I find the idea of TV as the center of discussion for the Service Learning
network quite appropriate. Media is central to our understanding of our
society and the medium of TV has become the dominant form of communicating
a variety of topics to the members of our country. I remember a story from
a friend regarding a visiting dignitary from the former Soviet Union (when
it still was the Soviet Union). The visitor spent a week here and commented
on our TV system. He said that in the USSR, the government takes great pains
to control the TV so that only one consistent image is presented to the
public. He then mused how our "free" country arrived at a similar end with
a different process; since he had arrived, all the channels that he watched
had the same news presented with the same political view as all the others.
This story points out how limited our awareness can become if we depend on
only a few sources of information to understand our world. It strikes me that
electronic mail may bypass this narrowness.
The other aspect of TV that is interesting is related to brain research.
This research has indicated that the brain cannot always discern the
difference between an imagined experience, a televised experience, and an
actual personal experience. TV provides numerous images of the experiences
of other people, sometimes "real" sometimes not. When we watch TV, many of
us respond emotionally to the vicarious experiences seen on a show. By
responding we may be replacing our own need to create original experiences
by these "false" or external images. This may be why we (or should I say
"I") frequently become passive when we watch TV, internalizing the
experiences of others rather than designing and carrying out our own.
Thus, service-learning is a key method of helping students to gain personal
experiences, develop their own images, and become action-oriented as a
lifestyle, rather than passive in front of the TV. Hopefully TV will never
come up with service television, or else we may end up serving by watching
others serve rather than going out to serve ourselves :)
The limitations of these comments include 1) I am not a brain researcher by
trade; 2) I am just learning about service-learning as an academic
enterprise; and 3) I have not checked the inherent assumptions of these
thoughts with others on this list serve. Responses are welcomed.