Class Discussion

The discussion about Rural Studio got me thinking about the perception of town’s people in small towns when an “outsider” tries to help. After the meeting in Denmark it is apparent that they can either welcome the help as mere interest in helping the community or turn down the help because of the “hand-out” feeling. I thought the town would have a negative opinion of college students coming into their town to point out the pros and cons. For the most part I was mistaken and they welcomed our input and appreciated us listening to what they had to say.

I was surprised to find out about the negative response to the Rural Studio’s housing project. On the trip there a few years ago we missed out on opinion from people other than those that currently live in the projects. The point about the baseball field was a good idea. Catering to the group rather than the individual can prove to have a more positive outcome. Once the town realizes the intentions they may be more open to further development.

This may be useful when we go back to down to Denmark. Areas that affect the majority may be the first phase of attention. This may achieve a greater community involvement. Even though there already seems to be a great deal of involvement. After watching the film on rural schools it appears that this would be the first area to work on. I’ve seen some bad school conditions working for Berkeley County School District, but the images of the documentary were 10 times worse.