Fishbowl

In the last streaming lecture I watched, the professor made a comment that he thought most or even all of us (i.e. me and my classmates) are already practitioners in our field of study. I am not, and hearing this kind of dampened my mood that evening. I knew going into the program that it was intended more for professionals seeking in-career development, rather than fresh undergrads or people seeking a career change (that's me). Doing the coursework is challenging for me, because I do not have the real-world experience in helping communities, designing and implementing public programs, etc. that my classmates have. Also, I go to work and do stuff that it entirely unrelated to my coursework. There is no overlap. Sometimes I wonder if I would have more free time if I had a job that related to my coursework, and so I could effectively "do homework" on the job: research related to current projects, speaking informally with colleagues about class assignments and topics. Working full-time and going to school part-time is very disruptive for the rest of your life. I try to confine homework to week nights so that my weekends are free to spend quality time with my wife, run errands, do chores, etc. But this is problematic because sometimes, quite frankly, these things cannot wait until Saturday or Sunday. I do not even have children and I still feel overwhelmed sometimes. I would recommend to anyone considering enrolling in a program like the one I am in to start seeking a job within your chosen field of study. If you cannot (because of qualifications, like having a specialized degree!), then try to network in that career community in other ways – go to conferences, volunteer in that sector, keep current on events and trends in the field, etc. I have my tickets booked to attend the Community Development Society this year. I am hoping this will be an opportunity to start getting a "leg in" to a career in community development. We'll see.

Posted by Brian at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been tossing around ideas in my head on how to combine my passion for history, genealogy and culture with a career in communtiy development and urban planning. For example, using prosopographical or genealogical research to understand the power relations within and between communities and stakeholders. I am thinking along the lines of "applied genealogy", in the same spirit as "applied anthropology" – i.e. research undertaken and applied in the service of bettering communities and people's lives. If I could do this, I would really enjoy my job. Really. I wonder sometimes though if it will be practical to combine genealogy, history, anthropology with the everyday practice of community development and urban planning. That is when I think maybe I should choose a career in academia instead of in public or private practice. It is theories and research problems that I enjoy, not solving everyday problems and interacting with community stakeholders, playing politics, etc. But this activity is surely a part of academia, too. What to do. What to do.

Posted by Brian at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The reason I enrolled in this program was because, essentially, I wanted to become a city planner. I wanted to become a city planner because I wanted to have a role in changing the way my society, culture, country and planet live. To improve the quality of life. Locally, for me, that means "reducing sprawl" and creating "livable public spaces". The New Urbanism first peaked my interest in this career. As did my memories and current experiences of living in the vast, pseudo-urban landscapes of Orlando and Tampa. My experiences living in spaces that I considered very livable (Chicago and the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands) also set me on this path.

I tuned into the streaming lecture for my class last night. The professor's daughter was substituting. She talked about "Third Places", places like coffee shops, pubs and central squares where people interact outside of a home or work setting. She showed a list of books and articles that dealt with this phenomenon. After a semester and a half of reading mostly boring material that does not give any sense of direction, any theoretical framework with which to analyze my situation, this was refreshing. It reminded me that I need to remember why I enrolled in this program. That is what will keep me going through it. Once again, this underlies the importance of reading outside material.

I have believed for a long time that real learning does not happen in a classroom or come from assigned material. For me, the real learning happened when I went to the library to look something up from class and followed the thread of my curiosity wherever it took me. Those are the times I remember the best from my undergraduate days because those are the times that I grew…intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

Posted by Brian at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: Mark H. Rossman. (2002). Negotiating Graduate School, Second Edition. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA.

"...times come when you are faced with situations over which you can exert little or no control, such as not knowing what material to study for the final exam or what will be on the comprehsneive exam, sitting through a terribly boring course with an instructor who rambles on forever, or working in isolation on online courses" (p. 43).

"Graduate students constantly face uncertainties commonly associated wth almost every graduate program that ever existed" (p. 42).

Sometimes I just feel so uninterested in what I am reading. It sounds like the same thing, over and over and over again. The same vague, nebulous concepts that pass for theory. How can I possibly use this to help me get a job in my field? These concepts are so booooring! It is not that I don't like the field of community development. I agree with the principles of it, as opposed to the top down approach of traditional planning, wholeheartedly. I just think that I would make a better technocrat than I would a community organizer. Being a community organizer requires building relationships, something at which I am inadept, and always have been. How to overcome this?

Posted by Brian at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)