Build the network. Connect the Network. Nudge the Network....Role of Intermediaries.

Another Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference has come and gone and… it was a huge event. It was a chance to participate in a variety of interesting workshops, discuss new ideas (and how to make the old ideas work better) with old and new colleagues.

How barbers can help after-school programs was a presentation held by Mr. Ishmael Alamin, Owner of the Hyde Park Hair Salon, the Official Barbershop of President Barack Obama. Barbershops are social places where people come regularly. No matter your income or what your political favorites are, you have to come to a barber shop. For example, as a Presidential candidate candidate, Barack Obama traveled each week to the Hyde Park Hair Salon for a trim.

And, since barbershops are where discussions start about everything and anything, why shouldn’t we be inspiring discussions about the value of tutor/mentor programs? – asked Mr. Ishmael Alamin. In his barbershop, thought-provoking maps of the availability of tutoring/mentoring programs are on the wall and brochures about tutor/mentor programs are in the reception area. What a great way to start a discussion about how each of us can help!

Twitter - How It Can Benefit Tutoring and Mentoring Programs was the last workshop, presented by Mrs. Lovette Ajayi. To twitter or not to twitter, that is the question no? Come on; don’t tell me that you’ve never tried Twitter or some other micro-blogging application. It is fun and it can be very valuable. Mrs. Ajayi has 651 twitter followers. Therefore, whenever she twitters, 651 people receive that message. I know, some of us have newsgroups with much more e-mail addresses, but practice says that only 2-5% of receivers actually read those messages. Therefore 651 is a huge number. How to twitter and how to generate so many followers… well, you were supposed to come to the Conference. As an alternative, you can attend the 2009 Making Media Connections Conference http://communitymediaworkshop.org/mmc09/, to find about new media formats like Twitter and how to use them.

Impact Evaluation: From Basics to Best Practices, presented by Jenny Ellis Richards, was an excellent introduction into planning and results evaluation. Everything we do, we do to achieve some specific results. Impact or results are not just a bureaucrats’ wish, but the reason why each institution exists, why each of us is coming to a job or to a school. Right?

To evaluate the results, Mrs. Richards uses a Theory of Change methodology. A Theory of Change is a logic model for program; it is a picture of why your program should succeed. It is called ‘theory’ – because it has to be evaluated, improved on daily basis. Very interesting and very useful – just as many other workshops at the Conference.

Program of Tutor/Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference is available at http://www.tutormentorconference.org/agenda.asp. I encourage you to check it and think about the next conference – in the autumn. Will you come?

Summer… just that word makes me feel relaxed, makes me think about vacation time, think about time with my friends, family, neighbors. During the school year we are all busy; school/work, daily duties – so some of us forget how it is important to have a good connection with people in our network, how it is beneficial to have a big network, how it is good to be able to reach people in other networks. That is why we should invest time during summer in our social capital.

What is social capital? Social capital is the connections within and between social networks. Something like glue that holds our society and institutions/groups together. Just as a printer (physical capital) or an education (human capital) can increase productivity (both individual and collective), so do social contacts affect the productivity of individuals and groups.

For example, if we have a task to do something, and thru our social network we can reach people who can provide us with ‘know how’ to solve that task, the task will become ‘a piece of cake’. Furthermore, social relationships and the social environments of school, family, and neighborhood influence students with respect to school performance. It influences adults too.

So, what do you plan to do with your social capital?

A few nice articles about social capital are linked in Tutor/Mentor Exchange Links Library: T/MC Links Library : Research, Resources : Social Capital

So, let’s check a few of them.

Social Capital article at InfEd.org (a site dedicated to promote and support INFormal EDucation) is a great way to start. The article (http://www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm) provides all the most important data about social capital in plain English. Social capital for starters, Types of social capital, The decline in social capital, The benefits of social capital are just a few of interesting sections of that article. Find more about social capital at: http://www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm

A New Conceptualization of Social Capital is an article that attempts to improve the conceptualization of social capital by incorporating a number of new factors that have previously not been considered

Read more at: http://www.gnudung.com/improvedconceptualisation.html

Conceptualizing Social Capital among Young People is an article written by Nicole J. Schaefer-McDaniel and focused on new theoretical framework of social capital among young people.

The author describes social capital among young people to consist of three components:

1. Social networks/interactions and sociability;
2. Trust and reciprocity; and
3. Sense of belonging/place attachment.

Find more about beneficial outcomes of social capital at http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/14_1/articles/article6full.htm.

What are your thoughts about those articles? Of course, you can fine much more links about social capital at T/MC Links Library : Research, Resources : Social Capital

I am very enthusiastic about your comments here or at Cool Links and Cool Cash >> Social capital,

Hi,
Last week we had 28 posts in Cool Links – Cool Cash. Fantastic! It is the second time we’ve had participation over 20%. Great job and great posts!
So, let’s continue, let’s make even better results this week. Right?
And, do not forget that Cabrini students will be rewarded with $2 for each post!
OK; ready?

This is a fundraising week - we will have a Fundraising meeting for volunteers on Wednesday and Thursday. Therefore let’s check out the Networking and Fund Rising category in the Links Library (T/MC Links Library : Event Information : Networking & Fund Raising)

scottwallard.com/blog/ is a blog about social policy and poverty in America maintained by Scott W. Allard - an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. Professor Allard is a passionate supporter of the social safety net.

What it the social safety net? The social safety net refers a collection of services which prevent individuals from falling into poverty beyond a certain level. For example, if single mother unable to work has several children, she and all her kids can be caught up in the hopelessness of extreme poverty.

However, by receiving money to support her children, along with universal health care and free education, she and the society (social safety net!) can provide her and children a better chance at becoming successful members of society, a better chance to become successful taxpayers…

In his blog Professor Allard wrote:

With more than 50 million Americans living near or below the poverty line and need on the rise, it becomes important to have an accurate grasp of what the safety net is, how it functions, and where the gaps in assistance are most severe. The written work presented here address challenges facing today's safety net.