What’s more important: thoughts or actions?
Traditional liberal arts universities say the former. But the latter may be the future of higher education, as evidenced by a handful of new classes and programs now offered at the University.
This term, University Professor Lola Broomberg began teaching AAA 408, a class that invites students to become involved in social action work both at school and in their future careers. She said teaching students to become agents of social change has suddenly begun “happening everywhere,” opening students up to a world of community outreach and global awareness.
“There’s been a wake-up about connection,” Broomberg said. “People are tired of dualistic thinking, the ‘us against them.’ I think there’s a yearning to build bridges in every way we can.”
No longer is learning all about theories of long-gone authors’ metaphors. An increasing amount of students have decided to take on classes and majors they hope will effect real change in real-world community projects — and an increasing number of professors support these students’ endeavors.
A survey of American faculty members conducted last year at UCLA showed that the proportion of professors who believe it is very important to teach undergraduates to become “agents of social change” — at 57.8 percent — is much larger than the proportion who believe it is important to teach students the classic works of Western civilization — 34.7 percent.
In 2009, 20 percent more college professors than in 2006 said it was important to instill in students an appreciation for community service.
“This generation is more likely to do community service and volunteer abroad than previous generations,” said Amanda Stocker West, University Community Planning Workshop project coordinator, because “they’re making a tangible difference, not just writing a paper that’s not going to get used by anyone. It’s producing something real.”
The 28 students in Broomberg’s class will listen to a number of guest speakers who are prominent social change figures in Eugene, including Rick Brissenden, a former judge who sits on the Eugene Police Commission; Dan Carol, who worked for Barack Obama’s campaign and is helping push an energy bill through Congress; and a local artist who sends environmentally friendly messages using sustainable materials in her projects.
Throughout the term, students will log volunteer hours and work on a project that will help the organization they volunteer for — anything from a cookbook for a local soup kitchen to a bumper sticker for a local politician’s campaign.
“I try to make a connection between what (students) love to do and what they feel like they were born to do,” Broomberg said. “You are the resource, and the best that you bring is what you most love. I’m teaching them how they make a connection between service and what they love.”
Paul Elstone, the instructor for a freshman seminar called “American Philanthropy,” said the 9-year-old course has only grown in popularity over the years. In the class, which hosts freshmen in a variety of majors, students decide the one of about 50 non-profit organizations they want to donate $5,000 to, choosing five finalists and visiting those five organizations to make their final decision. Past non-profits to receive the money have included A Family for Every Child and Food for Lane County.
The University “was one of the first universities to have a class like this,” Elstone said. But the idea of a philanthropy class has spread across the nation to many other schools. Now, “professors want students to lean about philanthropy, how to give back.”
The sudden popularity of philanthropy and community involvement among students has come about despite the recent economic downturn, which has left many Americans, who were once glad to give back, strapped for cash and searching for ways to help out themselves. Though some students have chosen professions that promise high salaries right out of school, others are taking this newer pathway that promises to help others.
“What I’ve heard students say is that they just want to make a difference in the world,” Elstone said. “Students are less interested in going to the office and paying the bills.”
Broomberg agreed, suggesting the era of service learning began during the Obama campaign, when members of the new generation suddenly felt compelled to be a part of political action in their own towns.
To West, classes such as Broomberg’s and Elstone’s and community service programs at the University help students reach out to the real world in ways they never did before.
The University “isn’t just this isolated place where thinking happens. It can work with its community and help out,” West said.
[email protected]