Activity 1: Your Creation Myth

Here is my rough draft! I really enjoyed reading everyones, it’s also great to hear how people came to be where they are.

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“Hanging out with friends after school at Classical High, I noticed this small, vibrant storefront across the street. I remember first being intrigued and then intimidated by the space. It took several months to build up the courage to enter. The people I would see coming and going were all so different and extroverted. They seemed odd to me at the time, unlike most of the people I knew or even went to school with. They were characters for sure, very different from what I was used to. I remember asking my friends if they knew about the place and remember being told that it was a place that teens could go make art. I was intrigued, but didn’t go in for myself for quite a while.”

@aneudy: it sounds like New Urban Arts is a place where you found a sense of identity, purpose and voice. I can relate–for me, it was this coworking space in Philadelphia, Indy Hall. Everyone seemed so cool, confident, brilliant, quirky. Even as a huge proponent of online learning, I point to that face-to-face experience as one that truly shaped me. Thank you so much for sharing.

@Bridie_Hamilton, thank you for sharing. I was especially struck by:

“A creation myth of mine is looking to professionals as the only way for solutions. I have recently seen this as a myth, I now believe support can come from connecting people going through ordeals, be that online or physically. I think that people can reach out and offer compassion to another through an understanding lense, because they’ve been there before.”

I think you’ll find that a lot of folks in this course also care about the power of community support. We’ll try to share examples of community-driven support throughout the course.

You may also want to check out the work of Alfred Adler: http://www.alfredadler.edu/about/theory
Growing up in Chicago, lots of the communities I was part of were affected by his ideas about communities helping each other with mental health.

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Niebles - it was so great to read your reply to my post! Thanks for reading. I am really interested in your idea of a ‘stabilizing period’ to enable people time to balance nutrition, sleep and activity to a healthy level’…Also, this has triggered a thought for me…often someone suffering say an eating disorder will have their doctor, psychiatrist and nutritionist - wouldn’t it be great if each of they could connect and talk about the patient to share insight and build effective care plans…

WOW! This is powerful writing. Thank You! for sharing. I learn that is money to be made from these drugs and that the government is using the people like lab rats. Well that’s my opinion!!! There is many things that can be address without drugs ADHD is one of them. My son was diagnose with ADHD and I swear he don’t need the drugs. And im sure it is just something to get money and they make us think our kids needs these drugs.

Wow - Vanessa that was a gift to read, thank you. I love the magic of life when it serves you a ‘token’, in your case Kay Ryan, to gain comfort in the future…

My name is Jose and it is very seriously the most common name in the Spanish culture. I often would asked myself why my mom would name me Jose and here thoughts it was easy when I was born a boy George song was playing in the background and for some reason my mom thought it important that I not fall into American culture and said with a name like Jose how could I forget my roots. In similar ways to some of my peers I remember going to the flea market you know the place where you can get something for a bargain and seeing the Rhode Island mini license plates and not being able to find the name that I would here called over and over Jose anywhere. I do not right that to copy someone myth but to relate to them as to I also suffered from the confusion of a popular name. To no one surprise I actually formed a bit of a complex and as a result of it started to feel as I did not belong so I found ways to make my self fit in well I thought I did but the choices I made where never good and the way I included myself was by being violent. This violence is what drove me to finally explode and end up in prison after getting out from prison I once again felt lost and in search of a identity which I found in what I do for a living now.
Being a felon actually shrunk the amount of things I could actually do but I was afforded a opportunity to help kids who have similar struggles to mine and help them not make the mistakes I made this is all the motivation I need I very often become a leader of a positive movement called non violence.
The thing that I want to build that I had started but let go of is a non profit barbershop where I can teach non-violence techniques and get away from the typical bs talks that happen at a barbershop. My struggle with this is and will continue to be is how to navigate a non profit in a for profit world???

hey @squeakie – this is great, truly thank you for sharing – the story of your name and more. really appreciate your voice in the course
but… try to follow posting directions to put into a google docs-- How Do I Create and Share My Googledoc?

thanks!
A

Hey! Bro I didnt know this about you. I keep learning new things about you. Nice write up though. How do you put a nonprofit into a profit world! There is a way, but the wording is a lot different. lol!

I was confused too Danyelle!

Hello everyone, I have share my Google doc but cannot see it. i am just copying my doc here until I figure it out.My creation myths

Hello everyone, my name is Sokhna Daluz, you can call me Sonia.
I am a mother of two girls and decided to get my Bachelor in general studies through an adult learning program. I am a student of College Unbound and my project in the past two years is based on Community Development through Housing. I have worked as a real estate agent for the last ten years and experiencing the housing crisis through my work, my clients’ stories and the consequences of the crisis in our everyday lives. As a realtor, I asked myself a lot of questions about the crisis. Questions like what could or should do to prevent such tragedy from happening in the future. For me, the question is: how can I work differently as a Realtor to be able to bring the most valuable information to my clients to help them make better decisions when they purchase or sell a property. My myth was that as a Realtor, because of all the risks for liability, it would be difficult for me to change work habits. after reading many articles on the housing crisis, I came to realize that in the last five years many programs have been created by the US government or Advocacy groups to better educate consumers and help them protect themselves and their investments. A good example is organizations collaborating and creating partnerships with Realtors to help revitalize and stabilize and develop neighborhoods throughout the nation. I have recently interviewed different people from those organizations and working to become their partner and participate in different ways to help consumers achieve the American Dream the safest way possible.
I have a different view of real estate now and see it mostly a tool to help develop less privileged communities than an investment or just shelter.

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Hey @ajay and everyone
here are some Ferguson resources you guys (especially teachers) may find useful:

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to share with everyone some resources I gathered from different sites on teaching about ferguson as well as police violence if people are interested or want to pass on to other educators.

The Ferguson Syllabus- http://sociology.about.com/od/Current-Events-in-Sociological-Context/fl/The-Ferguson-Syllabus.htm

#Ferguson Syllabus: Talking and Teaching About Police Violence-http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2014/08/31/fergusonsyllabus-talking-and-teaching-about-police-violence/

Here’s my creation myth. It’s, uh, definitely a sort of myth. The mythical power of song, as it were. I definitely tried to answer all the questions, even if in minor ways.

Hey Guys,

Here is my creation myth. Just click the link.

Mike

My Bio:

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Thanks Lisa you have been always I appreciate it

.Stealing a bag of potato chips by Victor m. Rios was a pretty good article and so real, I have seen this in our everyday society. Youth are always on guard when it comes to someone in authority or being misunderstood. Defiance and resistance often comes when youths feel they are being judged for who they are considered to be.