THE WORLD IS YOUR LABORATORY!
Dive into your world - explore, document and strengthen your community - with our 10 Commonweal labs. Now get ready to dive into your community laboratory!
STEPS
Commonweal
is a series of labs for you to explore and document your
community. The world is your laboratory!
What are the labs about?
Each lab focuses on a
different element of your community
What do I need?
Desire
Time
A way to document your
labs
A place to post your lab
results
How do I do this?
Be creative. Complete the
labs by using whatever resources you have at your command: pen, paper, audio
recorder, digital camera, or video camera to document your response to each
lab.
Where do I start?
Complete the Community Self Evaluation then dive into the labs.
How many labs do I complete?
Your will be given an
assignment telling you how many labs to complete.
What do I do after I complete my labs?
Make your own Tumblr,
blog,
website, or prezi to
record the results of your labs. It's free & easy to do.
How do I post my labs to Commonweal?
After you create a
platform for your work, send us a link at commonweallab@gmail.com
and we'll post your lab work right on this site.
I need some inspiration. Are there any examples to help inspire me?
Check out the Student Labs page with some of our all time favorite student work, done by students just like you.
I need some inspiration. Are there any examples to help inspire me?
Check out the Student Labs page with some of our all time favorite student work, done by students just like you.
After you've finished all
your community labs, you'll make a proposal to strengthen your own community. Submit your proposal to by February 16, 2016 to commonwelalab@gmail.com
We'll post the best proposals on this site and select an annual winner to help turn their dream into reality.
We'll post the best proposals on this site and select an annual winner to help turn their dream into reality.
Lab time
Now get to work learning
more about your community. There’s lots of cool labs waiting below!
COMMUNITY SELF EVALUATION
Social Scientists have found that over the past century, social capital (a measure of the strength of our communities and of our connectedness) has dramatically declined. By many measures, Americans have become more isolated and our communities, less connected.
First of all, think about your community – the place you
live, the people you live around, the space you share. Is your community
healthy? Are people connected? Is there a sense of inclusion and unity?
Community
Evaluation
First, let’s diagnose the level of social capital
(connectivity) of your community as a whole.
Let’s start simply. On a scale of 1 to 5, five being
extremely connected, 1 being extremely disconnected, how does your community
score?
What was your community score?
To summarize, based on the results of the survey, how
would you characterize the health and strength of your community?
Diagnose your own personal level of social capital with the
following test
Community Self
Evaluation
Now let’s evaluate your own level of community involvement by completing the following
survey .
Let’s start simply. On a scale of 1 to 5, five being
extremely connected, 1 being extremely disconnected, how connected are you to
your community?
Now let’s focus a bit on the details. Evaluate the
following parts of you life (categories below) and how they impact your connection to
your community.
Give yourself between 1 and 5 points depending on your
answer for each of the following categories
5-Greatly increases my connection to community
4-Slightly increases my connection to community
3-Has no effect on my connection to community
2-Slightly diminishes my connection to community
1-Greatly diminishes my connection to community
Points Category
_____ Transportation
_____ Technology
_____ Work/School
_____ Civic
Engagement (clubs, groups, institutions)
_____ Home (neighborhood, home)
_____ Food (the way you eat)
Based on the results
of the survey, how connected are you to your community?
How do you imagine the average American would score on the
quiz?
LAUNCH
Now that you've thought a little bit about yourself and your community, it's time to launch into the labs. There's 9 labs below, each one, focusing on a different element of your community.
Food
You will be assigned a certain number of labs to complete, so take a second to browse around and find the best labs for you. Then dive into your community, document what you find, and post your results! Good luck!
LAB #1 - TRANSPORTATION
Cars are great: they let us drive fast, travel far, and feel free. But in addition to their negative environmental impact they also promote sprawl and can isolate us. Social capital guru, Robert Putnam, estimates that every ten minutes of commute time spent alone diminishes social capital (your ability to build community) by ten percent.
Does modern transportation tend to destroy or build community? Here's a simple thought experiment: Imagine a day without transportation. Would that isolate or connect you and your community? Here's where you come in. Document a typical day of transportation in your life (car, truck, walking, motorbike, Segway, school bus, streetcar, subway, etc). As you go about your day, consider how modern transportation changes your interaction with other citizens and your community. Record some of your voyages and post your commentary, thoughts, and recordings. As an exciting experiment, try a car cleanse - spending a day without motorized transportation (you can still walk, bike, or swim through your community) and explore how transportation affects your connection to your community!
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