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Developing Civic Involvement In Rural Communities

Developing Civic Involvement In Rural Communities. An Introduction. David Buchen Mesalands Community College Small Business Development Center. “It is their fault!”. How Do We Develop People to Take Responsibility for Their Community.

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Developing Civic Involvement In Rural Communities

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  1. Developing Civic Involvement In Rural Communities An Introduction David Buchen Mesalands Community College Small Business Development Center

  2. “It is their fault!”

  3. How Do We Develop People to Take Responsibility for Their Community The growing disaffection of citizens from their public institutions may be related to a decline in civic engagement, and contrasts with earlier periods when Americans had plentiful stocks of social capital. The key to making American democracy work, Alexis de Tocqueville noted in his classic Democracy in America, has been the propensity of Americans to form all kinds of civic associations. Civic Practices Network

  4. Tools To Develop Civic Involvement • Building Social Capital • Developing Smart Communities • Starting Study Circles

  5. What does "social capital" mean? The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"]. Robert Putnam

  6. We maybe lost but we are making good time Yogi Berra

  7. What is a “Smart Community” It is a geographical place, a set of interests, or a group of people that has invented a process of work that includes, discusses, anticipates, and acts on its critical common issues, building on its assets, its broad-based leadership and its history and values

  8. Seven High-Leverage Points • Investing right the first time • Working together • Building on community strengths • Practicing democracy • Preserving the past • Growing leaders • Inventing a brighter future

  9. Our Process for Exploring These Ideas The Study-Circle A study circle is a group of 8-12 people from different backgrounds and viewpoints who meet several times to talk about an issue. In a study circle, everyone has an equal voice, and people try to understand each other's views. They do not have to agree with each other. The idea is to share concerns and look for ways to make things better.

  10. A Study Circle • is organized by a diverse group of people from the whole community. • includes a large number of people from all walks of life. • has easy-to-use, fair-minded discussion materials. • uses trained facilitators who reflect the community’s diversity. • moves a community to action when the study circles conclude.

  11. What is the Job of the Facilitator • Show respect • Establish rapport • Abandon preconceptions • Hand over the stick • Watch, listen, learn • Learn from mistakes • Be flexible • Support and share • Be honest • Be self-critical and self-aware

  12. Tucumcari’s Smart Start Study Circle • The Group (12 members) • High School Students • College Students • Hispanic members • Older Adults • Local Professionals • Small Business • Two Facilitators

  13. Class Structure • Meet Once a Week for Eight Weeks • Two Hours (5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.) • One Chapter of Smart Communities Discussed Each Week • One Luncheon with Local Community Leaders

  14. Outcomes of Class • Change in Attitudes of Class Members • Community Leaders Impressed With Our Young People • Increased Interest in Finding Ways to Help Improve Community

  15. Resources: • Smart Communities: Civic Change in Your Community and Beyond http://smartcommunities.typepad.com/ • Study Circles http://www.studycircles.org/en/index.aspx

  16. More Resources • Social Capital: http://www.heartlandcenter.info/hst2.htm • Civic Practices Network http://www.cpn.org • America Speaks http://www.americaspeaks.org

  17. Putnam, Robert. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon and Schuster: New York, NY, 2000. Bellah, Robert N. et al., Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in Everyday Life. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985. Books Related to Presentation

  18. BETTER TOGETHER: Restoring the American CommunitybyRobert D. Putnam and Lewis M. Feldsteinwith Don Cohen(Simon & Schuster; September 2003) SMART COMMUNITIES: How Citizens & Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future by Suzanne W. Morse (Jossey-Bass; 2004) Books (Continued)

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