In Community and About Community

Day 5:  Community Development and the Street Fair

There was a street fair in Antigonish today as kind of an extension of the Highland Games that are happening here this week.   All of the shop windows are decked out in various Scottish tartans.  A few of us walked down the hill and over the bridge to Antigonish main street.  The businesses, street vendors, non-profits and service organizations took to the sidewalks with their wares.  I met this very cute girl who was selling her cards - they are whimsical and lovely, so I bought several.  There were musicians along the five blocks and in the parks - one was even toting a harp to her location!  It was a fun way to spend our lunch hour - nice weather, live music, some food and stepping into the community.

Speaking about Community, today was a day that we heard from the Coady Institute about Community Development.  In the morning we heard from David Fletcher, Manager of Education Programs at Coady.  I would like to hear so much more about the international work he does.    We then saw a documentary about the Antigonish Movement.  It was good to hear one version of the story and to see the archival footage.   In the afternoon we met and were taught by Brianne Peters,  who works as Program Coordinator, Citizen-Led Development Program.  She taught about working from an Asset Based Community Development approach.  It was a very interesting day.  Once again my mind is stretched.


Main Street Antigonish

LESSONS OF THIS DAY
1.  Community Development work is where it's at!
2. When I am reading I need to show myself some compassion and not get all flustered over terms that trip me up. 
3. I'm glad to be making friends here. 



Quote for the day

"Becoming aware of our assumptions is a puzzling and contradictory task.  Very few of us can get very far doing this on our own.  No matter how much we may think we have an accurate sense of ourselves, we are stymied by the fact that we are using our own interpretive filters to become aware of our interpretive filters.  This is equivalent to a dog trying to catch its tail, . . . To some extent we are all prisoners trapped within the perceptual frameworks that determine how we view our experiences.  A self-confirming cycle often develops whereby our uncritically accepted assumptions shape actions that then only serve to confirm the truth of those assumptions.  We find it very difficult to stand outside ourselves and see how some of our most deeply held values and beliefs lead us into distorted and constrained ways of being."
by
  1. Stephen Brookfield in his article Critically Reflective Practice as found in the
  2. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions,Volume 18Issue 4pages 197–205, Autumn (Fall) 1998



Walked: 30 minutes   Cardio: 30 minutes     Pages read: 20   Finished pages written: notes/journal only





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