E-Term 2021: Internships in Community and Social Change

One thing you learned (Note: This should be a concept or an idea, not a statement of fact.)

Something that I learned was the rather, optimistic way of looking at disasters and major changes. The idea that they bring forth opportunities for new life was incredibly refreshing.

One thing you connected to your own experience. This could be a connection to your internship, to another activity, or even to something you’ve observed in the news.

I could really relate to the story of the oasis. This is something I feel like most BSC students could relate to especially with our campus and the relationship it has to the community outside of it. It often feels like we are a calm oasis surrounded by an area that is considered “bad” or “unsafe”. While yes, it is probably not the safest part of the city, it is important to recognize and break down the system that caused it to be that way. 

One question you have

How can I, as an individual, make the impact that I want to when there is no organization to help me do so?

One thing you learned (Note: This should be a concept or an idea, not a statement of fact.)

It was really interesting to hear about the difference between the individual and the organization. I do a lot of advocacy work, mainly focused on disability. More often than not, it feels like I am alone in a huge fight. When an individual is doing the work themselves, it is easy to feel like they are carrying the whole fight on their shoulders. However, the book discussed the importance of the organization. I love how the book compared the process of an organization growing and maintaining its abilities to a forest ecosystem. Personally , I do not like science, but that comparison made a lot of sense to me. I loved hearing about the true power that organizations can have. I would love to open my own nonprofit one day, so hearing about the power that organizations can have was extremely inspiring.

One thing you connected to your own experience. This could be a connection to your internship, to another activity, or even to something you’ve observed in the news.

In the middle of chapter 3, the author took some time to discuss a group of parents with children that all had disabilities. This hit home for me for obvious reasons, but I wanted to take some time to actually talk about it. Growing up, I was the child with a disability, but I actually work with a lot of parents of disabiled children, so I have a good bit of insight as to what it is like raising a child with a disability. There was a description of how dedicated the parents were to their children, which is not as common as one might think, but when it does happen, it is wonderful. It was super interesting hearing about a group that was made up of parents of disabled children, as that is also not necessarily common. This is a topic I could talk about for days, but hearing about the struggles that these parents faced while raising their children really hit home for me, and it was super interesting to get to hear about it in a book, and also in a tone that did not put down the disabled children, or ridicule the parents for making mistakes.

One question you have

One thing learned: The line “disasters do destroy existing structures, they also release trapped resources and nutrients for new life.”(67). I have never thought of destruction in this way. This is an extremely optimistic but true way to look at disasters.

One thing connected to: I really connected to the part where the author mentions how resilient forests are, and that despite their constant change they evolve and push forward. This is an underrated spectacle of nature, our environment is ever changing and it is amazing how our environment is able to respond to human activity and continue to exist. Yes, global warming is decimating forests and killing wildlife but it is still fascinating seeing how our environments adapt to exist with our practices.

One question: At what point can our environment stop adapting? When, if at all, does it become impossible for the forest to remain a forest?

One thing I learned: 

In a complex system, patterns are constantly changing. Successful social innovators continue to analyze the problems as they fix them. (Pg. 61)

A connection to my own experience: 

The story of Muhammad Yunus who was outraged that the university he taught at in Bangladesh was an “oasis” in the middle of famine-ridden country reminds me immensely of Birmingham-Southern. I’ve personally heard BSC’s campus described as an “oasis” in a “bad” part of Birmingham. Yunus stated that he felt the immense knowledge of his university “should spill over to the neighboring communities.” By having a similar attitude, BSC students could have major impacts on the area around BSC and better the community in which we all reside. (Pg. 56)

One question I have: 

What is the best way to go about getting the initial funding needed to jumpstart a social innovation idea? What is the best way to communicate with the people in power who have access to the resources you need? (Pg. 94-95)

The idea of connection, confrontation, and collaboration reminds me of what is going on in the news right now with the government. The government is so incredibly divided that it doesn't seem as if goals can be achieved with the incoming staff because there is little collaboration with the outgoing staff. Coronavirus is killing, BIPOC are being killed, etc. How can we move forward as a country when our leaders are on two separate pages?

My question is: What does one do if they are trying to socially innovate but the establishment, the people in power, have other agendas and will not allow that type of collaboration or change to occur?

I guess this makes me think about people that are in poverty that needs help. The world knows that poverty is a problem, but what are the steps we are taking to resolve the problem? We are going through a pandemic and people are losing their jobs, suicide rates are going up, divorce rates are going up, people are broke, but we only had two stimulus checks? 

It makes you think if the government really cares about their people. Yes, people that are well known, wealthy, or both can open some doors for you. The government is has the say so and they are aware of the problems that America have. When will things truly change? 

Chapters 3 & 4: 

Prior to this book, I had never heard of the adaptive cycle (68). I think it is in our nature as humans, especially during the current season with COVID, to cling to comfort and routine despite it being the thing that is often holding us back from innovation.

The following line from page 99 really stuck out to me: “If the system is to be transformed as opposed to overturned, collaboration between the radicals and the establishment must be created.” I think when we recognize systems of injustice our immediate thought is to adopt a battle mentality where there is a clear line drawn in the sand and each side sees the other only as an enemy. While I believe that confrontation is a key step in making progress, I think we fail to recognize the importance of following up this confrontation with collaboration in order to ever maintain a level of peace among one another.

My question: How do I define my role in the power dynamics of BSC?

One way I can connect this to my own experience by simple reflecting on my self. Often times it is hard to see your personal mistakes and downfalls or even reevaluate your thoughts and ideals. I believe that the principles and ideals that have been instilled in me, as well as the ones I have picked up later in life have an effect on the way that I interact with other in both professional and platonic relationships. In order to understand this complexity I will have to have a real come to Jesus meeting with myself. This concept really reminds me of fasting and how it becomes a time of looking in the mirror and finding yourself.

One question I have would be, "In Chapter 4 the author discusses the idea of power in social systems, how does the way you perceive power alter the way you interact with others?"

One thing I learned about the resilience feedback loop and how it works. Resilience is the capacity to experience massive change and yet still maintain the integrity of the original. (pg. 65)

One thing that I was able to connect from the book to my internship was when the author started to talk about resilience. Some of the clients at McCoy suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia, but one thing I’ve noticed is that they have adapted to change, and they also haven’t let that stop them from having fun and doing activities while they are at McCoy. The staff at McCoy went through a massive change when covid hit because they had to close their doors, but they still made time to visit the adults at their homes, as well as dropping off activity sheets and snacks through the basket program. (pg.66)

How would we be able to help people who have loans that they aren’t able to afford? (pg.59)

I learned that on pg 121 that in any discussion of power and its redistribution, that one should link the issue directly to the organization's mission and keep it in that context. This is interesting to me because I never thought of this as something to be done when talking to organizations. Knowing that change is difficult (pg. 68) this can serve as a useful tool when helping addressing things of this manner. I also like how the book addresses the fact that change is difficult and addresses it straight on.

I connected the talk about how in societies nothing being distributed equally (pg. 95) to what I learned this past semester in intro to poverty studies. This reminded me of all the things we learned about why people live in poverty and what makes it so difficult for them to get out. As the resources in these poorer neighborhoods are very limited compared to those in wealthier neighborhoods. This unequal distribution is more harmful than it is helpful and more people are affected by this than we might think.

A question I have is, how does one bring up the conversation of change if they aren't sure what to say? What if they are scared/nervous to bring it up, what should be done?

• One thing you learned: Standing still and taking stock is an important part of being a social innovator because it settles you into your current situation and allows you to address your intentions and progress. Many want to help, but taking stock and analyzing your warranted efforts allows us to become mindful of what we are doing in the present. p.82
• One thing you connected to your own experience: Once again I am reminded of my place in Beloved's ministry. I am but an ambitious intern for only one month, and yet my ambitions outgrow all of my qualification of experience in this area of social reform. But, this reading has shown that a hard head is no more beneficial than an empty one, and creative brainstorming can be balances with calm contemplation with the bigger picture. 
• One question you have: How can I be still and take stock of the full scope of Birmingham's redlining issues? Is that even a possibility? Where should I start within the system to fully understand what obstacles stand in between Beloved and their community mission.

One thing I was able to connect with my own experiences was on page 67 when it says that growth is will happen when something already existing changes, and while it may seem like it's a horrible thing at the moment "like a forest fire" he says, there is much potential for new growth. I see this happening in my own life when I am pushing towards a goal that ends up leading me in a different direction that works out for the better. 

A question I have is: What is the best or effective way to leave a positive impact that aims for growth?

How can people who suffer from social anxiety become social innovators? Are they wrong to fear taking action?

One thing I learned from Muhammad Yunus's experiences is that he found the most relevant information by "visiting the poorest households around him to see for himself where the challenges lay" (pg 56). He worked hands-on to find out for himself how he could best impact the community around him; which is admirable.

One thing that I was able to connect to my own experience was the author's point of view on poverty. Page 59 reads, "The vicious cycle of debt repayment was amplified by a culture of poverty that defined women as worthless and incapable, and made them subservient to others and doubting of themselves" (pg.59).

In a community interest course I took here at BSC, Liberation Theology, I learned a little about the cycle of poverty being discussed here. 

I have a feeling that this question may be answered as we continue reading this novel but I wonder what the most effective way to create resilience and become social innovators is.