ABSTRACT
At my interview for a place on the Diploma in Social Work course, I was asked why I wanted to become a social worker. Although I was expecting the question I didn’t have a glib answer prepared and, several years on, I still don’t. My reasons for choosing this particular career rather than any other are complex and confused, but I think the roots lie in my childhood. I grew up in the north-east of England during the 1970s and 1980s and that experience inevitably coloured my outlook on the world and gave me a certain political and social perspective. This was combined with my mother’s emphasis on Christian values and the importance of ‘being a good neighbour’ and caring for others. She set a practical example herself, working as a home help (as they were then called) and running the youth group at chapel among other things. Through her, I had the opportunity to meet people of all ages and abilities and thus develop my own ‘people skills’. The values of respect and consideration for others that my mother tried to instil in my sister and me form the basis of my beliefs as a social worker. I believe that my desire to work with people stems from this upbringing and the wider social context in which I grew up. Certainly, my mother has something to answer for as my sister also works for social services.
