I should point out that I’m posting this, at least in part, because of some great analysis of “thinking in public” from the book Smarter Than You Think by Clive Thompson.  The chapter “Public Thinking” is a great overview of how technology is changing writing.  Very cool, very interesting, and highly recommended.

I wanted to talk, first, about something from a New York Times article that I shared on Twitter yesterday:

I’m going to quote the whole chunk, because I think it’s an interesting task as well as something that makes a point I want to analyze:

1. The First Step: Brainstorm About the Communities You Belong To

How many communities are you a part of? Making a list or a mind map of some sort to brainstorm answers to that question will help you as you consider the project ideas below.

For instance, you are a member of a family; an ethnic, racial or religious group or groups; a gender, age and geographic group; and a school community. But you may also be a member of a baseball team or debate club or band; a rabid fan of a musician, football team or book series; a member of a church or gaming community or summer camp or service or arts organization.

If you are a teacher, perhaps you are a part of a national group of social studies, English, special education or science teachers, or maybe you collaborate online in a community of educators.

Come up with as many communities as you can, then choose one that deeply matters to you as you consider the project options below.

(from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/10-ways-to-explore-and-express-what-makes-your-community-unique/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=tw-share&_r=0)

This turns into a rather confusing point to think about.  How many communities can a person belong to?  Is there a limit?  (No, not really.)  If a person can belong to 50 different communities, does this “belonging” really mean anything?

There’s an ambiguity in the word “community” that we need to talk about, and a sense that some communities are very different from others.

Let’s start with “community” and its many meanings.

1. Community as Neighborhood – I think we tend to start with this, or most often think of this as “community.”  We share something with the people who live close to us, share the same area of residence.  My physical neighbor and I, for example, share a bond when the electricity goes out because of a storm, or when he’s in his backyard mowing the lawn next to my driveway.  I bump into people who live near me at the park by my house, whose kids go to school with my kids at the neighborhood public school, and so on.  We share many common, immediate interests.  Sometimes we’re social with these people, but we certainly don’t need to be.  Sometimes this proximity can lead to conflict, of course.  Sometimes these bonds are strong.
2. Community as Town, Suburb, City, or Area – If you live in a specific city, you become part of a “community” of residents.  It’s a bit larger than “neighborhood,” as there might be many neighborhoods in a town or city.  These bonds – if they exist for us, and again, they don’t have to – are probably weaker than our neighborhood bonds.  But they’re still there.
3. Community as Ethnic/Racial Identity – I’m going to try not to sound too political, but I think it’s false to pretend that race/ethnicity doesn’t exist.  Some people feel strong connections to others of a similar race or ethnicity.  Some don’t.  I think a great deal depends on the individual.  (I think it’s interesting how “whiteness” has been socially constructed by the “melting pot,” and I’m curious how this identity will change as “white” people become the minority in the next 30-40 years.)
4. Community as Affinity Group – Some of us are huge sports fans.  I’m a Browns fan, and that makes me a member of a sad bundle of (hopeful yet) perennial losers.  In some sense, this represents a choice.  I might just as easily be a Manchester United fan, or a Paris Saint Germain fan.  As a part of one – or all – of these groups, I might feel a bond with other members.  This works with fans of a specific band or musician, or movie, or shoe, or soft drink.
5. Community as Profession/Employer – We teachers understand this when we connect with other educators online.  This kind of community extends to other professions, of course.

We can continue with this, if we choose.  (I didn’t mention gender, sexual preference, hair or eye color, body type, married/single/divorced, parent/non-parent, old/young, etc.)  I think this task – list your communities, then choose one that you feel strongly about – says something about the strange way that we make connections and create social bonds.  It says something about how we negotiate identity through our relationships with certain groups.

Personally, it feels like the strongest social bonds I have are those that are most stressed or minority.  It takes a little more than the usual effort to be a Browns fan in Chicago, or a male teacher in a majority female school.  I also feel like I play a role in the community I teach in, though that role is often less visible than some.

So, what does it mean for me to #WriteMyCommunity?  It feels a little presumptuous for me to write about things that I don’t have strong bonds or lots of experience with.  I would need to choose carefully.  For example, I feel like I can write with authority and confidence about being a Cleveland sports fan.  I feel the same way about writing about teaching.  However, I teach in Wheeling – I play a role in the Wheeling community – but I don’t live in that community.  I feel a little uncomfortable about writing about that community, though I suppose I have that right.

I think I should #WriteMyCommunity next . . .