“Getting out of college classrooms and helping people” by Jerry Large
The Seattle Times
Published 2/20/11
Retrieved 3/6/11
Complete URL: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrylarge/2014288362_jdl21.html
Intended Audience: general public, educators, college students
Summary: Seattle University is expanding its community service programs. Their goal is to increase students’ exposure and awareness of the community’s needs while taking an active role in addressing them. There are currently around 900 students participating at least one of the numerous programs created by the university. In addition, the school is teaming up with many nonprofits to allocate their services more meaningfully.
Key Point: Seattle University has expanded its community service program despite a poor economy.
Relevance: In the midst of economic hardship, education-targeted budget cuts, and local public school scandals, Seattle University has gone against the flow in a massive river of self-preserving introspection and actually expanded their community service programs, yet still for the sake of enhancing the educational experience for their students. Talk about being proactive. Serve their community, show them the problem first-hand, and encourage them to ask how they can change it, all in one bound. Granted, it’s a little easier to do things like this at a private institution, but it is still a step in the right direction that hopefully other schools can follow.
This is a good thing I think. Any time students and faculty can venture beyond the institutional bubble of the educational environment and into the world where theory meets reality can only lead to good things.
ReplyDeleteFormulating solutions to the world's programs with great theories and ideas is one thing. Actually seeing the results of those theories and ideas in action can be quite another. I hope more schools are able to do more of this as well.
In the four years of my undergrad program at Pacific, I only really experienced one thing where the whole school got involved in service to the community. Freshman students spend a day "Sprucing up the Grove", where they help restore buildings, clean up neighborhood yards and visit senior citizens in the near by homes. All freshman had to take part in it. Other than that, I saw no other event that the school encouraged. Sure clubs and fraternities took part in these kinds of events from time to time, but nothing where the whole school is invited and encouraged to join.
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