Bridges, Bricks, Boundaries?: Reflecting on the Challenges of Civic Engagement
Thank you to all who came out to Civic Thursday. Thursday’s lively discussion was, however, only the start of a discussion about the many questions and challenges around Civic Engagement.
Some key points raised during the discussion:
- overlap between organizations doing similar work, or working in the same community
- collaboration of Civic Engagement and Service entities at Duke
- the need to prepare students for engagement experiences
- the need to provide space for reflection after engagement experiences
- Duke’s overall mindset towards Civic Engagement and Service
In many ways, the groups and organizations at Duke are civically engaging with Duke, Durham, and global communities. It is important that these groups and organizations also have the appropriate mindset towards their work. What do you think that mindset should be?
Answer this question, pose your own, post your opinions about the event as well as share your experiences with the challenges of Civic Engagement.
I’d like to comment on the initial question posed by DCCE, about my opinions on the appropriate mindset. At Civic Thursdays, I commented that it can be challenging to accept that there will be overlap among community organizations providing similar programs and services to people. For me, it is similarly challenging to negotiate a proper balance of responding to identified and perceived needs in the community [task-focused] and just building relationships and being engaged in the community [people-focused]. That being said, I think the appropriate mindset seeks to hold both values, of tasks/outcomes and of people/relationships, in high regard, disregarding neither.
I think that there is consensus that simply making things better is valuable. Being able to quantify the results [as Liz mentioned], the ways in which Duke has done something well not only looks great but is great, wherever it is. And though Duke hasn’t always done the right things, there are moments worth highlighting as successes. Related to this, I think, is the value of relationships. I have found that my time immersed in community engagement has been most substantive and meaningful when it was not solely about what got done or how much was achieved, but also about being with people, getting to really know them and be known over time, building rapport and trust.
Sure, there will be times when results really matter, and this should be recognized. However, I honor those who can see the value in simply knowing the stories of people in community, of just being with people. This perspective seeks to cultivate civic engagement experiences beyond “us here volunteering and serving them over there” towards more integrated and redeeming occasions, like “us being connected, us being together.” It may sound trite or utopian, but I’ve experienced moments where both of these values are fulfilled working in the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership. And man, it’s great to see and feel; it’s really refreshing and undeniably real. I think that kind of mindset is an asset to civic engagement anywhere.
Jesse Huddleston– Senior Resident Community Engagement Fellow, Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership [Trinity 2010]
Great conversation and many thanks to the DCCE for hosting! I have a question that I left wanting to ask the group:
How important are RESULTS to student development through civic engagement? I’m referring to results as not just ‘community impact’, but moreso completed deliverables (a research paper, a series of focus groups, a new program or initiative adopted by the community partner, a final something…). Do students experience personal development solely through participating in “Civic Engagement” activity?
Liz Linzer – Program Manager, Hart Leadership Program’s Enterprising Leadership Initiative (Duke ’09)
I think that in a lot of ways, putting together some sort of deliverable, whatever it might be, would force one to reflect on their experience – identify successes, challenges, etc. I’d say this reflection is crucial. It’s true that many would take the time to think about these things on their own, but some may not. What are the pros/cons of making this sort of thing a requirement?
Anamika Goyal, Administrative Fellow, DCCE | Duke Class of 2011