What Makes A Good Community? Essay

Communities play an essential role in the development of the self and learning about the stranger. Through communities, individuals are able to socialize and gain a greater understanding of each other. A community can be defined in many different ways based on every individual’s experience with it. Developing a strong community takes time. Some people, like Jeannette Walls, do not have the opportunity to develop strong communities throughout their childhood.

A community is a place where people around supposed to be able to live and thrive together. When one thinks of a community, the image that most likely is visualized is one of a place where each person lives harmoniously with all the other members of that community. While this may be the typical image of a community, it is not the realistic view. In reality communities can share both good and bad aspects. In Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-First Century Peter Dreier, John Mollenkopf, and Todd Swanstrom make the argument that the place a person lives ultimately matters over all else; the place which a person lives effects the choices that that he/she makes and determines his/her ability to obtain a

However, Amanda’s family has potential to thrive despite these challenges if they are resilient (Black & Krishnakumar, 1998). African American families commonly show resiliency by having a strong kinship bonds, central role in religion, racial biculturalism, and enforcing positive self esteem (Black & Krishnakumar, 1998). Amanda’s father can continue to protect her from negative consequences of communities by providing structured activities, like sports, or involvement at recreational centers (Black & Krishnakumar,

First, community is our “home.” We have been living in a community ever since we were just little babies and it has always influenced us. Communities have played a big part in who we are today. We start off in school not knowing anyone or anything and as you get older you begin to think about the

It also showed us that value in education comes in different forms. For example, students like DeAndre valued education but didn’t think the education he was receiving was the best approach for him. It may appear the DeAndre was uninterested in learning but in reality he was interested in learning things that could help and resonated with his cultural history. I was enlightened by the way this article helped to highlight different types of students in a positive light. I resonate with this article because I went to a high school where students were labeled as noncompliant or “acting white”. I fell that more educators should read this article to get a well-rounded view of all their students especially those in the minority community. Furthermore, after reading this article I began to brainstorm alternatives to making school more appealing to all categories of students. According to the Boston Globe a new idea called community schools are entering discussions about better school models. The Boston Globe defines community schools as “both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement leads to improved student learning, stronger families, and healthier communities”. This idea sounds great to me because not only does it address the needs of the student

1.  Answer: “What does community mean to you?” in 2-3 sentences. Explain your stance on the idea of community as “virtual” with the advances of technology in our culture. What does this mean for our society?

Just imagine for a moment, strolling barefoot through silky sand, the warm sun beating down, and the sound of waves rhythmically rolling in. Picture dolphins dancing in the distance, seagulls whistling their blissful hymn above, and children laughing as they dance through the ocean spray. Sounds like the perfect escape, right? Tragically, the future of such a beautiful scene is in serious jeopardy! The quality of our waters is degrading at an alarming rate; the human race contributes to the problem daily, often without realizing it. Water pollution in Florida is reducing pure water sources at a drastic rate, destroying natural beauty, and severely impacting the survival of local wildlife. Human actions are a major contribution to this issue, therefore citizen awareness is the highest workable solution to diminish the threat and improve the degradation of our waterways. Florida cities near major waterways should establish annual community events to raise awareness and positively impact this problem.

Social togetherness and the effectiveness of structure can occur when culturally different people are allowed to be fully engaged in society and feel a sense of purpose and identity within their culture. Positive outcomes of diversity will happen when there is participation on all societal levels, participation is proportional to the makeup of ethnic groups, there is a common purpose, and the different cultural identities are valued (Jones et al., 2000, p. 55). Story time had mothers, fathers, and grandparents all of different ethnicities and ages. This activity as well as other activities the mommy and me group participate in are designed to give parents a forum where they can have an adult conversation, discuss any issues child wise they are having, and provide a learning activity that is also fun for the child. While I will never truly walk in their shoes, I can appreciate the difficulty of juggling their lives and enjoy the simplicity of

" 'But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin' "(Huxley 215). In Brave New World people lives were different and they had different believes they were not allowed to feel emotion because as the Director said emotions are unstable. They were conditioned to think the way their world is formed is perfect, but actually it isn't. Emotions could be unstable, but is better to feel them instead of being an inhumane person that doesn't feel anything. People have to paid a price that they didn't choose and that is unjust for them because they have to take what is giving to them.

Many people do not care about where they come from. Many people are selfish with their time and effort, but not me I do care about where I came from and I devote most of my time and effort to make many people happy. I try my hardest to do the right thing and to give back when I know I should. Giving back to my community is an important thing to me. People should care and protect about their communities. Three reasons why giving back to my community is important to me is because my community has done so much for me, I take so much pride in where I am from, and because I want people to see how wonderful my community is.

I have been fortunate enough to live my entire life in the city of Brentwood, TN. A lot of stereotypes come to mind when telling people where I live my everyday life. Such as, money, spoiled kids, nice cars, selfishness, and many others. Every so often you find those people who don’t care about what kind of car they drive, or what brand they’re wearing. Although this type of community surrounds me every day, I have always chosen to give back. Giving back to the community is one of my favorite things to do. Not only do I give back to the community, but I also help with big organizations worldwide. I have been working with a service group since I was in the 10th grade. Every year 8,000 is raised to make one boy or girls wish come true. This is

Throughout my life, I have been privileged to know a strong sense of community. My understanding of community has been carved out and shaped by each community that I have been a part of and the subsequent life experiences that I have had by being a part of these communities. To me, community means a sense of belonging with people who have some capacity of like-mindedness. When you belong to a community, you feel like a piece of a larger puzzle that comes together to create a whole. Each community you belong to both influences you, and is influenced by you. Moreover, your belonging to a community generates a sense of unity and shares a common goal, value, or outlook.

Community is very important and has many factors like kinship, unity, and identity. Community helps society because it creates solutions, provides security and reveals dedication. It discovers truthfulness. Communities are part of everyday life and have positive affects on its members.

My interest in community organizing and building began with the passion and knowledge for the well-being of others my father instilled in my life. My father was the late Chief Elmer Manatowa Jr of the Sac and Fox Nation, Native Tribe of Oklahoma. I have been an active Governing Council member (all adult members) of my Tribe for many years. I landed my first real job, Planning Department secretary, after taking a business course at the local technical .school. In that position, I had the opportunity to attend a Tribal Sovereignty Symposium organized by the Federal, State, and Tribal organizations. This was my first taste of community organizing and community building. It was the fourth symposium of its kind. The topics included Indian law, environmental issues, law enforcement, juvenile justice, arts, taxation, spirituality, preservation, state compacts, and Tribal immunity. There were two Senate Bills, 299 and 667. Bill 299 allowed certain protections for protecting land royalties and mineral rights. The protections included oil and mineral operator’s exclusion from drilling on individually owned Indian Country lands. Bill 667 referred to the health and human service regarding Indians.

I wouldn’t really say my community as a whole has an impact on me as a person but people in around me have had a huge impact on me for who I am today. The people who have the biggest impact on me is defiantly my family and friends, I have done so many things with them that made me the person who I am today.