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!
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