Thanks for the discussion during the past few days.
If you missed it, go to the comments section here: UPDATED: A discussion: What is preventing us from joining hands?
A few moments ago, Tabitha posted this comment:
I actually attended a sample study circle last night at New Directions. It was simple and powerful. I think that it would be a useful process for this area as we need to communicate if we truly want to come together to work toward common goals with a collective vision. I believe that we need to look at the larger issues that cause many of our "problems." I agree with what others have mentioned. Garbage is not the core issue. The problem of garbage will be addressed if we work on the larger issues. We need to look at our "problems" as symptoms of larger issues including poverty and urban sprawl. I know that many people know this. I just feel the need to repeat this again after the discussion at New Directions last night.
May we continue the discussion here?
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4 comments:
We can also continue the discussion in person. The S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Association has a scheduled meeting next Tuesday at 6:30. We have a light agenda with no planned speaker. I’d like to invite anyone interested to come by and we can use the time to discuss this thread, do some planning for the forum meeting and get some updates on past forum topics.
Meeting Info:
S. Ellen Jones Elementary School - 600 E. 11th Street
(use entrance/parking lot in Northwest corner, off of Culbertson)
Tuesday, July 18th - 6:30pm
Thanks, Ted. I have some Study Circles materials to share as well.
I very much agree with Tabitha's assessment. It was an interesting evening apropos of nearly everything that seems to be going on between people in our community. The Study Circles process, though seemingly simple, is very humanizing at a time when I think we need it. It's important to note, too, that individual Study Circles end with concrete action plans specifying what the group will do rather than what someone else should do.
The general idea is to run a pilot Study Circle in the fall (more on that later) and then use the 10-15 participants from that group to expand participation exponentially, with the goal of bringing disparate groups together for personal but moderated and "safe" sharing and problem solving. I'm pretty sure the initial pilot could be expanded if there's great interest.
To get a better idea of how the program starts, readers can check out the Building Strong Neighborhoods Study Guide.
The good news (beyond our opportunity to get free Study Circles training) is that we're already on the right track. Our neighborhood forums, with moderation and civil ground rules, and our desire to increase the diversity of participants is very much in tune with what the Study Circles people have found to be successful across the country.
I think it's important to continue with the forums and I'm energized by the enthusiasm for the next one in August. Code enforcement should be kept at the forefront of city government issues. Hopefully, the same enthusiasm will be in abundance when we try to actually get to know each other and dig up the roots of the problem(s) as Tabitha and NA Girl have suggested.
My hope is that we can increase our efforts to identify other community networks who share our concerns and then use the Study Circles model to facilitate communication and further positive action.
sloburn,
Hang tight. We'll be back to you shortly!
Sloburn, please email me--I'm vice chair of the Main St. Preservation Assn.
ann@earthlygoods.com
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