The Social Work Department at the University of Memphis has a commitment to engaged scholarship that is emblematic of the profession of social work. My classroom is a safe place where students can make mistakes, and where "splattering" is encouraged, for it is only when we are willing to make mistakes that we learn and humanity advances. I have told that story to each one of my classes since. Some got it wrong, they "splattered." But over time, those who were most willing to "splatter" were the ones who learnt the most. Splattering has no bad consequences." I smiled as I continued, "so, splatter away!" The students laughed and proceeded to try the exercise. But you know what? It does not matter here. Sometimes baby birds do splatter on the ground. They were afraid of trying and protested loudly, saying "no, we can't, this is hard, and we are just going to get it wrong." So I told them, "look, even baby birds are pushed out of the nest by their mothers so they will learn to fly, I am giving you that push now." A bright young student replied, "some times those baby birds don't fly, they just splatter on the ground." I thought for a moment, and then I said, "Well, yes. When I started teaching, I once asked my statistics students to attempt the technique I had just shown them. The following story illustrates my teaching philosophy: My students do not always win arguments against me, but when they do, I've accomplished my goal. I believe that my students deserve to become the best professionals they can become. I believe that with the right kind of support, all students are able to meet and exceed the highest standards, and I am committed to provide all the support my students need. I respect my students enough to require and expect of them the highest levels of performance in production, practice, and critical thinking. My teaching philosophy is one that integrates elements from diverse theories in education, social work, psychology, and sociology. Because of a profound belief that all oppression is ultimately economic oppression leading to the exclusion from sharing in social goods, my framework is based on Critical Theory and French Poststructuralism, and is related to policy analysis, especially on services for culturally diverse populations. ![]() My goal is to contribute to the understanding and elimination of structural forms of poverty and exclusion through a global focus that is locally grounded and engaged. I am deeply troubled by the suffering caused by poverty. I love history, art, political science, sociology, literature, philosophy, physics, and I enjoy museums and volunteer whenever time permits. I am fully bilingual in English and Spanish. ![]() My foci are sustainable economic development, poverty remediation, wages, the relationship between education and capital, capital transformations, and immigration. My research interest is Poverty, and the intersection of oppression, marginalization, and exclusion the role of education, disabilities, and ontologies. ![]() Profile for Elena Delavega | The University of Memphis
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