Neither lingering guilt nor negative attributions are desirable final outcomes of a learning process, and the students shift to the next stage when given an opportunity for self expression through journals or discussion. The second stage of this process is called Structural Change and it focuses on the causes and supports of poverty, homelessness, undocumented immigration and other issues that affect our society. At this stage, students begin to see that these are all a result of choices we have consciously or unconsciously made in the way we structure and run our community, our nation and our world. Since the focus is on structures, there is usually no blame or hatred, but instead, a desire to work for social change. The next level of development is called Humility, and it takes some time to reach.
Time is actually the central element that precipitates the shift.
It is at this point that students begin to realize that if these issues are going to be resolved, the ones who are affected by them are the ones who will have to do the work. If we don't get in the way or actively interfere, the poor will save themselves, and they do not really need you or me. The second aspect of this level is an awareness that I need to learn from poor people, from their experience, approach to life and values. Students who participate in the Eastside Project initially expect that they will be helping others, but in the end they often discover that what they learned, what they received in the process was a gift beyond price, unique and irreplaceable. It takes some experience to recognize that even the poor have their share of liars, cheats and thieves, just as they have their share of generous, honest, kind and hard-working members.