Greetings, Folks!
I, too, am pleased to see the alternative spring break topic coming up in our
conversations. Having lived on a reservation in New Mexico, I have seen many
caravans of good-hearted college students come in for their spring break, many
times without even making prior arrangements. While I think there is certainly
a great deal of value in cultural exchange, it is unrealistic for students to
enter into a different culture for 1 week and think they can really assimilate
into the culture that is in place.
What we all need to be cautious of with these kind of service experiences is
students having the misleading idea that the culture they are visiting needs to
be 'fixed' in some way. Just because people live in an area that has economic
challenges doesn't mean they should be subjected to strangers coming to
'experience' their lifestyle. We have to be careful not to confuse poverty
areas with tourist spots for the more economically privileged.
While the students have wonderful intentions, I believe a great deal of
groundwork needs to be laid and equal partnerships need to be formed with any
community before planning a good service learning experience.
Thank you,
Talley Sjoberg