Re: Bush's plan

I agree.  We should be excited, I think, that the President
is stressing volunteerism.

At the same time, we should remember what Martin Luther King Jr. said:
"Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to
overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy
necessary" ("On Being a Good Neighbor").

We should encourage both our students and ourselves to
ask questions of how we best "serve" our communities.

Glenn Hutchinson

On Wed, 13 Mar 2002 Sspenser@aol.com wrote:

> While I have concerns about what I see as heading towards requiring 
> service-learning/volunteerism since that turns it into a curriculum issue 
> and, therefore, raises multiple governance issues, I do support any political 
> party's support of civic service.  I think it is extremely important for the 
> conservative viewpoint to be added to the current voices more frequently 
> heard in the service-learning community.  Service cannot be limited to any 
> political viewpoint, although there is a tendency to assume a liberal 
> ideology.  As educators we must be careful to frame our theories in a way 
> that students of any political persuasion, Green, Democrat, Libertarian, 
> Republican, etc., can use them as a grounding for their own participation.  
> If Bush's support allows the more conservative student to find a space for 
> service, I am all for it.  If I make service a "liberal" or "Democrat" issue, 
> then not only do I do limit the very participation I seek to those who 
> already agree with me, but I do a disservice to all that is educational about 
> service-learning.  Are only liberals civic minded?  Where is the critical 
> thinking?  If we can't make room for multiple viewpoints and agendas, then we 
> are simply using academia and the service-learning pedagogy to promote our 
> political/social goals and not to educate students, and let the 
> service/political chips fall where they may.
> 
> And if the members of society aren't supposed to work to solve social 
> problems, just who is it that makes up the government everyone wants to take 
> care of things?  
> 
> Sally Jackson
> Bowling Green State University
>