Overview of Week:
What does the phrase community involvement mean to you? It can mean participating in a wide range of activities aimed at improving our local, national, and global communities – anything from volunteering at a local food shelf, calling your state legislator, participating in an Earth Day clean-up or Science March, to exploring a run for public office. Many of these activities could be called “everyday activism,” since they are things we can do alongside our work, school, family, and other responsibilities.
Social change comes from everyday people like us, working together in big and small ways, to advocate, challenge, assist, and contribute. There’s an abundance of opportunity to join with others who care deeply about the same issues that you do. This week, you will see examples of people who are working toward justice in many forms: food, employment, housing, environment, safety, etc.
One example you’ll learn about is a group of everyday people using their love of choral music as a form of activism – for spreading messages of awareness, acceptance, and community building among LGBT people and allies. You will learn about the difference between charity work and justice work, and understand the importance of each.
Sometimes we feel immobilized by the size and complexity of the challenges we face as a society. But, rather than throw up our hands in despair, we must commit to taking small steps, trusting that the cumulative impact of many small steps can be a powerful force for change. Edward Everett Hale wrote:
I am only one; but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can so something;
And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
What does the phrase community involvement mean to you? It can mean participating in a wide range of activities aimed at improving our local, national, and global communities – anything from volunteering at a local food shelf, calling your state legislator, participating in an Earth Day clean-up or Science March, to exploring a run for public office. Many of these activities could be called “everyday activism,” since they are things we can do alongside our work, school, family, and other responsibilities.
Social change comes from everyday people like us, working together in big and small ways, to advocate, challenge, assist, and contribute. There’s an abundance of opportunity to join with others who care deeply about the same issues that you do. This week, you will see examples of people who are working toward justice in many forms: food, employment, housing, environment, safety, etc.
One example you’ll learn about is a group of everyday people using their love of choral music as a form of activism – for spreading messages of awareness, acceptance, and community building among LGBT people and allies. You will learn about the difference between charity work and justice work, and understand the importance of each.
Sometimes we feel immobilized by the size and complexity of the challenges we face as a society. But, rather than throw up our hands in despair, we must commit to taking small steps, trusting that the cumulative impact of many small steps can be a powerful force for change. Edward Everett Hale wrote:
I am only one; but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can so something;
And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
Critically Read, Watch and Annotate:
Critical Thinking Questions:
Do:
Engage in 2-3 hours of a community involvement activity. You can choose from a service-learning volunteer experience at a local community organization or an activity focused on policy change. As an alternative, you might choose to make some changes in your life as a step to becoming more carbon neutral--you should make 3 or 4 changes for a week that you think you could continue post-assignment.
Choose something that is new to you.
Sign up for a Google Hangout time with your professor and your learning community, and be prepared to discuss all the critical thinking questions listed above.
- The Social Change Wheel from MN Campus Compact
- “Changing Our World through Song” --the One Voice Choir
- Four short videos from the St. Kates Community Work and Learning’s Department’s Service-Learning:
- Service-Learning and St. Kates Mission
- What is Service-Learning?
- Reflection in Service-Learning
- Service Learning and Catholic Social Teaching
- The Difference Between Justice and Charity
- What It Takes To Be Carbon Neutral
Critical Thinking Questions:
- Who benefits most from the One Voice choir, the audience or choir members? Why?
- How and why did you choose your community involvement activity?
- Was your community involvement work charity or justice work?
- How did your community involvement extend the legacy of the CSJs’ commitment to the dear neighbor?
- What steps could you take in your own life to become more carbon-neutral?
Do:
Engage in 2-3 hours of a community involvement activity. You can choose from a service-learning volunteer experience at a local community organization or an activity focused on policy change. As an alternative, you might choose to make some changes in your life as a step to becoming more carbon neutral--you should make 3 or 4 changes for a week that you think you could continue post-assignment.
Choose something that is new to you.
Sign up for a Google Hangout time with your professor and your learning community, and be prepared to discuss all the critical thinking questions listed above.
