How can we affect social change within OCHS? My definition of Social change is the inevitable evolution of human interaction and relationships and how they impact cultural and social norms. It occurs over time but has impacts and consequences on the society as a whole. Social change is not just a wave of ideas that we ride and evolve, It is a movement which we have the power to cultivate and impact change with.
Graphic design has the power to be a catalyst for social change and can help communicate the goals and ideas of change. To show my students how to amplify their voice we design and develop posters for change. I show the student real world campaigns at https://amplifier.org/campaigns/. “The project is based off of “Amplifier’s mission is to extend the reach and impact of art that addresses social issues. Part of the way they do that is by producing and distributing posters at protests and rallies across the nation.” The students pick a cause they are passionate about and research the topic, then develop Three poster designs that will communicate the message of the cause and improve the impact of social change. I feel that it is important to teach students how to stand up for the things they believe in. Socially students struggle in this generation with conflict resolution. They are too quick to reach for the keyboard and lash out on socials. They need to see there is a better way to effectively communicate.
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This type of thinking will provide students the opportunity to transform themselves into socially aware citizens that will have the power and understanding to effect social change through design. Walden University’s vision is not quite aligned with my goals. I am working with social change on a smaller scale in hope that it will have a ripple effect and create citizens that will make a larger impact on the world. I am just hoping to spark an interest in the power of design, I tell them you never know where life may take you, most don’t feel like they will need the design skills. I like to show them the real world impact that a small poster can have. The power that design can have to communicate is powerful. Word and design matter.
My goal for the future is to collaborate with staff and administration to create murals within our building. Our building is very bland and I would love for our students to make more murals throughout the building. I would like to make a goal to produce at least 1 mural every 2-3 years for the school. To make this happen I would like to create a Student based committee to collaborate ideas and locations for the art installations. We would then present the ideas and costs to the administration and school board for approval. I hope that these murals will help to develop a stronger school culture within OCHS.
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REFERENCES
Walden University. (n.d.). Social change. https://www.waldenu.edu/about/social-change
Walden University. (n.d). 5 things that everyone should know about social change.
https://www.waldenu.edu/about/social-change/resource/five-things-that-everyone-should -know-about-social-change
Amplifier. (n.d). About. https://amplifier.org/about/