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campus programs:

ln’ the past few years, an in-
lcreasing iiuniber oi Grinnell
students have been taking ad.
iyantage oi the very ivide selection
'of oil—campus programs oiiered or
approved by the college. The
reasons these students have tor
wanting to participate in on.
campus programs are varied as
the progranis'themselvesi some
students seek to unravel the
mysteries oi a ioreign culture,
vhile others pursue specilic goals
such as ﬁrst-hand experience in
eaching or politics. And although
each program has its weak and
strung points, all the participants
agree on the word “broadening" to

So many students have par-

ticipated in so many dillerent
programs that it would be im~
possible to include them all here
We thereiore chose several oi the
most popular programs ol this
year and last, and asked some oi
their participants to describe the
basic structures ol their programs,
and comment on what they liked
best and least about them. This
week‘s articles deal with two ACM
Chicago programs and the Grin-
nell-in-London Program. Next
week, the Japanese studies, Costa
Rica, and Florence programs will
be explored. The opinions ex-
pressed in these articles are the
personal opinions ol the authors
and may not reilect the opinions at
all the other participants in the
same program or of the editors.

VUrban Education

by Julie Bell

The Chicagobased ACM Urban
Education Program provides
varied, opportunities and resources
for those students interested in
practice teaching and eventually
getting their teaching certificates.
Participants may choose to teach
at an alternative, inner-city,
Suburban, or publi school; the
possibilities are infi te.

The program involves an in
tensive study of education in a
supportive, humanistic ate
mosphere where the directors and
speakers live and breathe nothing
but education tand maybe
politics). Those who participated
lastsemcster found the program to
be exciting, challenging and
rewarding.

The semester's sixteen credit
hours of work are divided between
sixteen weeks of student teaching
and seminars and lectures three
nights a week. The requirements
for the program are the same as
those for student twching here in
Grinnell.

Looking back, I realize how hard
the semester was for me. I had to
dealwith living in the city (a fiist),
my new role as a teacher, poverty
and the black culture of the south
side. I taught three biology classes
oi my own and helped with three
others.

Lorett on 65th and Blackstone,
is an exc ng place. Three hundred
adults ranging from 17435 are
enrolled to finish their high school
diplomas They work hard and are
generally more motivated than
most of us at Grinnell, Their skills,
however, are much lower. That
was one' of the most depressing
aspects for me. The average

 

reading level, for example, is sixth
grade. Progress for some is very
rapid, though, and any en~
couragement or interest from me
was always returned in many more
ways—a mood ring, a luncheon
“going away," flowers, a placque,
friends and MacDonald hams
burgers. I still feel committed to
that institution and most of all, to
the people there.

Though there are many positive
aspects of the program, two
complaints were voiced at the
recent UEP evaluation by ACM
colleges. One was housing and the
other was the representation oi the
program by campus iaculties.

The living situation was a con
stant source of irritation. Three
people live in a one bedroom
apartment. The location was good,
however, and having all the par-
ticipants in one building along with
the program office and library is
convenient.

UEP’s success is due to its EXr
cellent administrators, Peggy
Mueller and Marilyn Turkovich.
The program continues for
Grinnell mainly through word of
mouth from people with good
experiences or through the
director‘s visit every semester.
(Marilyn Turkovich will be here on
Monday, February 21. Contact
Beryl Wellborn, education
prciessor. or Laura Burrows it you
are interested in seeing her.)

Wellborn, the campus advisor, is
very willing to offer what general
information he has. Roberta Atwell
and Richard VanScotter never
discourage interest in the
program. It is a valuable program
for anyone interested in alter-
native or urban education.

‘ “We’re

Grinnell-In-London

by Leah Seidler

The Grinnell-in-London program
has completed its third year and is
presently being scrutinized.
Former participants generally
agree that the experience was, at
the very least, worthwhile. But
questions have been raised about
the purpose oi the program.
Program director Victor 5.
Verrette said ”The original con
ception was based on the idea that
the Grinnell curriculum would be
enhanced by different kinds of
courses (than those offered at
Grinnell) and different methods of
study in different locales}I

These goals are not stated more
specifically because each year doe
courses offered are from different
departments; this year, in addition
to the regularly offered courses
taught by professors living in
London, English and political
science classes were taught by
Peter Connelly, professor ‘of
English, and Robert Grey,
professor of political science. Next
semester Douglas Caulkins, an-
thropology professor, and Donald
Irving, professor of English and
American Studies, will go to
London to teach courses in their
respective disciplines.

Past Grinnell-In—London courses
have attempted to incorporate
“concrete realities" into what is
being studied. Rick Petran, who
went to London in 1975, took
classics professor Gerald Lalon»
de’s Greek Art and Architecture
course there. He says that access
to the British Museum, which
contains many exhibits of Greek
art. gave him an opportunity for
study which doesn't exist at
Grinnell—the course ”used London
well.” Other courses, however,
have not made good use of the
London environment, Davida
Alperin commented that last
semester’s political science
courses “made little use of the
overwhelming opportunities tor
practical experience."

Many students think that the
courses required too much book
work, inappropriate to the ob-
jectives of the program and
detrimental to the experience.
Refer-ring to one twoweek period
oi intensive academic work, Bonny
Redlich said that “it was a crime"
that her professors expected a
“Grinnell level and quantity of
Work, and acted as though we had
Burling Library down the street."
But she added that “whenever we
had a course that related to Lon—
don, it was worthwhile."

People have varying opinions
regarding the British prolessors
who teach an the program. Bruce
Pake expressed the sentiment that
“as museum pieces they were fun,
but as profasors they fell short of
my expectations."

In response to the criticisms of
these professors, Verrette plans to

Q.

evaluate each of them in dep
before deciding whether or not to
rehire them

One of the London program’s
strengths is the opportunity to take
only one course during the final
month of the semester (phase II)
and thus experience a depth of
study not possible when taking
several classes at a time. One
student called this experience
“total immersion,”

One of the strongest points of the
program is that it allows students
to live as Londoners, not a“
tourists. Thus, they are able to
experience the culture with
satisfying completeness. The good
classes further deepened the
students' perceptions and ex“
perlences of London. In the words
of Bonny Redlich, “London was
spectacular and I would encourage
everyone to go."

Chicago Urban Studies

byPnttyRose

ananveKathan
The city of Chicago
historically been a center of

has

political activism and social
criticism, In 1969, Professor Walt
Reiner of Valparaiso University
(Indiana) Wanted to help students
come into personal contact with
the problems of the city. Reiner
began an experimental Chicago
urban studies program involving
selected Valpo students in
semester long work assignments,
Since then, the program has grown
to include the entire Associated
Colleges of the Midwest and at-
tracts 907100 students each
semester. For the last seven
years, Grinnell has been sending
students to this program, which is
formally known as the ACM Urban
Studies Semester, Today, however,
the future of Grinnell student
participation in this program is in
doubt.

For the first time, Grinnell has
decided to offer an alternative to
the Chicago semester with the
MUST lMinneapolis Urban
Studies) program, which is located
in Minneapolisst. Paul. By ofr
lerlng a total of 16 credits for the
new program and 12 for Chicago,
Grinnell, consciously or unr
consciously. seems to be stating a
preference. Roger Koester,
director of off campus study, said,
not pushing either
program,” However, he did
comment, “we’re not entirely
pleased 'with the direction the
Chicago program mites,"

 

The major criticism that the
Grinnell administration seems to
have of the Chicago semester is its
experimental nature. As compared
to the rigorous. hookbound
academics of Grinnell, Chicago's
reading and course load is light
with an increased emphasis on
personal experience within
Chicago. Koester said that he does
not believe that the various parts of
the program are pulled together in
a unified semester experience.

me work assignment and the
independent study project both
place a good deal of responsibilitv
on each student. who must initiate
and develop a topic of interest in
the independent and cummiti
at least 10.20 hours a week to the
work assignment. For
students coming from a fairly
traditional educational system
such as Grinnell, the prospect of
literally planning one's own
academic program is an ad-
mittedly novel and stimulating
experience, It may. however,
cause some floundering and
casting about for topics that are
approachable in size and com-
plexity.

Last semester, one Grinnell
student worked on the union
campaign of insurgentsteelworker
Ed Sadlowski; another researched
utility rate structures and energy
conservation issues tor a public
interest group. Grinnell does not
give credit for this wholly ex»
periential program, but the
education received in the work-

 

place is often very valuable.

Mark Twain once said: “Never
let your schooling interfere with
your education." The Chicago
program fosters that attitude by
encouraging students to fully
immerse themselves in the local
social and political scene, for in\
stance by requiring pollrwatchr.’
on Election Day.

With these types of experiences.
students in Chicago often begin
question the basic value of a
“liberal arts education." The
result is that a few students, in-
cluding some former Grinnellians,
have opted to leave school after
participating in , the Urban
Semester. Others returnsoinewhat
alienated to their home campus.

The Chicago staff recognizes the
extent of these basic concerns.
which are by no means unique to
Grinnell. This fall, they sponsored
a “bridge-building" conference
attended by faculty and a
ministration from throughout tI
ACM. Its goal was to help alleviate
some cl these concerns beiore they
become conﬂicts.

Ultimately, however, the burden
is on the students to integrate tﬂ'
Chicago semester into their total
academic experience, Both of us
are taking courses this semester in
urban affairs in hopes of ,suc.
cessfully merging these two ex~
periences. Our semester in
Chicago was an enjoyable and
educational one, and very com-
plementary to our Grinnell Ex-
perience.

 

