This is an interesting topic. Mostly because a lot of it deals with what if. I loved this class and what it's taught me, the discussions we've had, and the ideas we've thrown around. But I keep coming back to one thing. We are all FIJI. This is one group, who are different people but share very similar values, out of how many other fraternities there are throughout Ohio State. I know for a fact that a lot of them do not share the same values we do which makes it hard for me to wrap my head around "just us" having developed this ideal Fraternal Movement. Having said all that I understand that this is the type of movement and direction we want to be moving towards. It's just hard for me to talk about this topic with the above constantly berrating my mind.
Anyway our movement as many of the same goals that the one we live in today has. Obviously we want to advertise the good that Greek life does and hopefully get rid of all the bad publicity. The sad thing is the world today still believes that greek life is all "animal house" antics. The only way to get rid of that is to give the public more information about what it is Greek life is a part of and what it accomplishes. In addition a big part of our FM is the development of individuals as a person. While not all of greek life develops the type of character that FIJI's approve of I do believe that Greek Society as a whole emphasizes this in all of the people involved.
As for the difference I think the major difference is the way our councils are set up. These councils would incorporate members of every Fraternity and Sorority, respectively, and join them a single body to hear everyone's opinions, complaints, etc. This is quite the contrary to what we have now. While I think what we have now worked because of major issues in the past I think it needs to evolve and change to adapt to the specific issues of today. the issues of the past are not as prevalent, still there though, and by keeping groups separated we continue to make the issues of the past an issue during the present. Another major difference and one that I fully support is our ideal of Collaboration EVERYWHERE and between EVERYONE. I even consider myself guilty of this from time to time. In order to revolutionize Greek society Fraternities and sororities must be willing to collaborate with one another on a daily basis. Not once every 10 weeks. The more man power that is behind a SINGLE MOVEMENT the more it stands out and the more pressure it can put on society. In the end this makes the movement more successful and more effective.
These are the major difference and similarities, in my opinion, but of course there are plenty more where those come from. The key for me is to never settle for what we're at now. Once change starts to take place is when we work harder and harder. After we gain momentum is not the time to stop and congratulate ourselves. Making our Fraternal Movement a reality will take years of constant struggle and effort. But I know I speak for our entire class when I say we are willing to put forth that time and effort.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Change Agent
When reading this chapter in our text book a few things jumped out at me. The first of which was Collective Efficacy. One person can do a little bit, but a group of people can do a lot. If you have a group of people that are passionate, involved, and believe in what they are doing then they can be an unstopable force in creating change. A change agent is responsible to build this Collective Efficacy in order to create social change. No matter who they are no one can stand alone. I think this is probably one of the hardest things to do. To build a group from the ground up with people who like you, share in the same vision, but have different approaches and then maintaining that group to create change. It has to be one of the hardest parts to accomplish in creating change.
Another was the Facilitating The Change Process. This section talked about being open to change yourself. And of course having the willingness to accept changes for the better of the group. In my head, while I was reading this part, I was going through what I thought a person would encompass during this. Facilitating Change does not necessarily mean you are at the forefront and leading the charge. It might mean you're the quiet one who maintains the group and keeps them on task and focused on the problems at hand. Maybe your the one that asks about the opinions of others who are more reluctant to just shout them out. a person who Facilitates the Change Process can come in all shapes and sizes. That got me thinging about a Change agent in general.
In my opinion being a change agent will never be a uniform task. Much of the type of person you will be will depend on what social change you are trying to implement. There might be a time where you have to fight tooth and nail to gain even an inch of ground in the right direction. There could be times where you have to do hours and hours of paper work and emailing to gain that type o grind. Either way a change agent must do whatever they're called to implement their desired change. Without question I believe the ideal of a change agent is unique for every person, and every situation. Ha get it it's a constantly changing Change Agent. Try saying that 5 times fast.
I'd like to end with another little sub-heading I believe to be very important. "Experience is the Best Teacher". Such a simple little phrase but what a profound truth it holds. Our experiences are what have shaped our life. Without them we wouldn't be who we are today. We are constantly learning from our experiences, whether through failure or through success. Each and every experience teaches us something different. Some unique thought or idea that had eluded us before. I think this is very important to keep in mind. Especially when it comes to the rollercoaster ride that Social Change usually consists of. It's not always gonna be happiness and success. Failure and depression will also be a part of any change agent. However learning from those failures can mean all the difference in becoming a change agent and creating a better society for everyone.
Sorry this was so long. It was a really interesting chapter. See you all in class!
Another was the Facilitating The Change Process. This section talked about being open to change yourself. And of course having the willingness to accept changes for the better of the group. In my head, while I was reading this part, I was going through what I thought a person would encompass during this. Facilitating Change does not necessarily mean you are at the forefront and leading the charge. It might mean you're the quiet one who maintains the group and keeps them on task and focused on the problems at hand. Maybe your the one that asks about the opinions of others who are more reluctant to just shout them out. a person who Facilitates the Change Process can come in all shapes and sizes. That got me thinging about a Change agent in general.
In my opinion being a change agent will never be a uniform task. Much of the type of person you will be will depend on what social change you are trying to implement. There might be a time where you have to fight tooth and nail to gain even an inch of ground in the right direction. There could be times where you have to do hours and hours of paper work and emailing to gain that type o grind. Either way a change agent must do whatever they're called to implement their desired change. Without question I believe the ideal of a change agent is unique for every person, and every situation. Ha get it it's a constantly changing Change Agent. Try saying that 5 times fast.
I'd like to end with another little sub-heading I believe to be very important. "Experience is the Best Teacher". Such a simple little phrase but what a profound truth it holds. Our experiences are what have shaped our life. Without them we wouldn't be who we are today. We are constantly learning from our experiences, whether through failure or through success. Each and every experience teaches us something different. Some unique thought or idea that had eluded us before. I think this is very important to keep in mind. Especially when it comes to the rollercoaster ride that Social Change usually consists of. It's not always gonna be happiness and success. Failure and depression will also be a part of any change agent. However learning from those failures can mean all the difference in becoming a change agent and creating a better society for everyone.
Sorry this was so long. It was a really interesting chapter. See you all in class!
SCM model
I would like to start out by saying that I think the Social Change Model is a very interesting read. While yes it was very repetitive there was a lot of different information in the textbook that captured my attention. And that's where i'll begin.
The Social Change Model covered a lot of areas that are very familiar to me. Controversy with Civility, Commitment, Congruence, Collaboration, etc. were all values that i've come in contact with throughout my entire life. In essence they were things i've enacted and lived by every single day. However, specific words and definitions eluded me until I read our textbook. It was almost as if I had a "a ha" moment while reading the later chapters. Something just clicked. I have been searching for so long for ways to give a definition to my leadership style, or the way i go about handling things, or the way I interact with people but I was never able to. I could never put it into words. That is until I started reading our textbook and the SCM. In a way after reading it I almost felt enlightened. Like a burning desire to put into words the way I felt and the way I acted everyday had finally been achieved. I'm not even sure i'm making sense because that's how hard I find it to try and put this type of stuff into words. For the most part this is what the Social Change Model brought to me. It brought me a better understanding of myself and the way I feel towards each of the areas our textbook covered. It didn't necessarily introduce me to any new concepts but it was instrumental in me understanding more in depth material that things like Conflict with Civility and maintaining Congruence covers.
Sorry this was such a short post but i'm still finding it hard to put into words what the SCM model has done for me. Please feel free to comment and i'm sorry if it was hard to understand!
The Social Change Model covered a lot of areas that are very familiar to me. Controversy with Civility, Commitment, Congruence, Collaboration, etc. were all values that i've come in contact with throughout my entire life. In essence they were things i've enacted and lived by every single day. However, specific words and definitions eluded me until I read our textbook. It was almost as if I had a "a ha" moment while reading the later chapters. Something just clicked. I have been searching for so long for ways to give a definition to my leadership style, or the way i go about handling things, or the way I interact with people but I was never able to. I could never put it into words. That is until I started reading our textbook and the SCM. In a way after reading it I almost felt enlightened. Like a burning desire to put into words the way I felt and the way I acted everyday had finally been achieved. I'm not even sure i'm making sense because that's how hard I find it to try and put this type of stuff into words. For the most part this is what the Social Change Model brought to me. It brought me a better understanding of myself and the way I feel towards each of the areas our textbook covered. It didn't necessarily introduce me to any new concepts but it was instrumental in me understanding more in depth material that things like Conflict with Civility and maintaining Congruence covers.
Sorry this was such a short post but i'm still finding it hard to put into words what the SCM model has done for me. Please feel free to comment and i'm sorry if it was hard to understand!
FIJI Strenghts and those other areas
In my opinion FIJI has a lot of strenghts. The first and foremost is our morals. I believe, while many of us might stumble (myself included) that we stay congruent to the values we believe in. We are a fraternity that says one thing and then makes sure our actions and conduct exemplify what we proclaim. In other words we act the way we speak. I think this is a very important strength because not all fraternitites do this. How many fraternities say "we don't haze" and then how many actually follow that. I KNOW that we don't haze and we're very adament about following that policy. But i know of other fraternities who do not.
Another strength is our push to be the best in academics. We are very good about holding people responsible for their grades and pushing them to be the best they can be. I know I could turn to any one of my brothers if I needed help in a class. It's very comforting knowing each and every one of us is there for one another, whether its academics, you need a favor, or you just need someone to talk to.
I also think our dedication to being the best we can be is an impressive strengh. We are always striving to do/be better than before. The red bull chariot race challenge, greek week, academics, brotherhood, it doesn't matter what category it falls in. Our dedication at working hard to be the best is one of our greatest strengths.
For areas where we need improvement I will be echoing a lot of brothers. Social and Recruitment are probably one of our weaker areas at the moment.
The social aspect of the fraternity I'm as much to blame as anyone. I understand this is important to many brothers and I should be more open to these kinds of get togethers and facilitate as much as possible my brothers and mine interactions with sororities. I understand it is a great way to get our name out there as well as have a good time in the process. I have not done a good job in thinking about TG's and various other social aspects as I could and I would like to apologize for that. Next quarter I plan on doing better and hope that FIJI as a whole does better.
As for recruitment I am responsible for a lot of blame in this area too. I have not been very active on the recruiting trail and next quarter I plan on turning that around. I already have a few guys in mind that I would like to have come by the house more and meet my brothers. While I don't think this is a weakness there is definitely room for improvement and it all starts with me and my brothers finding guys around campus that we know would be good FIJI's.
Another strength is our push to be the best in academics. We are very good about holding people responsible for their grades and pushing them to be the best they can be. I know I could turn to any one of my brothers if I needed help in a class. It's very comforting knowing each and every one of us is there for one another, whether its academics, you need a favor, or you just need someone to talk to.
I also think our dedication to being the best we can be is an impressive strengh. We are always striving to do/be better than before. The red bull chariot race challenge, greek week, academics, brotherhood, it doesn't matter what category it falls in. Our dedication at working hard to be the best is one of our greatest strengths.
For areas where we need improvement I will be echoing a lot of brothers. Social and Recruitment are probably one of our weaker areas at the moment.
The social aspect of the fraternity I'm as much to blame as anyone. I understand this is important to many brothers and I should be more open to these kinds of get togethers and facilitate as much as possible my brothers and mine interactions with sororities. I understand it is a great way to get our name out there as well as have a good time in the process. I have not done a good job in thinking about TG's and various other social aspects as I could and I would like to apologize for that. Next quarter I plan on doing better and hope that FIJI as a whole does better.
As for recruitment I am responsible for a lot of blame in this area too. I have not been very active on the recruiting trail and next quarter I plan on turning that around. I already have a few guys in mind that I would like to have come by the house more and meet my brothers. While I don't think this is a weakness there is definitely room for improvement and it all starts with me and my brothers finding guys around campus that we know would be good FIJI's.
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