Application of Knowledge

“People become really quite remarkable when they are thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success.” -Norman Vincent Peale

Katherine Kaliban, Sara Piccoli, Benjamin Wolfe

This section is dedicated to showcasing how we implemented both the knowledge we gained from our lectures and discussions about the city of Detroit that assisted in the our own personal development throughout this service learning opportunity

Knowledge of the City

Before working in a city with as tumultuous a history as Detroit, it was important for our group to learn as much of that history as possible and to draw connections between the city’s history and its current state. Our common read, A Detroit Anthology, compiled and edited by Anna Clark, was a crucial part of that learning. The book featured articles, poetry, and stories by Detroiters. Another large part of our pre-trip and on-trip learning was Rachel Zuckerman, an alum of The University of Iowa and a past Hawkeye Service Teams trip leader for Detroit. Before our trip, she joined our class via Skype and explained Detroit’s history in more explicit terms than were presented in the anthology. On our trip, she led us on a walking tour of Detroit, on which she explained more about the current state of Detroit and discussed revitalization efforts taking place in the city. Our common read gave us a good feeling for Detroit’s people, and Rachel’s presentations gave us a more objective look at the history in particular.

Knowing how the city went from a population of almost 2 million to under 700 thousand and the effects of that mass exodus was important during our service. It was also important for us, as a majority-white group, to recognize the prevalent anti-blackness that drove white citizens from the city and into the suburbs, which still impacts interactions across racial lines within the eighty-three-percent-black city. It was also important for us to understand the stark contrast between the thriving public education system in the suburbs and the debilitatingly underfunded public schools within the city. The majority of our service work was either directly with children in the public school systems, like our work with Beyond Basics, or for organizations that work with the public schools to supplement their dwindling, sometimes non-existent arts education programs, like Arts and Scraps and Mosaic Youth Theater. Especially as an arts-focused group, understanding the underfunding of public education and cutting of arts programs in particular was imperative for us to provide quality service in response to those systemic issues.

Knowledge from Lecture

Source: Social Change of Leadership Development Guidebook Version III.

Information provided by Central Michigan University, Drexel University, and Kent State University

Individual Values

Consciousness of Self means being aware of the beliefs, values, attitudes, and emotions that motivate one to take action

Congruence refers to thinking, feeling, and behaving with consistency, genuineness, authenticity, and honesty towards others

Commitment refers to the amount of passion, intensity, and duration dedicated to achieving consciousness of self and congruence

Group Values

Collaboration is to work with other in a common effort by empowering others and self through trust

Common Purpose means to work with shared aims and values that facilitate all group members under a shared vision

Controversy with Civility recognizes two fundamental realities of any creative group effort: that differences in viewpoint are inevitable, and that such difference must be aired openly but with civility. Civility implies respect for others, a willingness to hear each other’s views, and the exercise of restraint in criticizing the views and actions of others

Society/Community Values

Citizenship is the process whereby the individual and the collaborative group become responsibly connected to the community

Aspects of the Social Change Model seen in Detroit:

Commitment-The non-profit program Beyond Basic is committed to unlocking innovation through literacy among K-12 students. While we were there, anyone could see the clear amount of dedication that drives this team forward.
Collaboration-Arts and Scraps is a non-profit organization that provides recycled materials to be reimagined by students. This organization is fueled by the number of volunteers that dedicate thousands of hours within their store and warehouse preparing items.
The common purpose of Mosaic is to empower young people through professional theatrical art training.
Citizenship-Heidelberg Project presents the power that comes from the citizens of Detroit. Starting with Tyree, the project has now grown into an collaborative team that discusses the problems of their city through art installations.

The Deprivation Trap

Powerlessness means to have a lack of ability, influence or power. This is something that can stem from a variety of life-altering situations.

Vulnerability refers to the potential for being harmed whether that is physically or emotionally. Many who have found themselves in this trap, find themselves feeling vulnerable or unprotected from their situation.

Physical Weakness, similar to powerlessness is a measurement of ability but specifically referring to physical strength, or lack there of. Being physically weak can lead to an inability to perform basic everyday tasks necessary to function as a human.

Poverty is an economical state of being extremely poor. Without money in our society, it can be difficult to maintain basic needs such as food and shelter.

Isolation is a feeling or state of being alone. As humans, we rely on each other to live and if one has physically or mentally isolated oneself, it can be damaging to their psyche.

The idea behind the deprivation trap is that if you find yourself feeling one of these qualities, it is easier to fall into more of the categories, leaving it much harder to get back out.

Aspects of the Deprivation Trap seen in Detroit

What we learned in lecture about the deprivation trap transferred accurately to what we saw in Detroit. At Central United Methodist Church, where we stayed, each day from morning to mid-afternoon, the church served those experiencing homelessness. This also provided these people with a warm, safe place to be during the day. Although we never had a chance to work directly with this community, it was comforting to see the members of the church reaching out a hand to those who may have fallen into aspects of the deprivation trap and provided them with the means to start building their way back out of it.

As we drove through neighborhoods, we could see that other communities had fallen into similar situations. What was interesting to note was that with that, did not come signs of hopelessness and defeat. We witnessed so people with so much pride in where they come from. Despite their possible situations, there was hope and potential shining through and that is the key to getting out of deprivation.

Personal Knowledge

Katherine

Ideation, Includer, Communication, Restorative, Strategic

Use of Strengths Finder

One of my top five strengths is strategic. Throughout the entire trip, I caught myself strategizing the most effective and efficient ways to get tasks done. It helped me feel comfortable taking the lead when necessary in order to get what we needed to done.

Throughout the entire experience, I also picked up on the way I communicated with others. Collectively, our entire group strived to foster deep connections with each other and our surroundings and I feel that communication stood at the core of those connections. Whether it was during reflections, when we were out in the city doing activities, or during our service, having strong communication was vital to the success of the trip.

Use of Knowledge from Lecture

All of the information we were able to learn about in our book, A Detroit Anthology, really helped me be more prepared and educated coming into the city. It provided so much first-hand information about what the city and its people are truly like and how it came to be the way it is today. It is easy to see a place that was once booming with industry now fighting to bring its population and liveliness back but it is so much more than that. With a fuller understanding of the city's structure and culture, I felt much more confident in my ability to serve this community.

Applying this knowledge came naturally for all of our group. Although we may have came into Detroit having a different ideas in mind for what we thought the city may be like, we found it helpful having the base of knowledge we did have in order to build on it once we arrived. By interacting with locals, paying close attention to our surroundings, and seeking out more information, we were able to form a much more educated understanding of the city by the time we left. Coming back, it is important to understand that this community does not stand alone in its issues. The problems that Detroit faces are problems that can be found in many communities all over so it is important to bring that mindset back home.

Sara

Arranger, Context, Empathy, Developer, Positivity

Use of StrengthS Finder

One of my top five strengths is Positivity

During our time in Detroit, I felt that I relied on my positivity in order to ensure that I wouldn't let personal doubts overcomes the efforts that our group had made. By having a positive mindset and a shared vision, I knew that our group development would be stronger than on the first day of service.

Use of Knowledge from Lecture

By partaking in Hawkeye Service Teams, I have immersed myself within an artistic culture that I didn’t fully understand before this trip. The city of Detroit is art itself and the citizens are the resilient artists demanding to be seen. After reading A Detroit Anthology, myself and my classmates we were introduced to this “we’ll get it done” mindset, but after seeing the city and the people there it all came together. These people used every aspect of the social change model, but what I could see was commitment to one another and effort to bring successful innovation back to their youth. While we were there, we collaborated with non-profit organizations to ensure that this vision was being achieved.

Being back in Iowa City, I question what else I can do to maintain my service mindset. I hope to incorporate more service within my everyday life and strive to be as resilient as the Detroiters that turned their city into a piece of art.

Ben

Input, Strategic, Communication, Activator, Maximizer

Use of Strengths Finder

My Communication strength proved especially useful during reflections. I could help people articulate their points with more useful language by discussing their positions with them. Communication also helped me connect to many of my team members on a deeper level by explaining my own experiences and identities and discussing theirs.

Use of Knowledge from Lecture

“To succeed, you need to find something to hold onto, something to motivate you, and something to inspire you” -Tony Dorsett

While serving as an arts advocate, it is important to constantly reflect on the impact of your service. The arts without focused action and knowledge of social climates are not anywhere as influential as artists like to believe. However, framed through the deprivation trap, and executed in a way that helps break that cycle, they can be impactful. We worked with two organizations that worked with the public schools to help offset the absence of arts education. Beyond Basics allows students to write stories and receive them back as bound books, and Arts and Scraps takes industrial waste products and creates art workshops where students create projects of their own. This can help students who are feeling the effects of powerlessness. Being given the opportunity and means to create can make students feel more capable and self-assured.

I hope to carry this informed framework forward into my career in classical music, an art form that is just now beginning to focus on community outreach and service after being regarded as backwards-looking and elitist for a long time. I want to create opportunities for musicians to give back to their communities through informed service.

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