Friday, June 19, 2009

For today's discussion, I would like to go back to something Trevor said on Day 1 and start working our way through the cool-communities criteria Ryan developed. She makes several points in her "cities are for people" discussion and Trevor mentioned one related to downtown Dalton and it's potential to be a great stroll district. One of the components of stroll districts are the third spaces "where people of all demographic and economic backgrounds rub shoulders" and share conversation, ideas, etc. Do we have a great third space in Dalton? Do you have one in your workplace? Have we created them in our school community for students?

(Ric, I am still pondering your spiral vs loop idea. I'll get back to you.)
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9 comments:

  1. Trevor LedfordJune 19, 2009 at 10:03 AM

    I've mentioned what I thought about Dalton. Since I actually live in Chattanooga I would be interested in hearing from people who actually live in Dalton about any third spaces. I could be missing some secret place. Although, if it were a real "third space" it would probably be well known.
    It's interesting to consider third spaces within the work place too, Dr. Hawkins. I'm glad you mention that. We begin in middle school (perhaps earlier) defining ourselves by our groups we hang out with, and most of us never grow out of it. And it's been that way everywhere I've worked. As an educator, here is what I've found to be true. Administrators gather in their places, teachers gather in their places, custodians gather in their places, students gather in their places, etc. And even if we're gathered in the same room people divide themselves. So I don't think just having a space available is enough to facilitate a third space. It's interesting to think about what the heart and soul of a genuine third place is.
    I think it may lie in the way the people treat each other. For example, one of the third spaces I frequent is a particular Waffle House (& I've found this to be true of most waffle Houses). All classes of people visit this Waffle House daily. You have the homeless guy scraping for change to buy a cup of coffee, the middle class family having lunch with their kids, judges, doctors, construction workers, I've even seen a U.S. Congressional member and his family there. But no matter who you are you are still just a customer to the waitress. She screams your order to the cook just the same as she screams the homeless guy's order. She calls you "honey" or "sweetie" no matter how much money you have. If you arrive during the rush you wait just like everyone else, and it's okay because you can talk to the other people waiting in the meantime. You know exactly what you're going to get when you get there. We're all there to eat.
    At school, we like to pretend we're all there for the same reasons, but in reality, we may not be. Some are there to socialize, some are there because they love kids, some are there because they love learning, some are there because they have to be, some are there because teaching offers the most vacation time, some are there because they love their subject, some have mixed motives. The point is: We all have different agendas and people who don't share our agenda sometimes just get in the way of our plans.
    So I think if we are clear on our common purposes we have a better likelihood of achieving a third space. Also, we have to remember that people VOLUNTARILY visit third spaces. Whatever it takes to create these, I think, we have to take that into consideration.

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  2. sdmurryJune 19, 2009 at 12:02 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Ric MurryJune 19, 2009 at 12:36 PM

    There has been many conversations about making Media Centers the "third space" within schools among LMS people around the country.

    The first two spaces are home and workplace, so a "third space" at work is tricky, but achievable when we use the facility for more than the original intend of purely educating. If our buildings became a community meeting place, with little associated with the function of school, we could create a third space throughout Dalton.

    I agree with Trevor on two counts: a) Waffle House is a place where the "all are equal" approach is an interesting phenomena. Family from outside the WH zone are somewhat taken aback when we recently had a breakfast together, and b) schools tend to have different places they gather. Some is based on position, but schedules also manufacture who it is we have the opportunity to "rub shoulders" with during the day.

    Coffee Shops, Panera Bread & Starbucks appeal to people seeking to create third spaces.

    My first thought when I first heard the phrase "stroll district" was how "older generation" the concept is. Our students, and younger teachers, and now a few who are participating here have created their own "stroll districts" online. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and wikis all allow for the interaction described. Online communities also have a greater likelihood of creating a truly international gathering. No, it's not face-to-face, and that may be what is missing in this 21st century culture.

    Parents, concerned with the safety of their children, fret about drugs, kidnapping, and other violent crimes in face-to-face situations. Online communities provide more safety (not less, as the media would have us believe) when properly monitored. I feel safe here. I am making new acquaintences, learning, and having fun. It is becoming one of my several third spaces.

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  4. Ric MurryJune 19, 2009 at 12:37 PM

    The 2nd comment by Shelley was really me. I was my wife's computer, and didn't change the Google log in. Sorry.

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  5. lbhackneyJune 19, 2009 at 10:22 PM

    I'll have to think about third spaces in Dalton and/or in our schools, but I just had to note that I am in Franklin, TN at a Civil War Synposium. As I was driving through the historic dowtown district a few moments ago, 9:00pm local time, I saw people of all ages and backgrounds walking the streets, eating in the street-side cafes, shopping....just being a community. People here talk to strangers and wave from the front porch....and it's not just traditional southern folk...people from all over the world converge here to become this really cool place. I plan to take my laptop to the coffee shop in the morning for a little free internet, a good cup of coffee, some conversation, some dreaming, and mayber a little bit of scheming about how this can happen in our town and in our schools.

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  6. Ric MurryJune 20, 2009 at 8:54 AM

    Just for fun, I Googled "third spaces." Wikipedia was the first hit. Perhaps some ideas from their brief article.

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  7. nancy zJune 20, 2009 at 11:18 PM

    I am joining this a little late but I first have to say that this was a great book. It gave me a new way of looking at the world through my grown children's eyes!
    I think Dalton could become an excellent "stroll community". It already has some hidden gems in downtown in the Planet of the Grapes, Irongate, The Perfect Cup just to name a few. There is a nice used bookstore and great small shops. It is a start! I think to make it a really "cool" community, we need to add affordable, trendy housing in some of the gorgeous old buildings. We need to make it a place to come home to. We need more outdoor concerts, plays and art shows. We are an incredibly diverse community that we have yet to tap into fully. What better way to show off our talents and gifts than by getting together downtown for cultural events. Perhaps our school system could host a student event night with all of our schools participating in showing our talents with band, dance, art, and singing downtown. Merchants could stay open later, vendors and restuarants could provide food. What a wonderful celebration it would be to have the community come out to support its children and for adults to perhaps meet some new friends! After all, the children are why we want to make our community better!

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  8. cushmomJune 21, 2009 at 9:11 AM

    What a great book! It was my beach read on the family trip with my parents, husband, brother and wife, and kids. My dad retired after working for the same company for 30 years. My brother and his wife are both IT consultants and work from home in ATL. My husband and I have careers that fall in between those extremes. It was fun discussing the different generations with them. My mother reminded me that her generation (Baby Boomers) would be the last generation to "do better" than the generation before them. She said that Baby Boomers will not only have to care for their elderly parents, but also help out their adult children as they find their way in the work world. When I talked of the Millennials, she said "oh, yea, they do only think about themselves". That is my sons' generation. Lively discussion followed.

    As I read, I wondered if we were reading this book to find a way to make our community a place where our students would want to live and work after graduation or if we were reading this to help us understand and create meaningful work for the students we have in our classrooms? I think both and I kept thinking that I hoped that someone gave Brian Anderson (Chamber President) and the City Council this book to read. It has great ideas.

    I don't see Dalton having the third spaces that we need. I wish we had a downtown like Savannah, Georgia; Athens, Georgia; and Frazier Street, Chattanooga. Even a visit to my hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin had a "cool" atmosphere. Neat shops, a large department store, lunch places, coffee shops, a Houdini Museum, a new theater (like a Fox Theater in ATL), bars, etc. Athens has the neat little shops to stroll through during the day, the places to eat lunch, upscale places to eat for dinner, as well as the hang outs for the younger adults after 10:00 p.m. The town doesn't shut down at 3:00 p.m. How do we get a street like this in Dalton?

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  9. UnknownJune 21, 2009 at 3:01 PM

    I lived in a college town that intermingled with the local downtown area. It was a perfect stroll district with something to offer everyone - shops, restaurants, banks, government buildings, university buildings, small parks with fountains. It was easy to find someplace to comfortably settle and do homework (or just people watch). Dalton has some of this, as Nancy mentioned earlier, with the restaurants and shops. There used to be more (in better economic times). One difference I notice is that Dalton's downtown area is fairly spread out, making it difficult to actually "stroll" in a literal sense. Also, I don't notice as much diversity on the downtown streets as I notice in our schools.

    The Downtown Development Authority has, and continues, to target special events throughout the year to draw the public (consumer) into the area what with festivals, farmer's market, arts/crafts shows, sports events, holiday open houses, car shows, etc. Some events are more profitable and well attended than others. Yet to me, that target is still only a segment of our total community. Perhaps our educational community can become the equalizer for downtown?

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