“tee

@

2

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS

~ PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION,

Co

 

VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 26

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN « WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

From Textbook to Community

Throughout my teaching career, I have sought to
learn from some of the pros in my field. I have grown
familiar with their buzz words, e.g., giving, respect,
relationships, responsibility, process, growth, and change. I
have observed their behaviors.

Among the pros was a high school senior class
advisor who encouraged students to buy something for
the school or the community with funds remaining in
their account after all graduation expenses were paid.
This exercise bore its own message: Education must
move from the textbook to the community when
possible. It is a giving process, it is a lesson in
reciprocity...it is accountability.

Another was an educational administrator who
believed that while the three Rs—reading, ‘riting, and
‘rithmetic—were critical to the process of education, so
were three others—respect, relationship, and responsi-
bility. He promoted mutual respect among students
and faculty alike, he trusted that this respect would
carry over into other relationships, and he sought to
instill a sense of responsibility in and among his stu-
dents. Results? Perhaps one less criminal and one
more potentially productive member of society.

I have chosen not merely to acknowledge these
experiences but to incorporate them into my own
teaching. Therefore, I have evaluated my courses and
decided to make an unprecedented change: Commu-
nity service is now a requirement in each humanities
and social science course.

My primary goal is to get students involved with the
community, to recognize and accept that they share
some responsibility for its welfare. Specifically, the
community service requirement is a six-hour commit-
ment to visit and observe activities in community
organizations. The first three hours must be spent in
three different organizations. The final three hours
must be spent in one of these three organizations and
must be completed in a single block of time. This block-
of-time requirement serves a dual purpose: it ensures
commitment to one of the organizations, and it provides
a potentially valuable contact for employment after
graduation.

Two data retrieval forms assist students in chroni-
cling their experiences. The first contains preliminary

 

data which must be submitted to me for pre-approval
one week prior to any visit. This allows time for me to
call the sites, help students establish contacts in the
event that problems arise, and verify attendance
through random checks. Students must provide the
following information:

e Date

e Time

© Name of student

e Course reference

¢ Name, address, and telephone of organization
e Contact, Title

¢ Supervisor's comments (optional)

e Supervisor's signature, Date

Upon their return from each community service
activity, students detail their experiences by answering
the following questions:

1. Why did you choose this particular organization?

2. What were your expectations when you began the
community service activity?

3. Were there any special incidents that occurred
during this time?

4. What was your reaction to this experience?

5. What particular traits, skills, and/or qualities did
you bring to this service?

6. How could you improve this experience?

7. How did you grow as a result of this experience?

8. By what date do you expect to complete your note of
thanks?

Students’ responses to questions #4 and #7 are
critical—responses indicate what they are learning
about themselves and the world in which they live.
Moreover and even as important, they learn that
education does not always come froma textbook.

Denise S. St. Cyr, Professor, Humanities & Social Sciences
For further information, contact the author at New

Hampshire Technical College-Manchester, 1066 Front
Street, Manchester, NH 03102.

 

 

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)
Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration
College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712