knows—maybe if you join me on this journey, you’ll learn something (or feel something) as we go?

“Academic freedom” is a long-honored concept that refers to my right, as a faculty member, to choose how I present material within my discipline to students without fear of influence, punishment or interference. I run a social work program here in Ohio, and so the presumption is that I know a lot about the profession of social work, its history, and its goals. The presumption is also that I’m the best person to be able to teach social work students about what being a social worker means, so that they can pass the social work exam(s), practice ethically, and have a long and impactful career committed to making a positive impact in the world. I don’t get asked to teach physics, because I’m not an expert in physics. I am, however, an expert in social work.

But that’s complicated right now in Ohio. Our elected officials have decided that conservative viewpoints are being drowned out in higher education settings, and that is is the sincere intention of many or most of my fellow academics to “indoctrinate” our students into embracing certain points of view.

It should go without saying that I disagree with this perspective. My experience as both a student and an educator in this state has been that university faculty care deeply about their discipline and also care deeply about letting their students see a glimpse of their passion for that discipline.

I do this work because I am passionate about learning, about growth, about making a difference, and about my students. I spend far more than 40 hours each week on this job. I don’t think that many folks realize just how much work goes into creating, refining and updating course content, working on accreditation, supporting the 10 adjunct faculty teaching in my program, serving on multiple committees and the Faculty Senate, grading assignments, meeting with students for advising appointments, helping other students study for their licensure exams, building relationships with faculty members outside my department, and promoting both my program and the profession of social work to folks both within and outside the university. And you’ll notice that teaching wasn’t even included in that list! Teaching thrills me like nothing else I’ve ever done in my career (and I’ve worked in an enormous number of practice settings, with a huge number of different populations). I do this work because I love the teaching, and the teaching is a large part of what is terrifying so many of us in this state now, a few days before our academic year begins.

As the new semester looms large, whether we like it or not, I plan to send the following to all 150-ish social work majors at my university. It has been my experience that fear thrives in a vacuum, and so does uncertainty. My students have a right to know that we are committed to their learning, to supporting them and their individual and collective needs, and also to emphasizing the importance of academic rigor within this program. They have a right to hear this stuff from their program director, because if they don’t, they’re going to hear bits and pieces of it from somewhere else anyway. So here goes:

Dear incredible social work students:

As the new academic year begins, I would like to set the stage for your learning within this community. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.

You have probably heard about the recently-passed law known as SB1. That law has caused some anxiety around the state, and so I want to be specific about a few points.

If you have taken any classes with me in the past, you have heard me say this. But let me say it again now, as directly as I can:

There are social workers who tend to lean more toward conservative perspectives, and social workers who tend to lean more toward liberal perspectives. There are also social work students across the political spectrum. It’s very likely that you will have classes, do group projects, share a workplace and community, and perhaps even befriend folks who do not share 100% of your political ideals. And all of that is perfectly fine!

It’s not up to me or any of your instructors to tell you what to believe or how to vote or what political causes you should or shouldn’t get involved in. But it IS up to all of us to teach you about the core values of the social work profession, and you do not have a choice regarding whether to practice ethically or not. That ethical practice piece comes with time, experience, and knowledge, and those are all things your classes, field placement, and interactions with social work faculty and your fellow students will help you learn.

Those all-important core values of the social work profession are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Our Code of Ethics provides all social workers with key guardrails that help us act in accordance with the long tradition of the social workers who have come before us, while still acknowledging that we have a long way to go as a society and as a group of people who do our best but still make (and have historically made) plenty of mistakes.

SB1 has required public universities in Ohio to make some changes, as you’ve probably heard. The school has closed the LGBTQ+ Center, the Multicultural Center, and the Women’s Center. There are supports and resources that existed for students in the past which are no longer permitted according to state law. If you need additional support, I would strongly encourage you to seek out those supports either within the university system or from private agencies and sources of that support. Please don’t try and make it on your own—a college education is a group effort, not a solo sport! Your social work faculty and I are also here to offer any help and support that we possibly can. Please don’t feel ashamed to ask for it!

So when I tell you that you can believe whatever you would like to believe, know that your instructors and I have a responsibility to teach you what that Code of Ethics looks like, how to emphasize those core values in your work, and how to also put evidence-based interventions and critical thinking into the mix. You do not have a responsibility to be liberal-leaning, but you do have a very real responsibility to practice (and conduct yourself in your classes and field placement settings) as an ethical future social worker. We will not all agree with each other’s opinions, and that has to be okay. About twenty years ago, someone I respect a great deal told me that if I agree with about 70% of what a speaker has to say, or if I can even learn something, then it wasn’t a waste of my time to listen to that speech. You don’t have to agree with anyone else in your classes, including your instructor, but you do have to treat each other with respect and contribute to a meaningful dialogue.

It’s my hope that we have an outstanding academic year to look forward to. Your instructors have missed you! Thank you so much for everything you bring to the table, and for your passion for social work and your lived experience that makes this program a far richer experience for your fellow students than it would otherwise be. We’re all in this together, and even though things might feel chaotic or unsettled, we’re all committed to supporting you and helping you learn and grow as future social workers.

Three months ago, the first twenty graduates from this program walked across that stage. Many of those students have since become Licensed Social Workers. Almost all of them are already working within the field in really meaningful roles. Don’t forget, that’s going to be you someday. It’s worth the hard work it takes to get there, just ask any of them!

Now let’s get this semester started!

I wish I could protect my students from the nonsense. I wish I could provide them with a safe enclave that no cynical and power-hungry Ohio politician could intrude upon. But I can’t do that. So my students will continue to come to me with their fears and anxieties, and I’ll continue to do my best to tell them that it’s all worth it.

We live in this reality:

• I know universities in this state that have begun to instruct their employees to remove anything that might signify support for marginalized communities from their offices.

• I know educators in this state who are terrified that every single email they send could be subpoenaed, misconstrued, and eventually get them disciplined or even fired.

• I know students in this state who have decided not to go to graduate school due to their fears that social workers are now under too much scrutiny to do their jobs correctly.

• None of us knows what any of this means for higher education in Ohio, besides the fact that we are all worried, upset, and full of more stress than you can imagine.

We are not okay, and my biggest concern is that it’s normal to see students, faculty and staff burnt out at the end of each academic year. It’s deeply abnormal, though, to see us all this burnt out before the year even begins. Please send all the positive vibes you’ve got—we could all use them.

And also, vote for people who won’t try to destroy good things that they do not understand. That’s key.

See you next week. Until then, please share this newsletter with anyone who might care. Appreciate you joining me, tough though the road may be!

XOXO,

Matt