Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Apr 2008 Open Access

Courage, Commitment and a Little Humility: The Path to Civic Engagement

Jennifer J. Kidd

Abstract

A few years ago I served as a graduate assistant in an experimental course for freshmen at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia. New Portals to Appreciating our Global Environment (NewPAGE) united faculty and graduate students across disciplines to tackle instruction on pressing global issues such as climate change, health, sustainable development, and environmental resources. The issues were timely: Hurricane Katrina struck in the first few months of the course, and the content, including a five-hour community service component, had potential to spark social and civic responsibility among the 1800 students enrolled. There was just one problem: students hated it.

Journal
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Published
2008-04-01
DOI
10.59236/rjv7i3pp94-95
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Topics
graduate education
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References (4)

  1. (2005)
    National collegiate retention and persistence to degree rates
  2. (2005)
    NewPAGE Syllabus
  3. (2005)
    GEN 101 -NewPAGE: New Portals for Appreciating our Global Environment Course Syllabus -Spring
  4. Norfolk, VA: Old Dominion University, 2005.
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