Flower and Bickford

Reading these articles gave a really nice validity to the discussion we had in class on Tuesday. The steps that we outlined in class were echoed almost verbatim in the readings, so it's nice to see that we are thinking along the same lines as the authors of the articles.

I can see how and why these articles are extremely important and influential on aiding colleges in their outreach classes as well as I'm sure it was vital in the creation of this course here at USC. The length that the articles go into discussing why working with the community is needed rather than working for the community makes it evident why the end of semester documentaries are so helpful and necessary for this course. For there to truly be social change there is a crucial dialogue and camaraderie that needs to exist within the community. Without hearing about the social problems from the source itself, it would be difficult to find a solution, or perhaps would result in a solution that isn't ideal for the community. I especially like the visual in Flower's article, representing the social problem with a conference table and the chairs surrounding the table of important people who should be present to discuss the problems at length. I can only hope that our class will have a real drive to try and make some differences in our communities, all by working and learning together.