PEER GROUPS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
People should help take care of one another. This is an all-level program, which means our learning community is comprised of a range of students from freshpersons to seniors, including transfer students. And this year there are a number of people who were in "Awareness" last year, people who know something of the program's structures and rhythms. Our experience is that the recipe for success includes a weekly meeting of 4-7 committed people, the sharing of food, and a home-like environment.
Peer groups also will provide support for individual research projects as well as the 3 hours of community service each student must complete during the quarter. Look at Arthur Deikman’s “Service as a Way of Knowing" (http://www.deikman.com/wayofknowing.html) to explore how and why community service is an integral part of our work. A brief (200-400 word) description of your experience of community service as a way of knowing--preferably written by the group--is due Wednesday of week eight. Your description must engage Deikman's text and demonstrate how your community service was a way of knowing. NOTE WELL: To make this project a group project, instead of a bunch of individual projects, requires advanced planning. Evergreen's Community Learning Center can help with advice and contacts.