From Good To Great
Roger Bingham, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Ivy Tech Community College Columbus/Franklin
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Or maybe it’s been phrased, “Leave well enough alone.” Or for the animal lovers, “Let sleeping dogs lie.” And in some settings, that philosophy is well-advised (especially with the dog!). But should we in higher education settle for this type of approach to working with our students? Why should we settle for “good” when “great” is possible?
AmeriCorps Is Like Finger Painting
Tim Hoffelder, S-E Corps AmeriCorps Member Indiana University
After proving oneself as worthy through an application, a member is provided with a small set of paints, and told to make a masterpiece. If the masterpiece takes at least 300 hours to achieve, then the member receives a prize to help him/her continue painting in the future, or to learn other mediums for artistic expression. At first, I had only the primary colors. And, I must admit, I was excited about the prize I might earn. I knew with whom I could work, and I knew to whom I should go if I had questions. Lauren Caldarera, who serves as our advisor, always has suggestions and great words of encouragement. Nate Gibson, the graduate assistant here at the Global Village, meets with us at least once every other week to make sure our hands aren’t tired and that we have good plans for the week ahead.
I was that student....
Kelsey Timmerman
Kelsey here. Remember me? You know, the dude with the underwear? Everyone remembers the underwear. It was such an honor to talk with so many educators and student leaders passionate about local and global engagement.
Today, I want to write to you about the student at the back of the room who you think isn’t engaged or listening. I was that student.
I didn’t ask many questions in class. I answered even less. I think a lot of my college professors would be surprised to see how much more of an engaged learner and community member I am now. At the time, they likely thought I was another student who they tried to reach but fell short. To be honest, they probably don’t even remember me.
Why College Students Matter
By Rabbi Abraham Unger, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Faith and Public Policy Roundtable
Sometimes what falls under the radar is where the real change is happening. While America has expressed a clear yearning for social change since the recession began in 2008, the focus of that change has been both divisively partisan and elusive. Is it the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street, and what do each of these protest movements actually claim as a detailed policy platform? Is it a vague sense of moderately progressive legislation as in President Obama's healthcare plan, or an increasingly rigid rightism in the current Republican stance on just about anything, both of which result somehow, Democrat and Republican alike, in closed door negotiated deals, with lots of pork between the lines, foisted upon the American people.
What fuels you?
Maggie Stevens, Indiana Campus Compact Executive Director.
There is nothing like an end of the year review to help remind you of how much your office has accomplished this year. As Indiana Campus Compact reaches the end of our year, we, like you, are busy completing end of the year reports for grants, annual reports, and staff evaluations. This process reminds me that all too often we focus so much on helping our students reflect about their experiences that we often fail to take the time to do the same about our work.
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