Hello SLG students... we survived 2020! That was an accomplishment on its own. Now we have 2021 to get through and your challenge will be to stay focused on your academics while the world continues to be confusing and distracting, if not downright challenging. You will make it through.
Our State and Local Government class will be asynchronous, meaning we will not have regularly scheduled real-time meetings. We will, however, have opportunities to meet together over the course of the semester and taking those opportunities will surely help you stay on track. Please plan to make the most of those opportunities, whether they are required or not.
You will receive emails from me with our weekly Modules. However, please note that all Modules are also posted to the class website, which you will find at:
You will interact with other students via this blog site, so please use the link right now and bookmark it for easy reference.
You should have received an email from campus regarding access to a free textbook. I hope you already registered for your book, as that means you will get your link by January 11 and will be able to hit the ground running Week 1. If not, you'll need to wait until they are able to send you your link in the second batch which, I believe, won't arrive in your email box until January 18.
I'm going to send you the Week One Module a few days early because, unfortunately, there will be an upgrade performed on the campus portal system on Sunday, January 10. Just in case that disrupts communications right as classes begin, I'm getting this email out today. Here is your assignment for Week One:
WEEK ONE
- Create blog using blogger.com. See instructions below if you need a reminder how to do this. And yes, you do need a new blog for this class.
- Discuss with professor and select Community Partner (CP). See discussion below.
- Blog entry #1: Read and reflect on Chapter 1, New Directions for State & Local Gov’t. Choose your own focus for this reflection.
- Blog entry #2: In what way did your CP arise from a local need or perspective? Why doesn’t / might not the local government fill this need adequately? To whom is your CP accountable?
Community Partner discussion. You might have noticed that this is a 4-unit class. That's because we incorporate a full unit of community engagement activities into the course. A unit is defined as 15 hours of class time and 30 hours of preparation, study, reflection, etc time. In the case of community engagement activities, the 15 hours of class time is satisfied by 15 hours of time engaging with a community partner... that means you will spend a total of approximately 45 hours this semester engaging with, learning about, reflecting on and studying an organization that meets the definition of a "community partner." If you haven't taken a "community engagement" class before, that might sound intimidating, but don't worry. It will not be difficult and you will hopefully even find it to be enjoyable. Some students have used their community engagement projects as bullet points in their resume when they are looking for jobs. And some have continued to volunteer at the CP organization long after they graduate from NDNU. When considering what CP organization you'd like to work with, please try to think of it broadly in this way... not just as something to satisfy a requirement for a class, but something that you are really passionate about and which might help you develop a skill set you'll be able to use as you transition into your future career paths.
Given the constraints of pandemic life, ALL CP work will have to be done in a covid-safe manner, which means no in-person engagement this semester. I've checked in with the University and confirmed that, even if you are already doing an in-person community activity, you will not be able to use that activity to meet the requirements for this class. The activity done for this class MUST be done in a manner that does not require in-person engagement. I will be sending a summary to the CE Coordinator to ensure all projects are approved as defined.
There are, however, many ways you can use and develop your skills to benefit a beloved community organization, or fill a community need, without doing in-person work. I will be checking in with each of you individually to make sure we find something that fits your interests.
A couple of other points about your community engagement activity...
1) We do this because the values of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDs) teach us that education is at its best when it is engaged in a real-world activity designed to promote a more just world. It was the SNDs who founded NDNU and whose charism is at the heart of who we are. Even though this is the final semester for NDNU, those values instilled by the SNDs continue to be a beacon of optimism that our future can be shaped by the deep desires of our hearts. It is fitting, to me, that my last-ever class at NDNU will be this community engagement class, and I envision it being a final testament to the values of the SNDs as expressed in the Hallmarks. In case you don't have a copy of these handy, you'll find a link to the Hallmarks below. When considering your community partner activity, please consider the ways in which that CP organization somehow demonstrates one or more of the Hallmarks.
2) We do this in this class because the study of government, at its best, is always experiential, always concrete. It has to be. The ways that states and localities exercise their rights and responsibilities relating to governing affect people right where they live and in their everyday lives. Safety, beauty, transportation, food security, housing, opportunities for participation, access to natural spaces, all of these things and more are affected at their core by the ways that states and localities govern. When selecting a community partner, then, your challenge will be to find an organization that either:
a) IS ITSELF a state or local government agency (such as California's Food Stamp program CalFresh), or...
b) Is a non-governmental organization / non-profit DOING THE WORK OF a state or locality (such as an organization directly contracted to address issues relating to food insecurity or in some other way coordinating with a state or local government to provide services, such as Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley), or...
c) IS FILLING A GAP LEFT BY a state or locality that isn't adequately addressing an issue (such as a private non-profit like East Palo Alto's Ecumenical Hunger Program).
Your CP project can revolve around any of a wide range of issues... police security, food security, housing security, access to parks and natural spaces, access to education, access to clothing, services for dogs or cats, services for non-domesticated non-human residents of our communities, services for trees, front yard gardening, home composting or landfill reduction efforts, you can create or manage a specific project such as getting speed bumps on your street or creating a neighborhood food or book exchange... the sky is the limit. So think about something that gets you excited and meets the criteria above, then send me an email describing your initial thoughts on how you might satisfy this class requirement... I'll help you ensure it's a reasonable project that will be do-able in the framework of the class.
Blog instructions if you need them:
How to Set Up Your Online Reading Journal – aka Your Blog!
1) Go to www.blogger.com.
2) If you already have a Google account, use it to log in. If you do not, follow the on-screen instructions to create one. Make sure you write down your Google account name and password for later use.
3) Once you’ve logged in to blogger.com, follow the on-screen instructions to create a “new blog.”
The title of your blog can be anything you want
The unique part of your address should be something simple like gregsworldhistoryblog
Your full blog address will be:
http://__________.blogspot.com
example: http://gregsworldhistoryblog.blogspot.com
4) Now that your blog exists, open up your email account and email the address to me. Remember, your address begins with http:// and ends with .blogspot.com. My email address is pandrews@ndnu.edu.
5) Log out of your blog and log back in again to make sure it all works OK. Then click on the pencil to make your first post. All your first post has to say is “Yay – I’m done!” or something like that.
6) You’re done!
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