Higher Education and/in the Community

Jessica Kim-- I definitely agree with Adam and Drew's posts about the role of higher education institutions in the community. Liberal arts colleges were initially set up to prepare young people for a life of informed citizenship, and I feel like allowing and creating opportunities for students to get involved in their communities is an undeniably important way of doing so. Adam's point about how college can be a 'bubble' is definitely true. Some could argue that this is a good thing, that it allows students to focus themselves on their academic commitments; but if students learn without a sense of how their studies can be applied to the wider world, what makes us think that they will be able to apply them once they actually get out there?

Our students have a great culture of service. I think the next step would be to get the spirit of service imbued into the administration and academics of our school. I found an interesting document on the W&M website titled "A Vision for Public Service at the College of William & Mary" (http://web.wm.edu/as/dean/fas/documents/Vision%20for%20Public%20Service%20at%20W&M.pdf?svr=www) that details a committee's reasoning and recommendations for expansion of public service initiatives at the college. I feel like it was written a while ago, and I feel like we could use this as a guide to help us implement more of these ideas at W&M.

There is a fine line as to how much a college should invest in the greater good of the community, but that should be gauged primarily by the student interest and demand. If students dedicate so much time to service at this college, there should be more investment in ways to expand upon those interests. Not only would that meet a student demand, but it would also work for the good of the wider communities we are all a part of. I don't think there can be a downside to higher education involvement in the community because it caters to a student need and corresponds with a trend of greater social awareness and involvement that is sweeping our nation.

Higher Education and / in the Community

Adam Harris - 

In response to Drew's question about if it's the role of higher education and it's role in being a social service agency,  my answer has two distinct parts.  First, I think that the trend in higher education to provide / involve service in its curriculum is not only a step forward, but very important in the relationships between an institution and the community that it is in.  Far too often in my opinion, there is the ever-present college "bubble" that many of us live in.  As a student body, many are completely uninformed and ignorant of many social conditions, may they be good or bad, in the immediate surroundings of the institution.  

I believe that "opening the doors to the community as a social service agency" by an institution not only is within its capacity, but an integral part of getting students more active in the community as well as being part of their learning experience.  Teaching students does not necessarily have to mean learning in a classroom.  In the sense that higher education's purpose is to introduce young adults into the "real world," I believe that one essential part of this "teaching" comes from easing students into facing local issues by giving them more opportunities at volunteering within the community.  

I think that this allows students to come in contact with their "townie" neighbors, but also gives them a tangible experience that can enhance theoretical learning in the classroom.  For instance, learning about the U.S.'s social welfare system for three hours a week in the basement of Morton can be wholly supplemented by volunteering with a non-profit student group helping out in the local unemployment office, free health clinic, etc.  As Drew said in his statements, this not only helps out the community by filling holes in the various institutions, but also instilling the student with a sense of efficacy, connection with the community, etc. 

Lastly, since these actions / organizations are based of off volunteer support, the issue of capacity is a minimal issue.  As long as there is enough interest and that the issue that various organizations is relatively sustainable in terms of creating a permanent institution to address the issue, having institutions as social service agencies, in my opinion, has no downside.

What is (are) the role(s) of the University in Community?

Drew Stelljes - The goals of American higher education have included the preparation of citizens for active involvement in community life since the founding of Harvard College in 1636. In The American College and University: a History, Rudolph (1962) reports that the public purpose of the American college includes a responsibility to the past, the present and the future. Rudolph and others reported that This responsibility requires colleges and universities to substantially address the embedded and emerging social problems of our communities. Do you agree?

Since the early 1980s an increasing interest in service has reflected a concern that institutions of higher education should be more responsive to society and that higher learning in general ought to have greater relevance to public life (Boyer, 1987, 1994; Rhoads, 1998; Wingspread Group, 2004). Derek Bok (1982) challenged administrators and faculty when he wrote, “there is no reason for universities to feel uncomfortable in taking account of society’s needs; they have a clear obligation to do so” (p.11). A report sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation, written by Frank Newman (1985), made the case explicit. Newman wrote, “If there is a crisis in education in the United States today, it is less that test scores have declined than it is that we have failed to provide the education for citizenship that is still the most important responsibility of the nation’s schools and colleges”(p.31).

Over the past twenty years, service and service-learning have established a foothold on college campuses. Volunteer centers have formed and faculty members in various disciplines have initiated service-learning, a wave of experiential education wrapped in service activity, reciprocal learning and purposeful reflection. It has been predicted that service-learning may accomplish both the academic aims of the academy and positively contribute to the vitality of the community. Volunteer centers opened their doors across the country in an effort to: support a culture of service, infuse that culture of service into the academy and more recently to respond to students’ interest in local and global social concerns. Many would argue that colleges and universities have been responsive to student interest and activism rather than being proactive about trying to stimulate a culture of service. When volunteer centers opened their doors they opened themselves up to the larger community and suggested they might serve as a social service agency, in some cases a surrogate, to what was missing in the community. But does higher education have the capacity to be a social service agency? Is that part of the role of higher education? Is the role of higher education to teach students, to transform community? Both? Is that possible?

Impact studies have demonstrated a wide range of student development or interpersonal outcomes including a sense of efficacy, connection to community, appreciation for diverse populations and interest in course work to name a few. A casual observer may attribute this effort to be successful, however a closer examination of service-learning brings about a variety of questions:

· Have we ever transformed community so that student service is no longer needed?
· Is it the role of higher education to transform students? Or communities? Both? Neither?

I have offered a variety of nuggets for you to chew on. Wrestle with them now, together. What is the role of the university in community?

Planet in Peril

Check this out:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/09/28/what.matters.meltdown/index.html

4 minute video.

Joel Schwartz' Comments

Hi All,

Joel presented so many nuggets of information and I found myself thinking about his assertions throughout his talk. One question I have: If the country is so much less engaged, what does that say about the dramatic increase in college student involvement in service, in activism, in advocacy work, in justice work? Are Schwartz and Putman ignoring that trend? Will we see a resurgance of community engagement in the next 20 years? Even though PTA membership is down otehr membership is up - and it's up in some really important organizations that rely on consistent commitment to a cause and not an annual check.

Comments, disagreements, etc....

Drew

Skyler N. Halbritter

Hey all! I am a little late to the SLC posting, but better late than never!

Name: Skyler N. Halbritter

Year: 2011

Service Activities: Alpha Phi Omega, more specifically I tutor at Matthew Whaley on Tuesday and Thursday, also I went on the Inaugural Spring Break Service Trip with APO to Biloxi, Mississippi

Hometown: Richmond, VA and also West Virginia

Concept of Service: Well, where to begin? I think connecting and forming relationships with other people is the most human thing someone can do. Service is the greatest way to form these connections and relationships because we are sharing an experience, but also gaining a (usually) tangible benefit in return. My life is filled with purpose because I am able to help others. I serve my community by tutoring children who need the extra help and attention, and I serve the world by being a steward of Christian principles which I believe in strongly. Service is a tricky concept because in international settings, we constantly struggle with being able to establish sustainable communities. We also strive to facilitate change, while creating a longterm environment that will not rely on outside help. In the end I think service is about loving people you know little about, and helping to better the societies that we and other people of this world live in. I think Ghandi said it best that "we find ourselves in service others." And that is where I find myself everyday.

Until we meet again,

Skyler

From Brittney Calloway

Name: Brittney Calloway

Major: English and Philosophy

Hometown: I was born in Manhattan, NY but I currently reside in Edison, NJ (5 min from Rutgers' campus)

Favorite Book: I have way to many to name but I would have to go with Beloved by Toni Morrison.

Ramble: I am a rising sophomore here at the college and am involved in numerous activities here on campus but have not done as much service as I would have liked to. In high school volunteering at shelters, foodbanks, Girl Scouts,Habitat for Hummanity, as a tutor all of these were actiities that were in my daily regemine and were ongoing service activities but this past year all the GREAT service opportunities here at the college came to me after the deadline to apply:*-(...however this year I was apart of TCO (tribe college outreach) where I tutored high school students once a week. I am also apart of the organization Aids in Tanzania where I will be traveling to Tanzania in December as a volunteer for the Aids/HIV project. This summer I was also involved with ESL teaching spanish workers English. At the college I am also apart of Judicial Council, NAACP, and William and Mary Model Congress .Giving back to others in need means the world to me and is something I value deeply. What drives me most in all of the organizations I am in, is the opportutinty to help others in need...not myself.