Unfriendly visitors

Schools of social work demand a conformity that lasts beyond graduation | Janie B. Cheaney

Alliance Defense Fund

Mrs. B. is an appreciative person, with a good knowledge of how to use canned beef."

"Girl has not fallen but is on the brink."

So a turn-of-the-century social worker, known as a "friendly visitor," described her clients after making her rounds in the crowded slums. Presumably kindhearted, she could also be testy: "Visitor absolutely disgusted and tells [client] for all she cares they can starve if unwilling to follow good advice."

But that was then. A recent report from the National Association of Scholars titled "The Scandal of Social Work Education" makes the case that the days of sharing advice and canned beef recipes are long gone. The profession now aims at raising and maintaining an army of activists, a goal that subverts the very purpose of higher education: "Advocacy can sometimes be welcomed as a passenger," states the report, "but has no right to take the wheel."