Just for a little context, this reading “Theorizing Liberal Arts Education and Place” comes from Strengthening Liberal Arts Education by Embracing Place and Particularity which was the written product of the Embrace our Place interdisciplinary study that various Calvin Faculty and Staff participated in.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article. I believe that it speaks eloquently to what the goals of Christian Higher Education should be. It also speaks to our particular goals here at the Service-Learning Center. Early on in the article it says, “When the specific place sees higher education as a resource for the big questions being faced, dynamic opportunities develop.” I personally see a strong connection here to Service-Learning, and hope that the opportunities that we are fostering and cultivating do maximize these opportunities for both the sake of student s and the sake of the community (which really cannot be separated).
Before I go on, this quote seems to highlight only the benefit the “specific place” receives from this interaction, thus leaving out the benefit those in higher education receive. Although this quote may seem to do this, I believe in practice it does not. This being said, this particular quote points to the necessity of “the specific place see(ing) higher education as a resource.” In this it is clear that the community needs to view higher education as a resource before the relationship can develop. Our question needs to be how can we better aid the “specific place” in seeing higher education this way.
Lastly, this reading begins with talk about higher education and its propensity to create individuals “who are unable to care for real people in real places.” I think that this is an incredibly true insight and is often a discussion that is ignored in academia. At the same time it this article emphasizes the importance of Place and the obligation Higher Education has to instilling a sense of responsibility into students. Much emphasis is placed on this discussion of the importance of Place as a new topic of conversation in Higher Education. Do we see this as a new conversation in greater society or just in Higher Education? Has this conversation been taking place, just using different language? Is it possible that even our discussion of Place is an example of the inability those in academia have to relate to those outside of that particular community?
Becca Timmermans
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A concerned parent told his children: “Go to college and get a professional degree. To live a comfortable life, you have to be a Doctor, Engineer, Accountant, or Lawyer.” Presented with the DEAL, one can only wonder what the exact value of the liberal arts education really is. As one fills one of the four occupations, the issue of “place” and “local environment” becomes a necessary consideration. Upon closer inspection, these four occupations are actually service-oriented occupations that train professionals for specific purposes. Conclusively, a place is a necessary consideration, perhaps only, when one is purposefully trained with the clear intention to serve in a specific location.
However, it does not have to be the case that only those educated in the classical tradition have their place. An education that’s based on the enlightenment tradition can fulfil the same philosophy too. The essence thus is the application of education, where students ought to intentionally seek and purposefully serve in their identified niche areas.
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