I think that after reading the 12 Tenets for Social Work Practice, my understanding of the profession’s purpose indeed deepened. I liked how all the main aspects of the profession are presented clearly and concisely so that they can serve as the orientation and/or reminder for every social worker. Therefore, in this paper, I would like to discuss my thoughts regarding the ideas presented in the 12 Tenets.
Firstly, I understood that being ethical is the cornerstone of the social work practice. That includes not only professional conduct but also personal beliefs. For instance, only by devoting oneself to high moral principles can a person be able to truly fight injustice and inequality (7th tenet) or desire to empower others (1st tenet). Otherwise, the professional would solely follow instructions but will be unable to bring a real change to the society as working with humans always necessitates a personal approach that can hardly be regulated. On a broader scale, if many social workers are not going to be ethical, the profession would eventually deviate from its original purposes. For those reasons, being morally superior is the central part of this type of work.
In this regard, it is also crucial that social workers are highly educated and can reflect on matters related to human psychology, sociology, and politics. Without proper knowledge in these spheres – which includes historical and intercultural perspectives – one cannot truly identify and understand the needs of individuals and society as a whole. More importantly, without reflections on the aforementioned matters, a professional would not be able to adequately assess the righteousness of one’s behavior. Therefore, it is argued that without a good education, social workers are unable to be effective leaders of the society, which they should be based on tenets 2,7,10, and 12.
Finally, while reading the 12 Tenets, I could see the importance of the profession in building successful communications between various agents in society. In this respect, social workers can be considered as bridges that help the latter to reach an understanding and agreement. For instance, the professionals can notify the governmental institutions concerning discriminative aspects of their policies that the latter was unaware of as they do not work with people as closely as social workers do. Therefore, it can be concluded that social workers greatly impact the development of society and its institutions.