BUS 374 Week 5 Reflection

     This week the focus was on impact and metrics to gauge that impact. We looked at what an organization does on a daily basis and how that creates a chain reaction causing the long term outcomes that the organization is working toward. We also focused on mission statements and how to create one that directly reflects the organization. This entails a verb, a target, and an outcome. This relates back to the idea that the actions of the organization (the verb) will effect a certain group (target) in a specific way over time (the outcome).

    The video that I like best was Measuring your Social Impact. This discussed the theory of change. It also referred to the theory of change as an impact chain. I really liked that mental image. It goes from the organization to the activity to the output to the outcome. It was a ripple effect. I am looking to go into elementary education after receiving my degree. Part of this involves studying lesson plans and how to create them. The impact chain reminds me a little of this. For lesson plans, you plan backward. You start with what you want the outcome to be and then design specific activities that will yield those results. I imagine that working backward is a way to help organizations ensure that they are meeting the outcomes that they are working toward.

    We also read the article "Starfish Hurling and Community Service." This article broke down some reasons that it is important to really pay attention to what the social impact is of our actions. We might be doing an action, like hurling starfish back into the sea, and all the while we are thinking that we are doing a great act of service. However, this is just what it looks like on the surface. In fact hurling the starfish might actually make things worse. What if those starfish were an important part of the ecosystem and now birds were going hungry or the starfish needed to be removed from the seafloor in order for that ecosystem to thrive. Hurling the starfish back in those cases make it problematic. Thus, before starting an action for the sake of social impact, one should take the time and effort needed to gauge what impact (if any) is being made. This article made me think about something I heard a while back called "voluntourism." This is where tourists engage in volunteer efforts to help the communities they have traveled to see. While this is not inherently a negative, there are some situations where the volunteering has actually been a negative affect on the communities in which they are there to help. This is because the social impact has not been taken into consideration. Instead they just started hurling starfish.

BUS 374 Week 4 Reflection

 This week focused on Design Thinking. This is the process of how to solve problems that puts humans at the center. The process starts by thinking about what the individual needs of people are. How do we find solutions that are going to actually help if we can't empathize with those experiencing the problem. So design thinking starts with the empathizing. Seeing what the human need is, leads to the next step of thinking of creative solutions. The more ideas, the better and the more creative, the better. Then the important step of the prototype comes in. You take an idea and try it out. This is a process though and not a final step because with the prototype you learn and change and learn and change. Then comes implementation. Because the problem started with human centered empathetic thought, the plan implemented can lead to changes that will meet the needs of the individuals facing the problem.

The TED talk by David Kelley really stood out to me this week. It was about creative confidence. He gave an example of a kid that was making something in school and someone didn't respond well to it and the kids never made a project like it again. This reminded me of an experiment done in an elementary school. Each grade level was asked the same questions and the number of hands raised was recorded. The questions were all about skill levels and were similar to Raise you hand if you are good at singing. Raise your hand if you are good at dancing. Raise you hand if you are able to draw well. Starting in kindergarten, nearly every student put their hands up for every question. Each grade level up, less and less hands would go up until in 5th grade, only 3-4 students would raise their hand for each question. It goes to show that as we go along in life, we loose confidence in things that we think we are not perfect in or we loose confidence to try because of the fear of rejection. I think David Kelley's TED talk on how to regain this confidence was wonderful and being willing to understand that mistake making is part of the process will help increase our ability to do just that.

Design Thinking is very important in social innovation because of the human aspect of design thinking. If the objective of social innovation is to creatively solve problems that face societies, then understanding the needs of the individuals in the societies ensures that the solutions will be real solutions and not just temporary fixes. Design thinking encourages creativity and trying, failing, learning, and trying again. This process will lead to the solutions that will be most helpful to those in need of the solution.

BUS 374 Week 3 Reflection

Social innovation comes as a result of wanting to fix problems that society faces. This week, we focused on how to identify those big problems. Once the problem was identified, it is important to get down to the root cause. There are several different ways to identify the root cause including cause and effect analysis, the 5 whys and the fishbone tool. The purpose of each method is to take the problem and break it down into smaller and smaller bits. These bits are how we identify the root cause and what we can build social innovation around.

The 5 why's really stood out to me. It takes the big problem and asks why. That breaks it down to a smaller problem. Each subsequent why takes the problem smaller and smaller until there is something small enough that a counter measure can be put in place to prevent each issue from compounding into the big issue. I think the 5 why's stands out to me so much because it has practical use outside of social innovation. I can use it as a quick mental exercise anytime I run into a speed bump in any task I'm doing. 

The social issue I selected has to do with students being able to access special education support without families having to put up a fight with their school district or learn case law in order to hold a district accountable. Because I have 2 children with learning differences, I have had to enlist the help of our school district in getting my children the support that they need in order to learn. This was incredibly difficult for me to navigate and I ended up having to spend thousands of dollars on doctor's evaluations and educational advocates to guide me through the bureaucratic red tape needed to have my children's needs taken seriously. While going through this process, I learned that it wasn't just a problem for me or even just for parents in my district. This is a nationwide problem. I am most looking forward to finding a way to help families like mine not have to sacrifice money or critical educational time in order for their children to receive an education.

Bus 374 Week 2 Reflection

 This week the focus was on what we as individuals can do to make a difference in the word. These differences can happen regardless of where we are in our lives. There is a place for everyone in the world of social innovation. There is obvious need for the big idea people and the people with the financial means to pull it off. There are also needs for individuals that can take an existing idea or space and make more programs or applications of it work. There is also the need for individuals that are volunteering time and talent or selecting jobs in social innovation positions that take the big ideas and help them become reality. A difference can be made by everyone and each change can bring about even more change down the line.

The video "Inside the Mind of a College Social Innovator" really stood out to me. The idea of social innovation is new to me and is honestly, quite overwhelming. I think that because it is overwhelming to me, I tend to look at it as something that other people do - people with money or influence, people with huge dreams, people that already have a deep rooted cause on their hearts. I love the idea of making  a difference in the world, especially one that cn also be a means of an income for myself. However, that seems like something either for someone else, or if it is for me, it isn't for a long time. This video of the 3 college students made an impact on me. Social innovation can have a place for me right now. I have existing passions and I have small things that I can do now to support the people making changes and I can become someone that makes a difference.

In the article by Jeffrey Thompson, "What is Your Calling in Life?", Thompson lists out some heresy examples that can get in our way of finding our calling in life. I believe that as Children of God, we have been given talents that will help us and those around us as we progress through our mortal journey. Thompson's question What is your calling in life ties into those talents. What has God given us so that we can do something meaningful in our lives. This also ties into social innovation. In order to be an impactful social innovator, an individual should be working with their passions and using their talents. God has us on this Earth to be tested, but he also wants us to learn and grow and also to help, strengthen, and support others. He has given us the mean to do that. One way is to look at it as our life's calling. When we feel that compelled about a specific subject, social innovation plays a perfect role as a means to fulfilling a calling in life. We take our passions and talents and help others with them

Reflection Week 1 BUS 374

    The systems created to help society, like government and education have left out individuals and have cause vulnerabilities and problems within society that need to be addressed. Finding these problems and creating new solutions to them at their root is called social innovation. Social innovation allows individuals to use their passion to help people, societies, and the world by turning their passions into a business. The complex problems that our systems create require complex solutions and the work of social innovation takes that challenge on.

    The video, Ambition, opens by showing clips of things like the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Egyptian pyramids, and a rocket into space. Then it gives a quote about our imagination and how we imagine the world is how the world can become. Without individuals imagining creative solutions, then change will never occur. This is something that stands out to me about social innovation. It is about looking into the world and imagining things that seem impossible and finding ways to make them real. It speaks to the passions that people have to improve the lives and situations of the people and the planet around them. 

    Social innovation is more prevalent today for two reasons. One is that there is more of a need. As society has advanced, we have created many more systems to help manage and organize our lives. While theses systems have had many benefits, there have also been numerous problems created by them. The second reason pairs well with the increase of problems and that is more people are concerned about the plight of others as well as the safety of the planet. As people care more and see more and more problems in the world, the desire to make changes increase. Individuals as well as companies are beginning to see that they have an effect on the world and are taking responsibility to make a difference.

2/18/2021 Week 7: Culture and Psychology

 When I was 20, I saw a therapist for the first time. I was struggling to feel joy and happiness in my life. At this point, I had dropped out of college and was working as a hostess at a steakhouse, and living with my sister while I "figured things out." My self-esteem was at an all time low. The therapist kept referencing the negative cultures that developed in my family of origin. 

                                        

A family of origin is the family that you grew up in. In my case this was both of my parents, a brother, and a sister. Some of the negative cultures that my therapist and I worked to identify were those of perfectionism, guilt, and avoidance. (I should note that I imagine many American families had undertones of these in their homes. Mine was not excessive, but as a sensitive person, I took many things to heart.)

My thoughts and feelings that I was not good enough because I didn't have my degree or because I didn't have a "real" job came from an unhealthy idea that there was a prescribed list of what I should accomplish and when that should happen. My life had nothing valuable enough to take up precious space in the annual Christmas letter was my way of thinking. This was because I grew up in a home culture that stressed the importance of "getting it right" and if you didn't have it together, you just kept that to yourself. I felt shame and embarrassment for my life. 

After learning that these negative feelings were from years of messaging (some verbal and some never said, but very much implied), I was able to identify a new way to see my life. I was taking time to figure out who I was and where I wanted my life to go. It was okay that I didn't know what I wanted. There was time to figure it out. I was enough whether I was a doctor or a hostess. 

Some of this home culture came from my Southern upbringing and it's focus on appearance and manners and customs. Some of it came from the good, but often misguided intentions of my mother. At age 17, she joined the LDS church when she was pregnant with my brother. Then she welcomed my sister and then myself into the family. She was only 19 when I was born. In 3 short years, her life had completely changed and with three little ones, she barely had time to adjust. She loved the gospel and was excited at the potential we all had and didn't want any of us to have to learn some of life's lessons the hard way. Because of this, we were raised very strictly. Advice often looked like criticism and it was hard to live up to perfect expectations.

While I have come to a healthy love of myself and my path, as imperfect as it may be, I see just how much our home culture can drive the choices we make. Some people I meet or eventually teach, will come from different home as well and ethnic cultures that will built the foundations of their thinking. They might make choices that I don't see as healthy or simply don't understand. When this happens, I can remember that there are a thousand little things guiding our choices. Some of these are healthy and some are harmful. Some we are aware of and others slide by unconsciously. Having this knowledge allows me to extend grace to those I interact with. Most importantly, this allows me to extend grace to myself.

2/16/2021 Week 7: Differences in Manners

 When I was 8, I moved from Utah to Louisiana. On my first day of 3rd grade, I found myself in trouble and sitting out of recess for being disrespectful. I spent that recess in tears! I was not a disrespectful kid and was hurt and confused at the idea. After talking with my mom and after she talked to the teacher, it was all cleared up. I didn't address my teacher with Ma'am and said, "huh" and "what" when asking the teacher a question. These things were not done in the southern classroom! The teacher interpreted my lack of knowledge about southern manners as being disrespectful and rude. I learned really quickly after that to NEVER use "huh" again when I didn't hear or understand something! 

That day in third grade has stuck with me. I never should have had my recess revoked or told I was being disrespectful. I should have been told how things work differently in Louisiana. This would have required my teacher to understand cultural differences in manners.

Here is another story about differences in manners from my life. When I was a senior in high school, my dad was preparing to be deployed with the Army to serve in Afghanistan. I remember one day he came home from a cultural training and I was intrigued. He was to go over and build roads and schools, what would it matter if he knew which spot the fork and knife went at the table! That was how little I understood at the time. My dad gave some examples of things they learned like never pointing at something with one finger. Always gesture with two fingers or the whole hand. And never shake hands with someone with your left hand. 

When my dad returned home from deployment, we talked about that class in manners and if it made a difference. He said that his unit worked closely with a group of local Afghani men. One day the men didn't show up to the work site. When my dad's unit finally tracked them down, they learned that something one of the soldiers did or said deeply offended the men and they refused to work together anymore. While my dad didn't go into details over what the offense was, he did say it was something that was covered in the class and that if the soldier would have taken that valuable information to heart, the whole thing would have been avoided.

Different cultures have different sets of manners. As a teacher I will work to put my pride in check and not assume the worst from my cross-cultural students. With patience and civility, I will hopefully prevent any manners mishaps like mine from 3rd grade or my dad's from his deployment.