I’m sitting in my lecture chewing on my pen, wondering why I made the trek up Bascom for this.
It’s not just because I’m incredibly lazy. No, I just don’t have the motivation to go to this class. The times I do make it to lecture I always end up wondering why I didn’t just stay in my nice, warm bed. I’d get more reading done at home than what I’m accomplishing by sitting in lecture, half-listening to what my professor is saying.
It’s my last general education requirement and all it’s really accomplishing is satisfying these necessary credits for graduation.
Why couldn’t this class be set up like the Art Service Learning class I took my sophomore year? That fulfilled a gen-ed requirement and I absolutely loved it. Why? Because I was actually invested in it.
Maybe it was because I was gaining valuable experience by working at the University of Wisconsin Hospital with the artist-in-residence. Or that I got to use my creativity to come up with fun art workshops for the families of hospital residents. Either way, I was doing something visibly productive and meaningful.
And to top it off, it was something I could put on my resume. Isn’t that what we’re all trying to do while we’re here in college? Our hope is to gain enough experience to prepare us for the “real world” after graduation. Shouldn’t our classes cater to these needs?
What is going to help us more, sitting in a lecture trying to digest the information our professor is spewing? Or being involved in our community and actually applying what we’re learning in class?
Experiential learning is one of the most effective ways to learn. According to a study conducted by Eldon Ekwall and William Glasser, we only remember 10 percent of what we read and 50 percent of what we hear but an incredible 80 percent of what we experience.
Service-learning courses seem to be the most impactful and beneficial. They provide experience in our field of choice, networking opportunities, possible internships and even future jobs. So why doesn’t the University of Wisconsin offer more of these courses?
You can easily go to the Course Guide online and click “Service Learning” under “Special Groups,” but you’ll find that Madison doesn’t offer nearly enough service-learning courses. For a university focused on the Wisconsin Idea and serving the state and beyond, shouldn’t there be more opportunities like this for the students?
Time is our most valuable resource. These classes will kill two (or more) birds with one stone. Why waste your time just sitting in a classroom when you can be doing so much more?
Nicole Condit ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in special education.