Community is about growing with others. I grew up surrounded by a culturally rich and loving community which has shaped my identity and pride as a black Latina woman. I have been blessed to be around young people and families ever engaged in improving the vitality of their community. Now, thirty five years into my life, I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
Everyday, I get to meet with young people. I have the opportunity to be there in their lives during some of their most difficult and distressing moments. Because of who these young people are, and because of the love I have received, I strive to be the best physician I can be and to serve those who need me most.
In the process, my spirituality has been a central stabilizing and informing force in my life, one that has been very personal, very quiet and that has nevertheless guided every one of my life choices. This interface between community, medicine, and personal faith started with an early and long-standing fascination with the world around me.
My mind was ignited by a love of science and medicine, and reliant on the power of community and deep respect and appreciation for healing.
This attitude towards the world was inspired by my grandmother my mother, and the elders around me who took the time to care. This is what community is about… taking care of each other. I was first drawn to Asian American Studies, and ethnic studies in general, because of its revolutionary commitments to community-building, justice-centered education, and hands-on, practical work. Several years ago, that was all theory. After I listened carefully to how young people and their families experienced problems first-hand and after I realized that they had always been at the forefront in fighting for a just and healthy community for all, I had begun to see things from their perspective and apply myself to keeping their—our—dreams alive.
So, why is community important? Because community saves us from the isolation and alienation we fear. Because in the real world people have no choice. Because community is about finding each other and a place we can call home.
But we are also compelled to build community not only because we are survivors in an existing world order but because we bring differences to a society that erases our differences. By dealing with differences we confront the question of the social and economic foundations of our society. I grew up outside of St.
Louis, Missouri in a little town called Wildwood. My boyhood memories are filled with adventures in the woods with friends, watching Ozzie Smith do backflips in Busch Stadium, trips to the Arch and the Science Museum where you could build an Arch with your friends… mind blown , and field trips to see the caves. Life was good. Louis since my parents moved away when I was ten years old but I can still recall these memories like it was yesterday.
Deep down, I have strong sentimental memories attached to Wildwood and St. At Pass It Down, our team spends a lot of time thinking about communities and what makes our communities special. Our belief is that every community in the world has something that makes it special. Ask students, "What does this word mean to you? Begin a concept map as students supply their definitions of "community.
Write the name of the community on the board. Ask students, " Does our community fit the definition we have just developed? Ask students, " What do you think makes our community unique? What makes this community different from other communities in the United States and around the world?
Students should identify characteristics of their community. An example using Onekama would include:. Explain to students that their assignment is to interview two community members. Ask them, "What makes our community unique? Students should write their responses in paragraph form, either verbatim or in their own words, and submit it in class tomorrow.
During the following class period, ask for volunteers to share their interviews. On chart paper, begin to record phrases and unique attributes of the community as students share.
Ask students to add to the list. Post the list in the classroom for reference during the unit. Scoring Rubric for Assignment Points Description 4 Student completed two interviews on appropriate topic and turned in a careful and complete written document of the interview. What Makes Our Community Unique? Garrison is a 8th grade teacher at Shelbyville Middle School in Indiana. They feel like a valuable part of the community when they can contribute.
To first introduce students to the acts of interviewing, listening, and recording, students are asked during this first lesson to gather responses from two community members to the question, "What makes our community unique?
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