Nickolas Gold-Leighton
Professor Pisano
LANG 120
April 26th, 2014
Community Essay
Community is not the collection of beings in a certain area. Community embodies how we as
humans share our human experience among collections of others who share “something” in common with us. Community is personal to every individual and I have discovered throughout this semester that personal interactions, local, and national culture all play a major role when shaping/altering the malleable communities we live in today.
Personal interactions helps to enable change and progress. Even the simple act of volunteerism can shape and grow communities in need of virtually anything. Throughout this semester we looked at the charity model of volunteering compared to the social change model and how they affect local communities. Community can be heavily influenced by individuals who provide relief to a certain area. I believe that personal interactions can be most closely identified as volunteerism. When volunteering this semester I determined that even though I was responsible for the completion of 20 hours of service I would maintain the conscious effort to make sure that I was not working to serve the school, rather I was working directly with the children to help as best I could. The community of ArtSpace charter school was
well grounded and my temporary addition helped to enforce a tight knit community between the students
and teachers. The students understand that their school is small and remarkably they have bonded regardless of their socioeconomic surroundings. This school fosters connections like these because they
believe that if the students possess enthusiasm, then their scholastic life is much less daunting. When
volunteering I remembered my reading response for "I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose. That
piece was aimed at showing how influential just one educator can be in the life of a child. Even though I am not an educator, I felt that my purpose for volunteering and engaging with each student carried a similar level of influence as Mr. MacFarland gave to Mike Rose. Mr. MacFarland was described as a passionate teacher but what made this piece standout to me was how even though Mr. MacFarland cared
Professor Pisano
LANG 120
April 26th, 2014
Community Essay
Community is not the collection of beings in a certain area. Community embodies how we as
humans share our human experience among collections of others who share “something” in common with us. Community is personal to every individual and I have discovered throughout this semester that personal interactions, local, and national culture all play a major role when shaping/altering the malleable communities we live in today.
Personal interactions helps to enable change and progress. Even the simple act of volunteerism can shape and grow communities in need of virtually anything. Throughout this semester we looked at the charity model of volunteering compared to the social change model and how they affect local communities. Community can be heavily influenced by individuals who provide relief to a certain area. I believe that personal interactions can be most closely identified as volunteerism. When volunteering this semester I determined that even though I was responsible for the completion of 20 hours of service I would maintain the conscious effort to make sure that I was not working to serve the school, rather I was working directly with the children to help as best I could. The community of ArtSpace charter school was
well grounded and my temporary addition helped to enforce a tight knit community between the students
and teachers. The students understand that their school is small and remarkably they have bonded regardless of their socioeconomic surroundings. This school fosters connections like these because they
believe that if the students possess enthusiasm, then their scholastic life is much less daunting. When
volunteering I remembered my reading response for "I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose. That
piece was aimed at showing how influential just one educator can be in the life of a child. Even though I am not an educator, I felt that my purpose for volunteering and engaging with each student carried a similar level of influence as Mr. MacFarland gave to Mike Rose. Mr. MacFarland was described as a passionate teacher but what made this piece standout to me was how even though Mr. MacFarland cared
for the material he was instilling within the community of the class, his additional connection with Mike
Rose made all the difference when Rose decided to pursue higher education. The golden idea of community is this type of connection. Where individuals who have life experience can teach, protect, and garner the interests of those similar to them. I feel that this semester has taunt me that the similarity people share is their connection with a the people or groups around them. This connection I feel evolves into community.
Local culture can be a strong proponent of creating or hindering communities. “Conversational Ballgames” by Nancy Sakamoto compared the culture of Japanese language to the culture that is formed by when individuals converse. Sakamoto’s experience speaking was very uncomfortable and thus allowed her to feel unwelcome. This piece I believed illustrated how on a local setting individuals could become dismayed from enjoying the embrace of community. For Sakamoto her inability to feel included gave her
a sense that not only could she not relate, but she was incapable of participating in the human experience
around her. Communities are most advantageous when they feed off everyone’s input and the consensus of the group. Sakamoto explained the culture of Japanese language which has been shaped around her, however her experience with communication is “like doubles in tennis, or like volleyball. There’s no waiting in line. Whoever is nearest and quickest hits the ball, and if you step back, someone else will hit it. No one stops the game to give you a turn (to give you a chance to play). You’re responsible for taking your own turn” (Sakamoto). The way we constantly feel influenced by our local culture can be mirrored in the way we unknowingly build our local communities.
The influence of local culture can also be seen in “The Lesson" by Cade Bambara. In this piece,
the community established by Mrs. Moore was aimed at helping the children disconnect from their poverty stricken surroundings and learn about what else was accessible in the world around them. Community in this piece was aimed at alleviating the cultural influences of the children's surrounding by enhancing their understanding of the real world. The community that Mrs. Moore endorsed aimed at promoting the children around her to think critically and perspectively, leading to Sylvia’s main
statement, ”Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven” (Bambara). For these children who have clearly grown up
Rose made all the difference when Rose decided to pursue higher education. The golden idea of community is this type of connection. Where individuals who have life experience can teach, protect, and garner the interests of those similar to them. I feel that this semester has taunt me that the similarity people share is their connection with a the people or groups around them. This connection I feel evolves into community.
Local culture can be a strong proponent of creating or hindering communities. “Conversational Ballgames” by Nancy Sakamoto compared the culture of Japanese language to the culture that is formed by when individuals converse. Sakamoto’s experience speaking was very uncomfortable and thus allowed her to feel unwelcome. This piece I believed illustrated how on a local setting individuals could become dismayed from enjoying the embrace of community. For Sakamoto her inability to feel included gave her
a sense that not only could she not relate, but she was incapable of participating in the human experience
around her. Communities are most advantageous when they feed off everyone’s input and the consensus of the group. Sakamoto explained the culture of Japanese language which has been shaped around her, however her experience with communication is “like doubles in tennis, or like volleyball. There’s no waiting in line. Whoever is nearest and quickest hits the ball, and if you step back, someone else will hit it. No one stops the game to give you a turn (to give you a chance to play). You’re responsible for taking your own turn” (Sakamoto). The way we constantly feel influenced by our local culture can be mirrored in the way we unknowingly build our local communities.
The influence of local culture can also be seen in “The Lesson" by Cade Bambara. In this piece,
the community established by Mrs. Moore was aimed at helping the children disconnect from their poverty stricken surroundings and learn about what else was accessible in the world around them. Community in this piece was aimed at alleviating the cultural influences of the children's surrounding by enhancing their understanding of the real world. The community that Mrs. Moore endorsed aimed at promoting the children around her to think critically and perspectively, leading to Sylvia’s main
statement, ”Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven” (Bambara). For these children who have clearly grown up
too fast have been influenced by their local culture and have incorporated those beliefs into the
community around them. Local culture provides the backbone for how individuals feel when participating
in communities and what type of experience each member receives.
On a national level culture has a profound impact on the communities around us. In “Want Amid Plenty: From Hunger to Inequality” by Janet Poppendieck it is apparent that when national culture has established a framework for how poverty is addressed, then community is shaped to accommodate the status quo. Poppendieck illustrates how the communities established within the poverty stricken areas are
reluctant to trade their food stamps for bare necessities due to the national culture surrounding homeless
and poverty. Poppendieck makes the assertion that "Many poor people are indeed hungry, but hunger, like homelessness and a host of other problems, is a symptom, not a cause, of poverty. And poverty, in turn, in an affluent society like our own, is fundamentally a product of inequality” (Poppendieck). As
Poppendieck makes this claim in her writing, I felt that this was a direct attack on our national culture.
National culture can have economic disadvantages when degrading malleable communities like these. Furthermore “Helping and Hating the Homeless” by Peter Marin was an interesting look into how
we as a nation have established a framework on how to deal with the homeless among us. Our national culture has set a precedence on how to deal with the homeless and less fortunate. These communities of human beings are unjustly subjected to established laws that make it illegal to barely survive in the unfortunate conditions they have not a majority of control over. Community in this instance shows that
national decisions have direct impact on communities on an individual level.
In conclusion, I feel that personal interactions that lead to volunteerism are the most productive forms of community. Volunteerism gives back to any community with enhancements on a social or physical level. National and local culture in addition have far reaching impacts on the sustainability and viably of communities. National culture can populate preconceived notions of a certain idea while local culture can change those beliefs on a local level. Community should be a forethought and never an afterthought. Community is not always beneficial as discussed in this paper. Community can be harmful if culture is accepting of such present inequalities. Or community can thrive if individuals maintain passion
On a national level culture has a profound impact on the communities around us. In “Want Amid Plenty: From Hunger to Inequality” by Janet Poppendieck it is apparent that when national culture has established a framework for how poverty is addressed, then community is shaped to accommodate the status quo. Poppendieck illustrates how the communities established within the poverty stricken areas are
reluctant to trade their food stamps for bare necessities due to the national culture surrounding homeless
and poverty. Poppendieck makes the assertion that "Many poor people are indeed hungry, but hunger, like homelessness and a host of other problems, is a symptom, not a cause, of poverty. And poverty, in turn, in an affluent society like our own, is fundamentally a product of inequality” (Poppendieck). As
Poppendieck makes this claim in her writing, I felt that this was a direct attack on our national culture.
National culture can have economic disadvantages when degrading malleable communities like these. Furthermore “Helping and Hating the Homeless” by Peter Marin was an interesting look into how
we as a nation have established a framework on how to deal with the homeless among us. Our national culture has set a precedence on how to deal with the homeless and less fortunate. These communities of human beings are unjustly subjected to established laws that make it illegal to barely survive in the unfortunate conditions they have not a majority of control over. Community in this instance shows that
national decisions have direct impact on communities on an individual level.
In conclusion, I feel that personal interactions that lead to volunteerism are the most productive forms of community. Volunteerism gives back to any community with enhancements on a social or physical level. National and local culture in addition have far reaching impacts on the sustainability and viably of communities. National culture can populate preconceived notions of a certain idea while local culture can change those beliefs on a local level. Community should be a forethought and never an afterthought. Community is not always beneficial as discussed in this paper. Community can be harmful if culture is accepting of such present inequalities. Or community can thrive if individuals maintain passion
for a defined purpose or experience they want to see come to fruition. I believe that our culture, whether
local or national, leads to the betterment or degradation of communities globally.
Works Cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. “The Lesson.” Writing and Community Action. Susan Kunchandy. Phoenix:
Longman,
2003. 193-200. Print.
Poppendieck, Janet. "Want Amid Plenty: From Hunger To Inequality." Monthly Review: An Independent
Socialist Magazine 50.3 (1998): 125. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Rose, Mike. “I Just Wanna Be Average.” Writing and Community Action. Susan Kunchandy. Phoenix:
Longman, 2003. 39-49. Print.
Sakamoto, Nancy. “Conversational Ballgames” Writing and Community Action. Susan Kunchandy. Phoenix:
Longman, 2003. 137-139. Print.
2003. 193-200. Print.
Poppendieck, Janet. "Want Amid Plenty: From Hunger To Inequality." Monthly Review: An Independent
Socialist Magazine 50.3 (1998): 125. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Rose, Mike. “I Just Wanna Be Average.” Writing and Community Action. Susan Kunchandy. Phoenix:
Longman, 2003. 39-49. Print.
Sakamoto, Nancy. “Conversational Ballgames” Writing and Community Action. Susan Kunchandy. Phoenix:
Longman, 2003. 137-139. Print.
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