Curiosity invites us to explore, understand and create new possibilities for those we serve.
If you have ever spent time with a child, you know they’re full of questions. “Why” might just be their favorite word. Some of the most memorable questions from my own children include:
- “Why do adults drink coffee if it smells bad?”
- “Why can’t we just eat cake every day if it makes us happy?”
- “Why do I have to go to bed if you’re still awake?”
- “Why do we have eyebrows … are they just for decoration?”
Children come into the world with a natural curiosity. Their constant questioning is their way of making sense of the people, structures and systems around them. In many ways, this same curiosity is at the heart of social work. A curious spirit drives us to ask deeper questions, seek understanding, and imagine better possibilities for individuals, families, groups and entire communities.
Your Path to Becoming a Future Social Worker
The first place we encourage our social work students to embrace their curiosity is within themselves. Ethical practice begins with a commitment to continuous self-reflection and self-awareness. After all, the greatest tool a social worker brings to their work is themselves. That tool must be continually sharpened and examined for judgment, bias and blind spots. And this is where courage steps in: being truly honest with ourselves and willing to make meaningful change from within.
Next, we encourage our social work students to extend that same curiosity to their clients. Approaching others with curiosity rather than judgment opens the door to deeper understanding; it invites us to ask questions, seek the roots of behaviors, explore the full story, and consider the person-in-environment within the larger system. And it takes courage to lean into the discomfort that can arise in these conversations, staying present even when the truths we uncover are complex or challenging.
Finally, social workers must stay curious about the systems in which their clients live and interact. Curiosity helps us recognize when systems benefit some while disadvantaging others, prompting us to question the status quo and challenge the “way things have always been done.” It invites us to imagine creative solutions and think beyond traditional approaches. And it takes tremendous courage to stand for change, especially when that change disrupts long-standing structures or norms.
Curiosity and courage truly reside in the heart of a good social worker — from understanding ourselves, to connecting deeply with others, to challenging systems that need to change. If you find yourself asking “why,” noticing injustices or imagining how things could be different, those instincts are not just personality traits; they are the foundations of a meaningful career. The world needs more people who are willing to care, to question and to act. If you carry a curious spirit and the courage to use it, social work may be exactly where you belong.
Written by Nichole Ostrowski, CUW BSW program director
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Concordia University Wisconsin is a Lutheran higher education community committed to helping students develop in mind, body, and spirit for service to Christ in the Church and the world. The Concordia University BSW mission is to prepare graduates for baccalaureate level, generalist social work practice and graduate level education. Our program is delivered within the context of Christian faith, in which we hold all people to be created equally in the image of God, while honoring our professional social work values of advocacy, service, justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence.